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About Central Coast Shakespeare Festival

Central Coast Shakespeare Festival (CCSF) is an outdoor theatre that specializes in Shakespeare and classical works. We bring professionally produced performances under the stars, making the magic of Shakespeare accessible for everyone.

"the past is prologue" -The Tempest

A Brief History of CCSF

Founded in 1991 as a subsidiary of Artemis – a Theatre Company, we began performing at the Leaning Pine Arboretum within Cal Poly's ornamental horticulture unit. After Artemis dissolved in 1997, the Festival became its own non-profit theater company, producing Measure for Measure and As You Like It at Cal Poly. Soon after, we embarked on a journey to find a new performance space. The community rallied, and we secured a temporary home at the San Luis Obispo City Playhouse, where we produced our 1998–2002 seasons indoors. A few special weekends of outdoor performances at Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria revealed the magic of performing outdoors.

 

In 2003, our dream of an outdoor performance space was realized when Bellevue Santa Fe Charter School welcomed us. Performing outdoors in the balmy Central Coast summers became a reality, and we produced five seasons there before moving to River Oaks Amphitheater in Paso Robles in 2009. Five beautiful summer seasons followed in Paso Robles. Ever the intrepid band of traveling players, we finally found our permanent home at Filipponi Ranch in 2014.   

 

The Central Coast Shakespeare Festival (CCSF) is committed to providing professional, entertaining productions of Shakespeare's work as well as other timeless and classical stories. 

We believe:

  • In nurturing future theatre-going audiences

  • In providing local artists with the opportunity to work alongside visiting professionals 

  • In the power of live theater to change lives—for both artists and audiences

  • In enriching the cultural life of the Central Coast

  • That work is love made visible 

  • That theatre should be fun, clear, and accessible

  • That watching theater outdoors, with a delicious picnic and a fine glass of wine, is about as good as it gets

  • And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we believe in spit takes

 

Come and join our theatre family

CCSF On Video

Past Productions

All the Worlds a Stage

2024

King Lear

2023

Love's Labour's Lost

2022

Cyrano de Bergerac

2021

The Riot of the Tipsy Bacchanals or Wonderous Ice and Strange Snow

2019

Twelfth Night

Treasure Island

2018

As You Like It 

The Three Musketeers

2017

Much Ado About Nothing

Almost, Maine

2016

Romeo and Juliet

The Importance of Being Earnest

2015

The Winter's Tale

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

2014

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Taming of the Shrew

2011

As You Like It

The Comedy of Errors

2012

The Tempest

2013

Love's Labor's Lost

2010

The Gamester

Twelfth Night

2009

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Treasure Island

2008

Hiatus, searching for a new home

2007

The Taming of the Shrew

Richard III

2006

The Three Musketeers

Macbeth

2005

Cyrano de Bergerac

Twelfth Night

2004

Much Ado About Nothing

Romeo and Juliet

2003

A Midsummer Night's Dream

As You Like It

2002

Love's Labor's Lost

The Taming of the Shrew

2001

Hamlet

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

2000

Twelfth Night

The Merry Wives of Windsor

1999

The Merchant of Venice

The Comedy of Errors

1998

Much Ado About Nothing

The Tempest

1997

Measure for Measure

As You Like It

Locations & Hours

Location

Filipponi Ranch
1850 Calle Joaquin

San Luis Obispo, CA 93405

Show Times

Fri : 7:30 pm 

Doors open at 6:30 pm
​Sat-Sun: 6:00 pm
​Doors open at 5:00pm

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