The Great Austin Shake Off

The Great Austin Shake Off comes to the Austin Scottish Rite Theater on Saturday, August 22, at 7:30 PM. It's a night that pits three of the city's Shakespeare companies—Austin Shakespeare, The Baron's Men, and Walking Shadow Shakespeare Project—against each other in a friendly competition that doubles as a fundraiser and a community celebration of the Bard's words. The whole thing runs about two hours, with frequent breaks in between.

Here's how the night works: each company nominates three actors to perform a speech of their choice across three rounds—Comedy, History, and Tragedy. After that, the leader of each organization takes the stage for a final round, each performing Hamlet's "To Be Or Not To Be," with the winner crowned as the overall champion. The audience decides who takes each round by voting with their dollars, and the organizers say the night is meant to show the different perspectives and methods each company brings to the same text.

Accessibility is a stated priority for the evening. Open captions, air purifiers, face masks, and fidget cubes are provided, and every speech is introduced with a context summary in both English and Spanish. One of the companies involved, Walking Shadow Shakespeare Project, started back in 2011 as "Steps off Shakespeare" at Steps off Broadway in Bellingham, Massachusetts.

Tickets are $10, and votes are $1 each—you can pre-buy them in sets of 10 or buy any amount you like at the event. The Scottish Rite Theater is at 207 W 18th St, Austin, TX 78701.