Arkansas’s Only Professional
Shakespeare Company
Each year it produces a selection of the Bard’s plays, along with other productions, in its summer festival in Conway. Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, which has been featured in The New York Times, is also a major educational force in Arkansas.
This professional company brings respected and experienced Shakespearean actors to Arkansas for each season, producing vibrant, engaging, lively and provocative performances for all Arkansans.
Our Mission
To entertain, engage, and enrich the community by creating professional and accessible productions of Shakespeare and other works that promote educational opportunities, community involvement, and the highest artistic standards.
Our Staff




Our Board
Officers
Denise Karl, President
Senior Decision Support Architect, Acxiom
Karen Garrett, Vice-President
Partner, Hudson Cisne & Co. LLP
Mandy Meek, Secretary
Team Lead, Dillards
John Parrack, Ph.D. Treasurer
Associate Professor of Spanish, University of Central Arkansas
Board Members
Kathleen Currie
Community Volunteer & Former President
Karen Garrett, CPA
Partner, Hudson Cisne & Co. LLP
Rosi Hemphill
Property & Casualty Account Executive, The Hatcher Agency
Lenisa O’Dwyer
Speech Therapist, Pediatrics Plus
Mary Etta Qualls, CPA
Senior Vice-President, Southern Bancorp
Mary Ruth Marotte, Ph.D. (Ex-Officio)
Executive Director, AST/ Professor of English, University of Central Arkansas
Rebekah Scallet (Ex-Officio)
Producing Artistic Director, AST / Lecturer II in Theatre, University of Central Arkansas