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For All, For All Time A capital expansion campaign
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is Expanding!
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has announced the launch of a Capital Expansion Campaign: For All, For All Time, an investment in the future of theatre, arts education, and community engagement in Cincinnati. The estimated $25M campaign will fund the construction of a 19,000-square-foot community arts and education center, including a new studio theater, due south of The Otto M. Budig Theater. The new theater will invite audiences to expand their experience with an entirely flexible performance space that can be reimagined with new seating layouts for every production.
"The Otto M. Budig Theater transformed what Cincinnati Shakespeare Company could accomplish artistically. Today, we have the opportunity to complete that vision by building spaces where more artists can create, more students can learn, more community partners can gather, and more audiences can experience live theatre." - Brian Isaac Phillips, Producing Artistic Director and CEO
The expansion will add 19,000 square feet to CSC's facility and will include:
A 150+ seat Studio Theater designed as one of the most artistically flexible performance spaces in the region.
Three multi-purpose education and community spaces supporting year-round classes, camps, rehearsals, community events, and public programming.
Expanded operational and production facilities that allow both buildings to function as one integrated theatrical campus.
The expansion will enable Cincinnati Shakespeare Company to realize the full potential of its mission to bring Shakespeare and the classics to life for all. Upon completion, CSC will be able to produce upwards of 15 productions annually across two venues, extending the runs of high-demand productions, improving the financial sustainability of its artistic portfolio, expanding year-round educational programming, and providing affordable gathering and performance space for community partners and emerging arts organizations.
"One production may surround audiences on all four sides. The next may seat patrons opposite one another across the playing space. Another may use a traditional proscenium configuration with cutting-edge technical design. Every production can have its own unique experience for the audience. No other theatre in Cincinnati offers this level of artistic flexibility." -Brian Isaac Phillips, Producing Artistic Director and CEO.
At the heart of the project is the studio theater—a performance venue unlike any other in Greater Cincinnati. Designed with a fully transformable seating system and state-of-the-art theatrical technology, the space can be configured in proscenium end-stage, thrust, theatre-in-the-round, traverse, cabaret, and other creative layouts, allowing each production to determine the relationship between artists and audiences.
Proscenium End-Stage
Thrust
In-the-Round
Traverse
Staged Examples:
"Projects of this scale and consequence do not happen without leadership. They require partners who understand that the arts are not an accessory to civic life, but a driver of it." - Sara Clark, Director of Development
The For All, For All Time campaign is a strategic investment that will ensure Cincinnati Shakespeare Company remains artistically ambitious and financially sustainable for decades to come. The campaign is built upon leadership gifts, foundation support, and broad community investment.
Learn more about the For All, For All Time campaign below:
The Expansion
Since opening the Otto M. Budig Theater in 2017, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has grown significantly, particularly in the reach of our education, community, and artistic programming. We reached the limits of what our current building can accommodate. And at the same time, the opportunity to develop on the lot next door became available.
This expansion is an investment in CSC's next chapter. It will create more room for education and community programs, provide artists with a new kind of performance space, and ensure that CSC can continue growing and serving Cincinnati for generations to come.
We currently anticipate breaking ground in Spring 2027, with construction continuing through the 2027-2028 Season. The Otto M. Budig Theater will remain open, and performances will continue as planned throughout construction. There may be some signs of work occurring in the lobby and we may ask patrons to “pardon our dust” for a small amount of time.
The new building and studio theater are currently expected to open for the 2028-2029 Season!
Not yet. The images and plans being shared represent the current vision for the project, but the design is still in development and will continue to evolve.
We have already been in active conversation with the Over-the-Rhine Community Council, YMCA, School for Creative and Performing Arts, our immediate neighbors, and other businesses and community organizations in our vicinity. Our goal is to be a good neighbor throughout this process and to create a project that strengthens the surrounding community.
The project will also move through all required public review, permitting, and approval processes before construction begins. As we continue conversations with our neighbors and move through those processes, architectural details, materials, site plans, and other elements may change. We will continue sharing updates as the project moves forward.
Nope! We love our home in Over-the-Rhine, and we are staying right here. The new building with the studio theater will be an EXPANSION of our current campus, located next to the Otto M. Budig Theater on the lot between our current building and the YMCA.
The New Studio Theater
The new studio theater is designed to expand your experience at Cincy Shakes.
Unlike a traditional theater with seats permanently facing one direction, the new space will feature a fully flexible seating system. The room can transform from production to production into configurations such as proscenium end-stage, thrust, theatre-in-the-round, traverse, cabaret, and more.
That means the same space can feel completely different depending on the story being told, giving artists new possibilities and audiences entirely new ways to experience live theater.
The studio theater will give CSC greater freedom to express the full breadth of our mission. It will allow us to produce work that benefits from a more intimate, flexible, or unconventional setting while continuing to present larger productions in the Otto M. Budig Theater.
That could include Shakespeare and the classics, new works, contemporary plays, musicals, experimental productions, special events, educational performances, and artistic collaborations. The flexibility of two performance spaces will allow us to think differently about which room best serves each story and its audience.
Yes. This project is about much more than adding another performance venue.
The expansion will provide dedicated space for CSC's growing education and community programs, giving us more opportunities to welcome students, teachers, families, artists, and community partners into our home.
The additional space will also create new possibilities for partnerships, workshops, rehearsals, meetings, events, and other community uses. Details about specific rental and community-use opportunities will be developed as the project progresses.
Campaign and Funding
The estimated $25 million project will be funded through the For All, For All Time capital campaign, with the majority of support coming from private philanthropy, including generous individuals and families, foundations, and corporate partners who believe in CSC's future and the impact this expansion will have on our community.
CSC is also pursuing a variety of public funding opportunities available for projects of this kind, which may include local, state, and federal support, as well as grants and tax credit programs related to arts and culture, community development, historic preservation, and economic development.
Together, these public and private investments will help make this transformational project possible while supporting CSC's long-term financial sustainability.
For All, For All Time is a community investment in the future of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and there will be many ways to be part of it.
If you are interested in learning more about the campaign, making a gift, exploring naming opportunities, or discussing other ways to support the project, contact Director of Development, Sara Clark at sara.clark@cincyshakes.com or click here.
Every gift helps build the next chapter of Cincy Shakes.
We'd be happy to help! Contact the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company Box Office at513-381-2273 or email us and our team will connect you with the appropriate person.
Parking and Neighborhood
We will continue to offer pre-paid parking in new lots. The adjacent lot with 15 available pre-paid parking spaces is currently expected to remain available through February 2027. Once it closes, CSC will continue to offer pre-paid parking at nearby locations. We have secured pre-paid spaces down the street at the former Freestore Foodbank lot in partnership with Tri-State Parking, as well as pre-paid spaces in the Washington Park Garage through 3CDC.
Patrons who have already purchased parking for performances after the adjacent lot closes in spring 2027 will receive information directly from CSC about their new parking arrangements well in advance of their visit.
As a downtown venue, we know that convenient parking and getting to the theater are important parts of the patron experience. CSC has always worked to make that experience as easy as possible by identifying nearby parking options, offering pre-paid parking when available, and providing clear directions and information before performances.
Today, patrons use a variety of nearby garages, surface lots, street parking, and other options throughout the neighborhood. The adjacent lot is one of those options, but CSC has only been allotted 15 spaces per night to offer as pre-paid parking during performances.
As our campus expands, our commitment to helping patrons get to CSC easily will not change. In fact, new partnerships, mentioned below, will allow us to offer more pre-paid parking spaces nearby than we are able to offer today.
No. When CSC was given the opportunity to purchase the adjacent property, that opportunity was tied to developing the site rather than maintaining it permanently as a surface parking lot.
For CSC, this was also an opportunity that may not come again. The Otto M. Budig Theater is constrained by neighboring properties on its other sides, making this the only adjacent site where our campus can realistically grow. If CSC did not move forward with a viable plan for the property, the site could eventually be made available for other development, potentially eliminating our ability to expand directly alongside our existing theater in the future.
CSC chose to seize this opportunity to secure the long-term future of our campus while developing new solutions for patron parking nearby.
Yes. Parking and patron access were important considerations throughout the planning and design process, including exploring whether parking could be incorporated into the new development.
The reality is that the property is not large enough to accommodate both meaningful dedicated parking and the spaces this expansion is intended to provide. Including parking within the development would have taken up a significant portion of the available site, increased construction costs, and substantially limited what CSC could build and how many people the new facility could serve.
Ultimately, CSC made the choice to use this unique opportunity to create the greatest possible benefit for our community: more space for performances, education programs, students, artists, and community partnerships. Because parking can be provided nearby through partnerships with existing garages and lots, we can dedicate this limited site to the programs and experiences that are central to our mission.
Over-the-Rhine has been CSC's home for years, and we remain deeply committed to this neighborhood. Safety and accessibility for our patrons, students, artists, staff, and neighbors are important considerations as we plan the expansion.
We also believe continued investment in our block contributes to a safer, more active neighborhood. By bringing more students, families, artists, audiences, and activity to this part of Over-the-Rhine throughout the day and evening, this project will help further activate the block and strengthen the community around us.
As plans develop, we will continue working with our neighbors, community partners, public agencies, parking partners, and safety professionals to ensure our expanded campus is welcoming and accessible.
