• Tickets for each performance of All’s Well That Ends Well will be made available to the public on the day of the show by visiting Sidney Harman Hall as well as through an online lottery system. To receive more information about the lottery, sign up to receive email notifications.
  
  Become a Subscriber
  All 2012-2013 Season Subscribers have the ability to reserve seats in advance. Each subscriber can reserve two (2) Free For All tickets for every subscription seat they hold and have the ability to exchange their tickets.
• Join Friends of Free For All 
  Gifts starting at $200 allow Friends to secure reserved seating in advance, receive program recognition and access our Patrons Lounge which includes complimentary beverages and snacks!
• Enter the Online Lottery 
  For each performance, a select number of seats are given away to lucky lottery winners.
  
  You may enter the daily lottery for each performance between 12:01 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. the day PRIOR to the performance you are interested in attending. (i.e. If you are interested in seeing All's Well That Ends Well on Saturday, August 25, you may enter the lottery starting at midnight on Friday, August 24, through 8:00 p.m. Friday, August 24.)
  
  Winners will be chosen at random. The time you enter the lottery has no bearing on your chances of winning. Only one entry per account will be considered for the drawing. All entrants will receive an email after 8:00 p.m. the night before the performance.
• Get in line instead of online
  Every day STC will give away up to 200 tickets to the public in our Ticket Line at Sidney Harman Hall beginning approximately two (2) hours prior to curtain. Limit is two (2) tickets per person.  Remember to get there early! The line usually starts forming around 4:00 p.m. for evening shows and around 10:00 a.m. for matinee performances.
• Follow STC on Social Media
  Our Facebook and Twitter fans can tell you from experience that we like giving stuff away. Start following STC and keep an eye out for chances to secure VIP seating for the Free For All!

The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free For All is a much-loved Washington tradition, offering free performances of a Shakespearean classic to the general public. STC is thrilled to kick off our 26th season with All’s Well That Ends Well.

Each summer, with the help of numerous community-minded sponsors, the Shakespeare Theatre Company presents a series of free Shakespeare performances. Started in 1991 to bring free Shakespeare to new and diverse audiences in the Washington metropolitan area, the Free For All has presented Shakespeare under the stars to more than 560,000 area residents.

Students for Shakespeare, launched in 1996, has attracted thousands of area public school students to the Free For All by providing transportation and free t-shirts, fun books and drawings for scholarship savings bonds. The Shakespeare Theatre Company Free For All's unique contribution to the community was recognized with the Washington Post Distinguished Service Award in 1992 and the 1997 Public Humanities Award presented by the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company Free For All is a highlight of Washington's theatre season, a traditional outing that attracts the city's most diverse audience. Championed by Kahn and Shakespeare Theatre Company founding chairman R. Robert Linowes, and made possible with invaluable support from The Washington Post, Philip L. Graham Fund and a committed group of community-minded sponsors, the Free For All proved an enormous success its first year, attracting more than 2,500 theatregoers each night. Succeeding summers have seen the Free For All build on its early promise, with audiences flocking to see some of Shakespeare's greatest plays—Much Ado about Nothing, Hamlet, Measure for Measure, Henry Vand King Lear—performed by the Shakespeare Theatre Company's actors and such guest artists as Sabrina LeBeauf, Kelly McGillis and Harry Hamlin.
Former Chair of the National Endowment of the Arts Jane Alexander, a frequent attendee at Free For All productions, enthuses about the program's importance to Washington: "I remember once when I was at the Free For All, there was a couple sitting next to me with a very, very young child, and I began to talk to them and I asked: 'Why are you here?' And they said, 'Where else would we have the opportunity to introduce our child to Shakespeare and be able to afford it?'"
 
Alexander sums up the sentiments shared by Kahn, the Shakespeare Theatre Company and the many generous individuals, foundations and corporations who make the Free For All possible each year: "The Free For All is a wonderful success for everybody involved ... not just for the Shakespeare Theatre Company, but for the entire city."

Past Free For All Productions

1. 2011: Julius Caesar
2. 2010: Twelfth Night
3. 2009: The Taming of the Shrew
4. 2008: Hamlet
5. 2007: Love's Labor's Lost
6. 2006: Pericles
7. 2005: A Midsummer Night's Dream
8. 2004: Much Ado about Nothing
9. 2003: Hamlet
10. 2002: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
11. 2001: King Lear
12. 2000: The Merchant of Venice
13. 1999: The Merry Wives of Windsor
14. 1998: All's Well That Ends Well
15. 1997: Henry V
16. 1996: Measure for Measure
17. 1995: Twelfth Night
18. 1994: Comedy of Errors
19. 1993: Much Ado about Nothing
20. 1992: As You Like It
21. 1991: The Merry Wives of Windsor

Resident Assistant Director Jenny Lord directs this, an adventure story that examines how far one will go to obtain the object of her heart’s desire. In Shakespeare’s moving comedy, Helena wants Bertram, and Bertram wants anything but marriage. With resourceful deception and ample persistence, our heroine Helena overcomes one obstacle after another in this year’s Free For All.

Click here for a full play synopsis.

"Lively comedy...springs brightly, joyfully to life."
Washington City Paper

"Featherweight charm ...suitably stuffed, as we'd expect, with humor, wit, and poetry."
DC Theatre Scene

"...a well-polished, amiable excursion..."
Theater Mania

“★★★★”
Metro Weekly

Free For All FAQ

Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your Free For All experience!

What is Free For All?
The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Free For All is a much-loved Washington tradition, offering free performances of a Shakespearean classic to the general public at Sidney Harman Hall in the heart of Washington, D.C.’s Penn Quarter.

So, it's really free?
Completely 100% FREE. Tickets cost nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Totally free Shakespeare? How is this possible?
Free For All is made possible by many incredible community-minded sponsors and partners, as well as individuals just like you! If you're interested in supporting the Free For All so we can continue to provide quality productions, consider joining the Friends of Free All. You get great benefits as well as the satisfaction of knowing you're helping to provide totally free Shakespeare for future generations.

Is the Free For All family friendly?
This year’s Free For All is very family friendly.  All’s Well That Ends Well is a show that anyone can attend.  Guardians should bring children out into the lobby if they are restless.

How many tickets are available?
There are 774 seats in Sidney Harman Hall. For each performance, a certain number of seats are designated to STC Subscribers, Friends of Free For All, students and other community partners through numerous outreach initiatives.

A minimum of 200 seats will be offered to the general public for each performance through our Ticket Line as well as many more given away through our Online Lottery.

How can I get Free For All tickets?
There are a number of ways you can secure tickets for the Free For All:

1. Become a Subscriber
   All 2012-2013 Season Subscribers have the ability to reserve seats in advance. Each subscriber can reserve two (2) Free For All tickets for every subscription seat they hold and have the ability to exchange their tickets.
2. Join Friends of Free For All 
   Gifts starting at $200 allow Friends to secure reserved seating in advance, receive program recognition and access our Patrons Lounge which includes complimentary beverages and snacks!
3. Enter the Online Lottery 
   For each performance, a select number of seats are given away to lucky lottery winners. See below for details.
4. Get in line instead of online
   Every day STC will make at least 200 tickets available the public in our Ticket Line at Sidney Harman Hall beginning approximately two (2) hours prior to curtain. Limit is two (2) tickets per person.  Remember to get there early! The line usually starts forming around 4:00 p.m.
5. Follow STC on Social Media
   Our Facebook and Twitter fans can tell you from experience that we like giving stuff away. Start following STC and keep an eye out for chances to secure VIP seating for the Free For All and updates on ticket distribution.

How does the Online Lottery work?
A block of tickets will be given away on our website via the ticket lottery for each performance. Entries can be submitted at ShakespeareTheatre.org by selecting your performance on our online calendar.

You may enter the daily lottery for each performance between 12:01 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. the day PRIOR to the performance you are interested in attending. (i.e. If you are interested in seeing All's Well That Ends Well on Saturday, August 20, you may enter the lottery starting at midnight on Friday, August 19, through 8:00 p.m. Friday, August 19.)

Winners will be chosen at random. The time you enter the lottery has no bearing on your chances of winning. Only one entry per account will be considered for the drawing. All entrants will receive an email after 8:00 p.m. the night before the performance. Limit two (2) tickets per winner.

If I win tickets through the online lottery, when can I pick them up?
Winners may pick up their tickets at the Sidney Harman Hall Box Office beginning two (2) hours prior to curtain on the day of their performance.
All tickets MUST be picked up no later than 30 minutes prior to curtain. Any unclaimed tickets will be released to the ticket line.
All attendees MUST be physically in their seats no later than 10 minutes prior to curtain. Any empty seats will be filled in by standby patrons. PLEASE NOTE: Jackets and bags do not count as bodies.

What if I’m a Subscriber or a member of Friends of Free For All?
Subscribers and Friends of Free For All who have not already received their tickets may pick up their tickets at the Sidney Harman Hall Box Office beginning two (2) hours prior to curtain on the day of their performance.

All tickets MUST be picked up no later than 30 minutes prior to curtain. Any unclaimed tickets will be released to the ticket line.
All attendees MUST be physically in their seats no later than 10 minutes prior to curtain. Any empty seats will be filled in by standby patrons. PLEASE NOTE: Jackets and bags do not count as bodies.

What happens if I win tickets through the online lottery, but cannot attend that performance?
Lottery winners may not exchange tickets. Tickets will be forfeited and you must enter the lottery again for another performance.
Subscribers and Friends of Free For All may exchange their FFA tickets for other performances of All’s Well That Ends Well.

What happens if I don't win tickets through the online lottery?
Fear not! If you didn't win tickets for the performance you want, a block of tickets is held for the general public and given away each day at the theatre for that day's performance. Simply come to Sidney Harman Hall and join other Free For All-ers in the Ticket Line.
And remember, you can always re-enter the online lottery for any Free For All performance.

Talk to me about this Ticket Line.
Back by popular demand, our Ticket Line is the best place to get in the spirit and share your love of Shakespeare, theatre or free stuff with other Free For All-ers. We'll be giving away coupons for local eateries and other fun stuff! You can also enter to win tickets to other fabulous STC productions and other swag given away before every show!

At least 200 seats will be made available to give away to the Ticket Line for each performance. This is also a great way to get tickets for a group. Limit of two (2) tickets per person.

Once I have my tickets, when can I take my seat?
Lobbies will open one hour prior to curtain and you may enter to use the restrooms or purchase concessions. The house will open 30 minutes prior to curtain and you may then take your seats.

All attendees MUST be physically in their seats no later than 10 minutes prior to curtain. Any empty seats will be filled in by standby patrons. PLEASE NOTE: Jackets and bags do not count as bodies.

Does Sidney Harman Hall have public facilities for those waiting in line?
Sidney Harman Hall restrooms will be accessible one hour prior to curtain for patrons who receive tickets. Public facilities are located in the National Portrait Gallery (located on F Street NW between 7th and 8th Streets NW) during museum hours (11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.).

Where can we get a bite to eat?
Penn Quarter is full of great restaurants for pre- or post-theatre dining. Visit our Dining Page for suggestions and make reservations through Open Table.
Concessions provided by Ridgewells are available beginning one hour prior to curtain and during intermission.

Ok. You've convinced me. Now, how do I get there?
The easiest way to visit Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW) is by taking Metro, the area’s extensive and easy-to-use public transportation system. Sidney Harman Hall is a block from the Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Judiciary Square stations. For Metro maps and times visit wmata.com.

Several parking garages are located around Sidney Harman Hall; rates and closing times vary, so please check with each individual garage.

For more information, click here.

                            Leadership Support                             

                             Additional Support                             

The Share Fund of The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region

                             In-Kind Support                             

Teaism

Zaytinya






Take Metrobus or Metrorail to Gallery Place/Chinatown
for the Free For All.

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.
+Acting Fellow of the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Artists subject to change.