About Us.

Who are we?

One of Shakespeare's Plays, No Director, One Rehearsal, in a Bar.

In Shakespeare’s theatre, the audience was an unruly bunch of drunks. His actors had no director and they rehearsed only fights and dances. We are a member of the Backroom Shakespeare Project collective, who has official chapters in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Similar groups are popping up in communities across the country and Shakespeare From The Ground is the newest inception in La Crosse, WI. The Project is a culture and a set of ideas that is quickly being replicated across the country.


We are working to put together a collective of local and regional actors who are willing to throw caution to the wind for one night as they tackle one of Shakespeare’s plays with no direction, and only one rehearsal before going on stage.

You’re invited to find out firsthand what happens when a group of dedicated actors who understand their work take one of Shakespeare's plays, eliminate the director, and are willing to step into the chaos.

Photo by Theresa Smerud for the La Crosse Community Theatre production of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]. September 2015.From Left to Right: Chuck Charbeneau, Devin Simko, and Matt Springer.Directed by Greg Parmeter, Scenic D…

Photo by Theresa Smerud for the La Crosse Community Theatre production of The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]. September 2015.

From Left to Right: Chuck Charbeneau, Devin Simko, and Matt Springer.

Directed by Greg Parmeter, Scenic Design by Dillon McArdle, Costume Design by Mandy Parmeter, Prop Design by Sara Adams.