JACKSON (March 29, 2011) -- In an effort to support the mission of non-profit organizations around the state while promoting its 2011 season, the Michigan Shakespeare Festival announced today that it is partnering with eight organizations as part of its “Great Theatre, Great Causes” campaign.

Beginning April 1, the MSF will donate a percentage from tickets sold online using specific codes issued to participating organizations. The promotion continues through William Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23.

“Being a non-profit organization ourselves, we know how difficult it can be to find funding during these economic times,” MSF Chief Operating Officer Richard Griffis said. “The more we thought about our marketing budget for this season, the more we realized that we could spend money on advertising or we could direct the same amount of money to some very worthy organizations and hopefully still achieve our sales objectives.”

The 17th anniversary season of the Michigan Shakespeare Festival is scheduled for July 14 through August 7 and includes Shakespeare classics Much Ado about Nothing, and A Winter’s Tale and Moliere’s ridiculous comedy Tartuffe. All shows are being held in the Baughman Theatre on the campus of Jackson Community College.

Participating organizations include: Adrian Community Preschool (use code ACPS2011), American Red Cross (ARC2011), Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS2011), Boy Scouts of America (BSA2011), Highfields (HF2011), Jackson School of the Arts (JSA2011), National Alliance on Mental Illness/Washtenaw County (NAMI2011) and United Way Women’s Leadership Council (UW2011).

Individual tickets are $36-$30 and must be purchased online at www.MichiganShakespeareFestival.com. Season subscriptions are also available, starting at $80.