This year, the National Endowment for the Arts is promoting an unprecedented 15-month, 100-city tour of Shakespearean drama. The idea for the tour came from former NEA chairman Michael Hammond, and was brought to fruition by the NEA’s current bundle of energy, Dana Gioia. According to Gioia, “the NEA is hoping to ‘revive the tradition of touring theater, which has been in jeopardy.’ By making connections between touring companies and local presenters, he says, ‘we’re creating a circuit that I hope these companies can go back to.'”