In a move that has some hoping Boston may one day be home to a resident year-round Shakespeare company, the Wang Center for the Performing Arts and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) have announced a new partnership that will see them combining their infrastructure and overhead.

The two organizations have been working together since 2001, when the Wang signed up as a sponsor for the free summer Shakespeare performances that CSC has staged on Boston Common since 1997. But this new arrangement represents a more substantial and long-term commitment, with an eye cast toward CSC’s expansion.

" The Wang Center thought that CSC’s work was an extremely important thing for the city of Boston, and that as one of the major cultural institutions in the city, we wanted to see it maintained, " says Wang Center president and CEO Josiah A. Spaulding Jr. " In the cultural [and economic] climate we’re all in, strong organizations are going to get stronger by collaborating more. "

Says CSC artistic director Steven Maler, " This’ll be our eighth year on Boston Common producing Shakespeare. We drew audiences last year of about 50,000 people to see Henry V. [Audiences have grown steadily by 5000 to 10,000 every summer.] But for us to be able to expand beyond what we’re currently doing, we would have to triple our current infrastructure. That just seems foolish and wasteful in the climate we’re in now. Whereas the Wang Center has a fantastic development staff, they have a fantastic marketing staff, Joe is a highly respected leader in town, and his support and his encouragement of this organization have meant a tremendous amount in the past couple of years. It just makes so much sense to pool our efforts and move forward. "

The arrangement means that the CSC will be able to move from its current digs in a small Chinatown loft and get the office space and support services it needs in the Wang’s Tremont Street location. Even better, it will gain expertise in development, marketing, and communications. It will also hand over its community-outreach duties to the Wang’s education program, Suskind Young at Arts. " They’re better qualified to do what we’ve been doing, " says Maler of the Suskind program, " and they can do it with more rigor and more depth and more consistency than what we’ve been capable of doing. "

For its part, the Wang is looking first to lengthen the CSC’s summer season and then to expand its educational mandate so as to be in schools throughout the year. Furthermore, as the partnership grows, Spaulding and Maler are considering the possibility of building CSC into a year-round Shakespearean company that would stage productions at the Wang’s sister, the Shubert Theatre.

" We’re making sure that Steven doesn’t have to worry about his budget, " Spaulding says. Last year, the CSC’s income budget was some $520,000, about $375,000 of which went toward Shakespeare on the Common, with the remainder going toward educational outreach and administrative costs. Spaulding continues, " The budget, whatever the budget’s going to be, becomes the Wang Center’s responsibility to raise and spend. We take over the financial obligation, and with Steven — who runs the artistic side, and everything else, as a matter of fact — we’re going to expand and expand ... building to the point of having Shakespeare inside during the regular season at the Shubert. " He cautions that " we’re going to take it as it comes and work on it, but the planning stages are being discussed right now. We have no definite plans at this moment. "

Some changes, like a longer season on the Common, may come as early as this year. After that, says Maler, " My hope is that the audience will see more and more as we get further into the partnership. What we envision is going to take time, and it’s going to take funding. The Wang Center can’t be the only one at the table here. We need to broaden the base. But that’s something Joe and his staff will be fantastic at doing. "

In the current inhospitable economic climate, this new model of two organizations pooling their resources to make the best use of every donation should appeal to potential benefactors. The Boston Foundation announced last week the creation of a task force that will look to unite the disparate factions of the city’s far-flung arts community to make the most of scarce resources. The Wang Center and CSC have already taken a step in that direction.

" This partnership is one that Joe and I have been building for two years at least, " Maler points out. " It’s not a knee-jerk reaction by any means. It’s a very thoughtful, deliberate, cautious, and clear decision that we’ve made, that we think makes a lot of sense.

" Suffice it to say that state and city funding isn’t what it used to be, " Spaulding adds. " Now here’s two strong organizations banding together to save on overhead so that when we go to get foundation support or city and state support, we’ll be able to show those organizations that we’re maximizing giving. "

" It really offers a unique opportunity for donors — for foundations and corporations — to see their dollars go directly into what you see on Boston Common, or directly into our educational-outreach workshops, " Maler concludes. " It’s a great model. "