South L.A. youth set ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in 1920s Mexico

Next month, the Young Shakespeareans (TYS), a Los Angeles-based organization that helps students in underserved communities produce high-quality theatrical and performing arts productions, will host “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a theatrical play set in 1920s Mexico based on the comedy play written by William Shakespeare. 

The TYS branch of Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School in South Central Los Angeles will perform the play on April  3 and 4. The majority of the performers, producers and designers are Latino youth. 

The TYS partners with various schools in South L.A., including West Vernon Avenue Elementary School, John Adams Middle School and Orthopedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School, to deliver on-site, after-school theater arts programs. 

When it was founded in 2010, the organization looked to create space for youth to engage in rigorous training, production and performances that help build their confidence and empower them to showcase adapted plays in the English language. 

In Spring 2023, a production design team of TYS high school alumni was hired to design a new production for "A Midsummer Night's Dream," creating a soundtrack, scenics, and costumes evoking 1920s post-revolutionary Mexico that celebrated their families' culture and heritage. 

TYS students of Orthopaedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School host three showtimes for their “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” adaptation. On Thursday, there will be two separate showtimes, one at 9:30 a.m and one at 11:45 p.m. The following day, on Friday, one performance will be offered at 5:30 p.m.

The event is free to the public, but an RSVP is required to attend. 

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Nadja Hoyer-Booth at TheYoungShakespeareans@gmail.com.