SYF awarded two grants from California Arts Council

SYF awarded two grants from California Arts Council

The California Arts Council has announced a grant award of $18,000 to Shakespeare Youth Festival as part of its Impact Project program in its first round of funding for 2022.

Thanks to this generous support, in Fall 2023, we will launch a multigenerational community project between our students, and elder members of the West Adams community, consisting of meaningful interviews transformed into short plays, spoken word, poetry, monologues culminating in free performances for the community.

“The pandemic created a risk of isolation and depression in many of our community’s elders – as life moved ‘online,’ seniors, especially low-income seniors, risked being left out of many of the activities that would normally have provided them with connection,” says Blaire Baron, our Artistic Director. “Now that we can begin emerging out of our isolation, we want to send a message to them that we value their experience, their memories, and their wisdom. Being seen and heard, having one’s story told for others, and acknowledgement from one’s community is a profound stabilizing, healing and uplifting event.”

In addition, Shakespeare Youth Festival will receive a General Operating grant of $28,500. We are deeply grateful for this support, which will enable us to continue to expand our programs to pre-pandemic levels and beyond.

Shakespeare Youth Festival was featured as part of a larger announcement from the California Arts Council, with grant awards for its Cycle A programming totaling more than $31 million across more than 1,100 grants supporting nonprofit organizations and units of government throughout the state. The dollar amount already marks the largest annual investment in the California Arts Council’s 46-year history.

“We are elated today to be able to say that, with this first round of funds, we are placing a historic amount of money into the very worthy hands of California’s arts and cultural workforce—and with more yet to come,” said California Arts Council Chair Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez. “We have long since understood the value of our artists in this state, and we are incredibly grateful to our Governor and our Legislature for their support and sharing in a like-minded vision for a California where all people flourish with access to and participation in the arts.”

Organizations were awarded grants across seven different program areas within Cycle A, focused on the CAC’s efforts to address geographic equity, enable autonomy and sustainability for smaller organizations, and grow the strength of local arts agencies and their partnerships.

To view a complete listing of all California Arts Council grantees by county, visit this link.

For a complete listing of grantees by organization, go to this link.

The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.

Members of the California Arts Council include: Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez, Chair; Consuelo Montoya, Vice Chair; Gerald Clarke, Vicki Estrada, Jodie Evans, Ellen Gavin, Alex Israel, Phil Mercado, and Roxanne Messina Captor. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.

The California Arts Council is committed to increasing the accessibility of its online content. For language and accessibility assistance, click here.

The Wild World of Shakespeare!

The Wild World of Shakespeare!

Come to ACT, to listen, to move and to CREATE A SHOW in less than two hours. That’s right! Shakespeare is not just strange words on a page – it’s a living adventure with many wild stories and they include YOU!

Walk away from this workshop filled with excitement for Shakespeare and storytelling!

Thursday, June 9 from 3:30 to 5:00 pm

FREE and Open to Grades 2 through 8

Jefferson Branch
Los Angeles Public Library

2211 W. Jefferson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90018

Thinking about joining us for the Summer? This workshop is a great way to get acquainted with Shakespeare, and learn what Shakespeare Youth Festival is all about. If you have questions, please email us at speak@shakespeareyouthfestival.com




RSVP for The Wild World of Shakespeare

Summer with SYF 2022

Summer with SYF 2022

Registration is now open for Summer with SYF 2022 – a fantastic way to introduce kids to Shakespeare!

Each session meets Monday through Friday, and culminates with a recital, sharing the work with parents, friends and the community.

We believe that every child who is drawn to this work should be able to participate, so this Summer, tuition will be Pay-What-You-Can. If you are able to pay something, your contribution will help us reach more children!

SHAKESPEARE & MYTHOLOGY

SHAKESPEARE & MYTHOLOGY

This week, we will have a blast as we explode our minds with new ideas…while acting our hearts out.  

To Shakespeare’s characters, Magic is real and Myths are no metaphor. In earlier times, our eyes looked above and below for help and guidance. Our stories involved the Gods and Goddesses of Earth, Sky and Sea – as well as magical potions, mischievous fairies, sprites and scary spirits.  Not only will we get to dive into playing other worldly characters in Shakespeare’s plays, but we  get to share our favorite myths together, exploring their relevance in our lives; Why do such conspiracies abound around the Bard?  We will engage daily in discussion on Myths, Oral Traditions and how a “story” could turn a corner and become a collective Truth.  

ACTING EXPLORATIONS
Our plays may include:

  • Love’s Labours Lost (Greek Play Within a Play)
  • Troilus and Cressida (Trojans vs Greeks)
  • Cymbeline (visitation of Jupiter and the Oracle)
  • Hamlet (as inspired by Orestes)
  • I Henry IV – Glendower (Wizard of Wales)
  • I Henry VI – Joan La Pucelle (Joan of Arc & spirits)
  • 2 Henry VI – (Wizards, Apparitions, Gloucester’s wife, 7 witches)
  • 3 Henry VI – (curses and prophecies)
  • Julius Caesar (ghost, portents, supernatural storms)

GRADES 2 through 8 (Fall 2022)

DATES
July 18 – 22
Monday through Friday – 10 am to 3 pm

LOCATION
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
4100 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90056

COST
Pay what you can.
We believe that every child who is drawn to this work should be able to participate. If you are able to pay something, your contribution will help us reach more children!

SAFETY PROTOCOL
– Camp will take place entirely outdoors.
– All staff over 16 years of age are fully vaccinated
– Because we are outdoors, masks will not be required. Participants are welcome to wear them, if they would prefer to do so. There may be exercises where we suggest that they remove their masks and implement social distancing. 
– Kenneth Hahn has bathrooms with hand-washing facilities. SYF will provide soap, disposable towels, and hand sanitizer, to assure that campers can follow proper hygiene practices.

SHAKESPEARE AND MUSIC

SHAKESPEARE AND MUSIC

We’ll be gathering in the wide open park of Kenneth Hahn – to create and listen to… the sound of music! 

LISTENING EXPERIENCES

We play excerpts from the best operas, ballets and musicals, inspired by Shakespeare, composing our own movement pieces in response.

  • Mendelssohn – A Midsummer Night’s Dream Wedding March
  • Danish composer Niel Gade – Hamlet Overture
  • Prokofiev – Romeo and Juliet
  • Dvořák – Othello Overture
  • Verdi – Macbeth
  • William Walton – Henry V
  • West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate, Boys From Syracuse, Something Rotten

MOVEMENT EXPERIENCES

  • We will learn a traditional 16th Century Dance, applying to music above. 
  • We will explode out of structure and do freestyle movement juxtaposed against Renaissance style music. 

ACTING EXPERIENCES (Scenes & Song with live instruments supporting) 

  • Two Gentleman of Verona
  • Antony and Cleopatra  
  • Cymbeline
  • Othello 

GRADES 2 through 8 (Fall 2022)

DATES
July 11 – 15
Monday through Friday – 10 am to 3 pm

LOCATION
Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area
4100 S La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90056

COST
Pay what you can.
We believe that every child who is drawn to this work should be able to participate. If you are able to pay something, your contribution will help us reach more children!



SAFETY PROTOCOL
– Camp will take place entirely outdoors.
– All staff over 16 years of age are fully vaccinated
– Because we are outdoors, masks will not be required. Participants are welcome to wear them, if they would prefer to do so. There may be exercises where we suggest that they remove their masks and implement social distancing.
– Kenneth Hahn has bathrooms with hand-washing facilities. SYF will provide soap, disposable towels, and hand sanitizer, to assure that campers can follow proper hygiene practices.

Shakespeare Youth Festival 2022

Shakespeare Youth Festival 2022

Face Everything And Rise might look like an acronym for FEAR, but it is exactly what Hermione (Winter’s Tale) and Hero (Much Ado) must do against extreme power and misogyny—at the hands of the one they loved and trusted. They have great reason to fear, but with the help of a few good allies, they rise to  goddess-like status. These metaphors presented 400 years ago are still relevant for us in 2022. Come rise with us. 

The Winter’s Tale

Friday, March 18 at 7 pm
Saturday, March 19 at 7 pm
Sunday, March 20 at 2 pm

Friday, March 25 at 7 pm
Saturday, March 26 at 7 pm
Sunday, March 27 at 2 pm

Much Ado about Nothing

Friday, April 1 at 7 pm
Saturday, April 2 at 2 pm
Sunday, April 3 at 2 pm

All performances will take place at:

Fais Do Do
5253 W Adams Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016


COVID POLICIES

To keep our (unmasked) actors safe, we require that all audience members present proof of vaccination (or recent COVID test) upon admission, and remain masked throughout the performance. To keep our audience safe, we will be limiting the number of tickets sold at each performance, so that we may preserve social distancing in the audience.

Much Ado about Nothing

Much Ado about Nothing

The sincere Hero (kind girl) is loved by Claudio (dashing soldier) – but through sheer malice, she’s framed as “deceitful” in a trick crafted by the jealous and disgruntled Don John. Hero is dumped at the altar until her bestie Beatrice (forceful independent upstart) insists on getting justice for Hero!  What follows is both shocking and funny, with Beatrice herself finding a soul mate in her arch rival, Benedick. This classic Shakespeare comedy comes complete with a whole pack of full and colorful characters like the impossibly charming Don Pedro, the devious and mischievous Borachio, the hilariously inept Constable Dogberry, and more, and an ending that satisfies … after some hairpin plot twists!
Ages: 2nd grade through 7th grade

SATURDAYS – 3:30 PM TO 5:30 PM

Rehearsals begin: October 30th
Winter Break: December 18 – January 7 (Rehearsals resume January 8)
Additional rehearsals (tentative): Sunday, February 27; Monday, February 28; Wednesday, March 9. Sunday, March 6; Monday, March 7; Wednesday, March 9.
Performances: March 12 & 13, March 19 & 20
Rehearsal location: World City Center – 3911 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018

Tuition: $625
We believe that every child who is drawn to this work should be able to participate, so we offer a variety of scholarships – click here for the application form and guidelines. Please do not hesitate to apply!

The Winter’s Tale

The Winter’s Tale

Our veterans have requested this complex problem play, as it explores deep and unexplainable mental afflictions, idiosyncrasies, and behaviors in our natures. In other words – this could happen to us! . We will be working with our Players as they create their own take on this play, and provide input on how the characters are portrayed, including non-binary and LGBT possibilities.
Ages: 8th grade and up

SATURDAYS – 1:00 PM TO 3:00 PM

Rehearsals begin: October 30th
Winter Break: December 18 – January 7 (Rehearsals resume January 8)
Additional rehearsals (tentative): Sunday, February 27; Sunday, March 6; Monday, March 7; Wednesday, March 9; Monday, March 14; Wednesday, March 16;
Performances: March 18, 19 & 20, March 25, 26 & 27
Rehearsal location: World City Center – 3911 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018

Tuition: $625
We believe that every child who is drawn to this work should be able to participate, so we offer a variety of scholarships – click here for the application form and guidelines. Please do not hesitate to apply!

THIS CLASS IS FULL – IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PLACED ON THE WAITING LIST, PLEASE EMAIL US.

Summer with SYF

Summer with SYF

Registration is now open for Summer with SYF 2021 – a fantastic way to introduce kids to Shakespeare!

Each session meets Monday through Friday, and culminates with a recital, sharing the work with parents, friends and the community.

We believe that every child who is drawn to this work should be able to participate, so we offer a variety of scholarships – click here for the application form and guidelines. Please do not hesitate to apply!