Category: Featured

We are excited to open registration for Shakespeare Youth Festival 2027, to be presented in March of the upcoming year. If this will be your first time participating in a class, workshop, or production, please email us at speak@shakespeareyouthfestival.com to schedule an introductory meeting (phone/Zoom).

All rehearsals will be held at World City Center (3911 W Adams Blvd – just east of Crenshaw). Performances will be held at the Hudson Theatre (6539 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood)

Tuition for each participant is $800.
Finances should never be a barrier to participation – you may apply here: Financial Aid. If you have received financial aid in the past, please email us for details on continuing.

YOUTH ENSEMBLE – Play to be announced

Join our Youth Ensemble for grades 3–8, where our Players will have the opportunity to explore comedy and drama, and possibly even wield a sword! While the final play has not yet been chosen, we’ll select a piece that best fits our ensemble’s unique talents and energy. Students will build confidence, creativity, and teamwork as they bring the story to life!

For grades 3 through 9

TENTATIVE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
The following is our tentative rehearsal schedule. It will be finalized prior to the first day of rehearsal.
Saturdays from 1 pm to 3 pm
First rehearsal – Saturday, October 10
No rehearsal Thanksgiving weekend
Winter Break – December 26 and January 2
Retreat – Sunday, February 7 (extended afternoon rehearsal)
TECHS
Wednesday, February 17 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)
Saturday, March 20 (12:00 – 3:00 pm)
Monday, March 22 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)
Wednesday, March 24 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)

PERFORMANCES
Saturday, February 27
Sunday, February 28

Saturday, March 6
Sunday, March 7

TEEN ENSEMBLE – The Winter’s Tale

Our teens will be exploring love, loss, jealousy, and redemption as they bring Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale to life. King Leontes of Sicilia lets jealousy wreck his family—imprisoning his pregnant wife, Hermione, and abandoning their newborn daughter, Perdita. Sixteen years later, Perdita (now raised by shepherds in Bohemia) falls for the prince of Bohemia, and when the truth comes out, lost loved ones are reunited in a miraculous, heart-healing finale. 

For grades 8 through 12

TENTATIVE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
The following is our tentative rehearsal schedule. It will be finalized prior to the first day of rehearsal.
Saturdays from 3:30 to 5:30 pm
First rehearsal – Saturday, October 10
No rehearsal Thanksgiving weekend
Winter Break – December 26 and January 2
Retreat – Sunday, January 31 (extended afternoon rehearsal)
TECHS
Tuesday, February 16 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)
Thursday, February 18 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)
Tuesday, February 23 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)
Thursday, February 25 (4:30 – 7:30 pm)

PERFORMANCES

Saturday, March 6
Sunday, March 7

Saturday, March 13
Sunday, March 14

Please join us for our Renaissance Week production of “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Friday, July 24 at 6:00 pm
Saturday, July 25 at 2:00 pm

Performances will be held at Village Green (5300 Obama Blvd)

To get to the West Green, near 5461 Village Green, enter at Obama and Cloverdale, turn right, follow the interior road, park between Court 12 & 13, and then walk to the end of Court 12 and around the building at the end — we’ll be just on the other side. 

Bring blankets, chairs, food and drink — but please *don’t* bring your dogs–they aren’t allowed!

Please bring blankets and lawn chairs for seating! Free admission! Bring the whole family!!

WHAT IS RENAISSANCE WEEK?

We are delighted to present our 5th Annual Renaissance Week (aka “Ren Week”) production, inspired by a tradition at Staunton, Virginia’s American Shakespeare Center, where actors gather to explore a play according to the staging conditions in Shakespeare’s day. The following are some of the guiding principals of our process:

Natural Light 
Shakespeare’s actors rehearsed and performed outdoors, in daylight. This means that the actors can see the audience, making you an important part of the performance.

Short rehearsal periods 
Plays were generally mounted with just a few rehearsals; the actors would come to the first rehearsal already knowing their lines. Audiences loved coming to the early performances, knowing that the production was still being honed.

No directors 
Crafting the production was a collaborative effort, by a group of theatre artists who, like us, had worked together many times, and shared a history.

No designers 
Actors devised their own costumes from what was on-hand – back then, it was often discarded clothing from their supporting patrons!!

We are excited to announce our new season – three plays, to be presented in March of 2026, at the beautiful Hudson Theatre Backstage (6539 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038). The Box Office is now open – reserve your tickets today!

CYMBELINE

Can’t decide which is your favorite Shakespearean plot device? We’ve got ‘em all! Mistaken identities and secret marriages; banishment and betrayal, long-lost siblings; potions, prophecies, and divine intervention; murder, war … and a happy ending that ties up ALL the loose ends!

Saturday, February 28 at 1 pm
Sunday, March 1 at 5 pm

Saturday, March 7 at 1 pm
Sunday, March 8 at 5 pm

ROMEO AND JULIET

A long-simmering feud between two rival families comes to a boil when young Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet try to step across the line drawn in the sand. One of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, no matter how many times we see it, we still hold out hope that this time it will end differently.

Saturday, February 28 at 5 pm
Sunday, March 1 at 1 pm

Saturday, March 7 at 5 pm
Sunday, March 8 at 1 pm

COMEDY OF ERRORS

Talk about coincidence – two sets of identical twins, separated at birth, end up in the same city, unleashing misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and utter chaos, until all is resolved in the happiest of happy endings!

Saturday, March 14 at 2 pm
Sunday, March 15 at 2 pm

Saturday, March 21 at 2 pm
Sunday, March 22 at 2 pm

We’ll be opening registration for our 2026 Summer program soon. Meanwhile, if you are interested, please fill out the form below, and we will notify you as soon as registration is live!

We are pleased to announce that registration for Shakespeare Youth Festival LA ’25 is now open. We are tentatively announcing two plays, however, we reserve the right to change our selection, or add a new section/play to best suit the needs of our students.

If this will be your first time participating in an SYF program, please email us at speak@shakespeareyouthfestival.com to schedule an introductory meeting (phone/Zoom).

All rehearsals will be held at World City Center (3911 W Adams Blvd – just east of Crenshaw). Performances are tentatively scheduled at the Hudson Theatre (6539 Santa Monica Blvd).

Tuition for each participant is $750. 
Finances should never be a barrier to participation – we encourage you to apply for Financial Aid. If you have received financial aid in the past, please email us for details on continuing.

COMEDY OF ERRORS

Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors is a fast-paced play about the mix-ups that happen when two sets of identical twins who were separated at birth end up in the same city without realizing it. This leads to all sorts of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and utter chaos, until all is resolved in the happiest of happy endings!.

For grades 3 through 8 (in Fall 2025)

REHEARSALS
Saturdays from 1 pm to 3 pm
First rehearsal – Saturday, October 18
No rehearsal Thanksgiving weekend
Winter Break – December 27 and January 3
Retreat – Sunday, February 22 (extended afternoon rehearsal)
Techs (4:30 to 7:30 pm)-
Tuesday, March 3
Thursday, March 5
Tuesday, March 10
Thursday, March 12

PERFORMANCES
Saturday, March 14 at 2 pm
Sunday, March 15 at 2 pm

Saturday, March 21 at 2 pm
Sunday, March 22 at 2 pm

CYMBELINE

Can’t decide which is your favorite Shakespearean plot device? Try Cymbeline – it’s got them all! Overpowering parents and rebellious children; mistaken identities and secret marriages; exile and false accusations; long-lost siblings; potions, prophecies, and divine intervention; murder, war, poison … and another happy ending that ties up ALL the loose ends!

For grades 8 through 12 (in Fall 2025)

REHEARSALS
Saturdays from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
First rehearsal – Saturday, October 11
No rehearsal Thanksgiving weekend
Winter Break – December 27 and January 3
Retreat – Sunday, February 8 (extended afternoon rehearsal)
Techs (4:30 to 7:30 pm):
Wednesday, February 18
Friday, February 20
Monday, February 23
Wednesday, February 25

PERFORMANCES
Saturday, February 28 at 5 pm
Sunday, March 1 at 5 pm

Saturday, March 7 at 5 pm
Sunday, March 8 at 5 pm

We are excited to announce our new season – three plays, to be presented in March of 2025, at the beautiful Hudson Theatre Backstage (6539 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90038). The Box Office is now open – reserve your tickets today!

TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA

Meet Proteus and Valentine in the OG “bro-mantic comedy.”

Saturday, March 8 at 2 pm
Sunday, March 9 at 2 pm

Saturday, March 15 at 2 pm
Sunday, March 16 at 2 pm

TROILUS AND CRESSIDA

Set against the backdrop of post-apocalyptic LA, it’s the anti-Romeo & Juliet …

Saturday, March 22 at 5 pm
Sunday, March 23 at 5 pm

Saturday, March 29 at 5 pm
Sunday, March 30 at 5 pm

AS YOU LIKE IT

Cross-dressing women, a professional “fool,” and mass weddings galore.

Saturday, March 22 at 1 pm
Sunday, March 23 at 1 pm

Saturday, March 29 at 1 pm
Sunday, March 30 at 1 pm