Shakespeare…in Spanish…in Masks…
…In Mexico.
April 23, 2021. It is Shakespeare’s 457th Birthday. I’m in Mexico. The state? Guanajuato. The city? San Miguel de Allende. The reason?
As if I needed one.
The Shakespeare Youth Festival 2021 has not yet met live, so — for the first time — we are running our 15th Festival Season online. When there aren’t storms and wifi glitches, I am able to co-direct and witness performances by our Los Angeles Players from 1400 miles away. Now that they are preserved in the ethers, you can witness the shows as well.
Add to that — I am also walking a mile up hilly cobblestoned roads to meet new kids — 8th & 9th Graders here in Mexico, who elected to emerge from their casas to gather in the patio of their school with me — for the first time in a year.
What could have motivated such a bold move on their part?
Hamlet. And their amazing teacher, Elsanne Barrows (Also a world renown tribal belly dancer — because great teachers do…AND teach!
Elsanne clearly had the trust of her students: when she reached out to them about gathering live for a random Shakespeare workshop…
