MISSION-VISION-HISTORY | Young Shakespeareans

To unleash the potential of children in underserved neighborhoods through challenging programs proven to build confidence, embolden ambition & empower futures.

To attract attention to & investment in underserved children by showcasing their remarkable performances of the challenging works of the English-speaking world's most revered playwright.

OUR MISSION

OUR VISION

A learning community employing theatre arts to maximize children's academic, social, and aesthetic potential;

Program delivery onsite at neighborhood schools leading to increased family access, student attendance, and neighborhood commitment and pride;

Increased student compassion, self-awareness, and social-emotional literacy through analysis and understanding of dramatic literature and universal themes;

Cooperative participation of students, parents, faculty, administrators, and neighbors of all ages and socio-economic groups;

Increased Corporate and Institutional attention and investment in our inner-city communities;

Public commitment supporting high expectations for all children, regardless of ethnicity, origin, native language, or income level.

OUR HISTORY

"The streets are waiting for our kids."

We hear this too often from too many in Los Angeles' inner-city neighborhoods that are disproportionately impacted by poverty, homelessness, and gang violence.

In 2010, our Founder witnessed how just 12 weeks of Theatre Arts at Nevin Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles produced an inspired performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream", drastically transforming a group of 4th+5th graders, their school, and their entire neighborhood. It was stunning and unmistakable.

The program clearly brought value for the children, anchored and lifted the neighborhood. Realizing the potential to also attract support for South Los Angeles from the broader community, our Founder developed and piloted a curriculum to provide early and formative intervention, raise students’ awareness of their innate talents, and create a positive peer community where they could safely explore their potential and expand their sense of possibility.

In 2017, Nevin was joined by West Vernon Avenue Elementary School, and in 2019 when alumni from both found themselves together at John Adams Middle School, they lobbied their Principal to bring the Program there. That year also brought specialty workshops in Stage Action that would eventually become "Shakespearean Sports".

2020 pandemic lock-downs demanded a quick, agile pivot to online program delivery that culminated in a Zoomie of "Romeo & Juliet".

2021 saw Live-Streams of students performing from their homes on Unified Virtual Stages with Scenics (created by fellow students) wearing illustrated virtual costumes (also created by fellow students and animated by a volunteer team of Snap Official Lens Creators from across the globe).

2022 yielded two productions of "Macbeth" - a Middle School Zoomie in English with Spanish supertitles, and a Short Film created by a team of masked students from 3 different High Schools pantomiming to text they recorded.

Finally back fully on site in Spring 2023, a Production Design Team of TYS High School Alumni was hired to design a new production for West Vernon Avenue 4th & 5th graders' performances of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". They chose to create a soundtrack, scenics, and costumes evoking 1920's Post-Revolutionary Mexico that celebrated their families' culture and heritage.

2024 saw the launch of "Shakespearean Sports" in TYS' first Middle School Summer Program and at our first Partner School in North Hollywood. "Romeo & Juliet" was presented in two Elementary School productions, one an action-packed version and the other to a hip-hop soundtrack, with a total of 7 Student Alumni hired as Teaching, Technical, and Costuming Assistants.

Joined by a new Executive Director and Social Media team including the USC House of Victory Trojans, we move forward with enthusiasm and confidence - ONWARD!

Proud fiscal-sponsor of

The Young Shakespeareans