Youth Shakes

Youth Shakes is BACK!

Youth Shakes is an after-school program that equips students to rehearse and perform their own version of a classic play! Directed by a professional teaching artist, students dig into the language, develop their characters, and ultimately perform on the main Seattle Shakespeare stage.

We perform the same productions being performed on the main stage. Students get to share the same set and enjoy a company potluck dinner where they can meet and talk with the adult counterparts playing the same roles.

“Not only have I learned a lot of things in this program that have specifically benefited my life, I've also learned things that I can pass on to other students. Which is amazing.”

“I was so thrilled that she had the experience of not only loving the role and the play, but also loving the experience and the people. Thank you for creating that space for kids.”

Currently Registering

Toxicity, nurture, growth, love, rage, and plague. This spring, we turn to Shakespeare’s famous story of young lovers to help us understand the seasons of change we find ourselves in now.

Centering on the story of two young heirs suffering under the weight of familial obligations and expectations, Romeo and Juliet find peace and understanding in one another. When their pleas for understanding and acceptance fall on deaf ears, the consequences prove dire.

Ages: 13-19*

Enrollment Fee: $685/$585/$485 (additional tuition assistance available, no questions asked. Email us for details)

Enrollment Deadline: Monday, March 18, 2024 (or when full) 

Start Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2024 @ 6pm 

Schedule:

  • Rehearsals: 6:00-8:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, including May 9 (No rehearsal April 6 – April 14 (Spring Break), and May 16 )
  • Additional Rehearsals: Sunday, April 28 from 6:00pm-8:30pm, Monday, April 29 from 6:00-8:30pm 
  • The performers featured in combat scenes have an additional rehearsal on Monday, April 22 
  • The performers playing Romeo and Juliet have additional rehearsals on Sunday, March 31 and Sunday, April 21 from 6:00-8:30pm 
  • Players Feast: Sunday, May 5 
  • Optional Shakespearean Text Rehearsal: 3/24 @ 6:00-8:30pm 
Tech Rehearsals: May 6 – 7, and May 12 -15 (Invited Dress) from 6:00-9:00pm 

Performances: May 17th @ 5pm, May 18th @ 11am, and May 19th @ 7pm
 
*Additional ages may be added on a case-by-case basis.

Past Productions

Adapted and Directed by: Anna Klein
Stage Manager: Ava Schmidt
Production Coordinator: Tatyana Emery
Lighting: Clint Bull
Properties Designer: Robin Macartney
Dialect Coach: Rowan Gallagher
Photos by: Spencer Dykstra
Show poster by: Kayla Brooks
 
CAST:
  • Falstaff: Rudolph
  • Mistress Ford: Ruby 
  • Mistress Page: Natalie
  • Page: Fish
  • Ford: Adrian
  • Doctor Caius: Rose
  • Sir Hugh Evans: Sefira
  • Fenton / Pistol: Ena
  • Anne Page / William Page: Arwyn
  • Slender: Kai
  • Shallow / Simple: Nora
  • Mistress Quickly: Eila
  • Nym / Host: Alice