State: CA

THE BEST WE COULD BE by Thi Bui will help teen and adult San Diegans understand more about what it means to be an immigrant here, through one family’s personal experience. Opportunities to explore immigration, displacement, family, one’s place in one’s community, war, and memoir will be provided in libraries and classrooms via book discussions, visual art and writing workshops, and other events.

To present a youth production of the play The House on Mango Street adapted by Amy Ludwig, based on the book of the same name by Sandra Cisneros.

Inspired by Andrew Krivak's The Bear with its homage to earth, wilderness, and survival, our Big Read project will explore the theme of WHERE WE LIVE with programming that will honor our homeland of Lake County, California. With our community, we will explore our local resources, landscapes, and survival skills while turning to The Bear for meaningful discussions.

The FY24/25 NEA Big Read Program in LA will offer activities to explore ourselves and the places we shape and that shape us. More than two thousand high-school students in seven schools participate. DCA Neighborhood Arts Centers will offer afterschool programs, and 15 community non-profits will host creative activities and field trips. The Los Angeles Public Library will lead adult reading groups.

Since 1978, Theatricum Botanicum has performed Shakespeare's plays for primary and secondary school audiences from LA County. In 2024-25, through field trips and school assemblies, students will experience professional productions of the plays, living history presentations with actors portraying William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth, and theatre workshops led by Theatricum's teaching artists.

Shakespeare on Tour will perform "Romeo & Juliet" for ~ 50 middle and high schools, over 5 of which with a majority of students coming from under-resourced communities. These fully staged one-hour productions consist solely of Shakespeare’s language and include teacher curriculum provided in advance in addition to post show actor Q&As and opportunity for supplemental actor-led Playshops.

The Center for the Arts, "The Center," will tour a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to local schools in socio-economically disadvantaged areas in our rural, remote community. The production will be interactive with audience participation and include twelve actors that would tour to middle schools.

Marin Shakespeare Company will provide a free, 1-hour, bilingual adaptation of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. In this romantic comedy, the men will mainly speak Spanish and the women English, adding a new layer to Shakespeare's comedy. Student groups may also receive free transportation and pre- and post-show classroom visits from actors. Our region has a high number of Spanish-speaking students.

During our 24/25 season, A Noise Within will produce MACBETH for student and general audiences. Through performances, workshops, and residencies, we will reach 45 schools and 4,500 students, introducing students to live theatre and Shakespeare and exploring the themes of MACBETH.

n 2023, our 50th year, Theatricum will offer A Midsummer Night's Dream and an adaptation of the history plays from Henry IV-Richard III to schools in our 299-seat outdoor theatre....