HERO Theatre Announces Commission of Contemporary Translation of A Midsummer Night's Dream Sponsored by Play On Shakespeare!

HERO Theatre has commissioned a new translation of William Shakespeare's beloved comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The new commission is sponsored by Play On Shakespeare. The core creative team for the translation includes HERO Founding Company members Korey Jackson and Elisa Bocanegra, alongside HERO Advisory Council members Daniel Alexander Jones and Diana Burbano. Jones will compose original music for the production, Burbano will serve as production dramaturg, and Jackson is set to direct.

A Midsummer Night's Dream marks HERO Theatre's first translation sponsorship and third collaboration with Play On Shakespeare, having produced a reading of Play On's Macbeth translated by Migdalia Cruz, and co-produced a virtual presentation of Twelfth Night with The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) and Play On Shakespeare that was featured extensively on OSF's streaming channel, O.

"We are thrilled to be sponsoring this exciting translation endeavor with our friends at HERO theatre." States Taylor Bailey, Interim Executive Director at Play On Shakespeare. "As part of our mission, we want to normalize translation as a way to keep these stories alive for generations to come, and sponsoring these commissions with partner theatres is a strategic way to achieve that goal. We can't wait to see what HERO does with Midsummer."

HERO Theatre has a long history of reimagining the classics to champion voices that need to be heard now. By focusing on uplifting communities that have been harmed and underrepresented, HERO Theatre strives to create art that speaks to these communities and allows them to feel seen and represented authentically. This translation is not HERO's first foray into translating and adapting Shakespeare's work, as it follows their 2023 production of Nothing, Nothing, an adaptation with music of Much Ado About Nothing set in the first historic black church in Pasadena and written by Amina Henry.

Play On Shakespeare is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the understanding of Shakespeare's plays in performance by commissioning and championing contemporary translations and adaptations of the plays . Since its inception in 2015, Play On Shakespeare has commissioned dozens of contemporary playwrights and translators to translate 39 Shakespeare plays into modern English, with a majority of the commissions being helmed by BIPOC and women playwrights.

Elisa Bocanegra is a Puerto Rican artist and the founder of HERO Theatre. Her work with HERO Theatre has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and American Theatre magazine. She also won the TCG Leadership U Grant, the nation's largest grant of its kind, for her work with HERO Theatre. This allowed her to be part of the Leadership Team at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for two seasons, where she first met Play On Shakespeare Co-Founder Lue Douthit. Bocanegra is the creator and curator of Nuestro Planeta, which focuses on educating audiences about environmental justice within the Americas. Recent stage directing credits include THE YOUNG DOLPHINS, Nuestro Planeta: COLOMBIA, Luzmi; NOTHING, NOTHING; and TROY, a modern retelling of THE TROJAN WOMEN about women and houselessness in Los Angeles. As an actor, her first film, GIRLFIGHT, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at the Sundance Film Festival. She recurs on Season 2 of Peacock TV's Based On A True Story. Other credits include Apple TV's Physical starring Rose Byrne, and Netflix's Christmas With You. She has extensive experience performing at major theaters nationwide and at The Roundabout Theatre Company in New York.

Diana Burbano is a Colombian immigrant playwright, actor, and arts advocate, named to the Los Angeles Times' La Vanguardia for her groundbreaking contributions to American theater. She is a resident artist at Center Theatre Group, The Latino Theatre Company, and Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble. Her plays-including Ghosts of Bogotá, Sapience, Beheading Columbus, and Fabulous Monsters (featuring the music of FEA)-have been produced at leading regional theaters nationwide.

Most recently, Burbano was honored to be the inaugural playwright for HERO Theatre's Nuestro Planeta project with Luzmi, a work that centers environmental justice through Latinx storytelling. She has received commissions from Center Theatre Group, Artists Repertory Theatre, Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble, HERO Theatre, and Livermore Shakespeare Festival.

Burbano serves on the Dramatists Guild Council, representing Southern California and advocating for equity and inclusion in the arts.

Korey Jackson is a longtime collaborator of HERO Theatre, working with the company since 2012. Directing credits include readings of 'Flex', 'Waiting for Lefty', 'Twelfth Night', 'Hands of Color' (HERO Theatre), and 'Castling' (Premiere Stages, workshop). Producing: 'The Fisherman' (Venice Film Festival), 'Sole Variations' (All Arts), 'The Mark' (American Black Film Festival), 'Cupids' (CBS/BET, Tribeca Film Festival), 'Incomplete' (Hulu, American Pavillion at Cannes), 'Renaissance Mixtape' (Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater). Acting: Theater: 'The XIXth' (Old Globe), 'Wine in The Wilderness' and 'School for Wives' (Two River Theater), 'The Hot Wing King' (Signature Theater), 'Macbeth' (Berkeley Rep), 'Wild With Happy' (The Public Theater). TV/Film: "Godfather of Harlem" (MGM+), "House of Cards" (Netflix), "The Blacklist" (NBC), and "Five Flights Up" (Focus).

Daniel Alexander Jones flourishes at the intersections of interdisciplinary & experimental performance, music, literature, & traditions of art as civic practice. Accolades include a TED Fellowship; the Doris Duke Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Alpert Award in the Arts. Jones's collection of performance texts, LOVE LIKE LIGHT, is published by 53rd State Press. Projects include BLACK LIGHT (Public Theater); DUAT (Soho Rep); RADIATE (Soho Rep & national tour) & PHOENIX FABRIK (Pillsbury House Theatre). Jones is currently a Producing Artist at CalArts' Center for New Performance.

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