Epic Theatre's Second Youth Theatre Festival to Remix Shakespeare

Epic Theatre Ensemble will present the second edition of its four-week Youth Theatre Festival: Epic YTF. Epic YTF, a celebration of a diverse and inclusive community, fighting for social justice and equality, showcases performances from the award-winning after-school program Epic REMIX.

"Epic's students accomplish a great feat," says Epic Co-founder and Executive Director Ron Russell. "In a relatively short period of time, they debate the social and political questions of the play, decode the meaning of Shakespeare's text, and weave their own writing into the fabric of the script to create an entirely new piece of theatre. Then we produce that new piece of theatre in professional venue."

The festival will take place from March 3 to March 21 at the National Black Theatre (2031 5th Ave, New York, NY 10035) and will present "remixed" versions of three Shakespeare classics: Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, and Much Ado About Nothing. In all, the three separate productions will feature the writing of over 170 young people, and bring the work of these high school students and 20 professional artists/mentors to the stage in professionally authentic performances. Envisioned as a community-building event, each Epic YTF performance is open and free to the public.

Epic REMIX is a youth development program at three NYC Public High Schools in Lower Manhattan, Harlem, and the Bronx culminating in students performing alongside professional theatre artists in fully produced Shakespeare productions. Epic NEXT students accomplish a great feat, they debate the social and political questions of the play, decode the meaning of Shakespeare's text, and weave their own writing into the fabric of the script.

Free passes available at www.epictheatreensemble.org.

ABOUT THE PLAYS:

Richard III

The students of the Evander Childs Campus in the Bronx are asking three political questions in the wake of the 2016 election: who is fit to lead a fractured country? what is the "real" America? and, why are the lies of America so persistent? They chose Shakespeare's RICHARD III as their touchstone, a story of the rise of a villain-king after the wreckage of a civil war. Their Richard is a master manipulator, rising through the 60s, 70's and 80s to become the Mayor of NYC by creating six independent "personalities" (each played by a different actor) to deal with his political and personal foes. Theatrically daring, bold, and timely, this RICHARD III will make you laugh, cringe, and shiver all at the same time.

Romeo and Juliet

The students of Urban Assembly School for the Arts in Harlem set their Romeo & Juliet in present day East Harlem. Their production concept is inspired by the tragic loss of one of their classmates to gun violence. They begin at his memorial until an outbreak of violence between the Cap-u-gets and Monty-hughs sets Shakespeare's plot in motion. They weave in new characters like Daquan, a foster kid recruited by the "Cap-u-get" gang. And Romeo and Juliet aren't the only star-crossed lovers in their script - Juliet's sister Coraline falls for a young woman and must fight for her forbidden love as well. Relevant, funny and deeply moving, this Romeo & Juliet Remix will make you hear the play in a whole new way.

Much Ado About Nothing

Gossip fills the hallways, classrooms, and bathrooms of a New York City High School in this fresh contemporary version of Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy conceived and written by Chelsea students.

Epic's mission is to create bold work with and for diverse communities that promotes vital discourse and social change. Epic accomplish this mission by inspiring students to be creative and engaged citizens, presenting compelling topics that transform the way people think, and collaborating with artists, students and thought leaders to produce plays about key issues.