We invite you to join us for this behind-the-scenes look at how New Swan’s Latine artists navigate producing and enacting Shakespeare in contemporary Southern California. Beginning with The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove, produced by New Swan Shakespeare Festival at UC Irvine in 2026, we’ll take a broader look at the task of representing brown bodies and telling their stories through the texts of Shakespeare. Featuring New Swan actors Alejandra Villanueva (Mistress Quickly) and Heriberto Cruz, Jr. (Doctor Cayo), this event will highlight the dedication and creativity that empower Latine voices on the New Swan stage. New Swan Production Coordinator Jesús Enrique López Vargas will invite us to consider the responsibility of telling those stories in our community and in our theater.
This event will be moderated by UC Irvine Associate Professor of English Kyle Grady. We look forward to welcoming you to this community conversation!