Will Power to Youth’s Adaptation of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”

The Will Power to Youth (WPY) community playgroup examined power and forgiveness in Shakespeare’s final masterpiece, The Tempest, at The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles.

WPY is a youth development program at The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles. Now in its 18th year of operations, the program combines academics, human relations, job training and art to create a unique summer employment opportunity for youth aged 15-19.

Los Angeles youth – many of whom attend overcrowded urban schools and come from families living at or below the poverty line – are employed 30 hours a week for seven weeks, and work closely with professional artists and human relations facilitators.

Together, they create an unique adaptation of a Shakespeare play that is relevant to, and inspired by, their personal experiences. The group used the Tempest to explore the power and forgiveness: “A mysterious island emerges to become a place to right old wrongs, reinvent who we are and create the brave new old of our dreams. With all of the magic power the Prospera commands, does she have enough power to forgive?”