The New Swan Shakespeare Center is centered in Orange County and maintains extensive links to campus. UCI’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts and School of Humanities work together to put out community seminars, reading groups, retreats and a host of other activities for those interested in theater.
The New Swan Shakespeare Festival kicked off performances at the Irvine Barclay Theater, starting with their rendition of William Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well” on July 2. This will be performed in conjunction with Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” on alternating dates through July until the end of August.
Many of the staff and performers are former or current UCI students who produce two plays each summer. They pride themselves on their mini-Elizabethan theater, brought onto campus to have plays performed in open-night air.
The New Swan Shakespeare Festival describes “All’s Well That Ends Well” as a “singular tale of true love and courage brims with a timeless spirit of adventure, framed in the vibrant setting of the Romantic era.”
Alternatively, the “Much Ado About Nothing” performance “features dazzling word play, a posse of memorable characters and a live bluegrass band.”
Actors and musicians were excited about their new western take on “Much Ado About Nothing.”
“It fits really well, in terms of the villainy themes. The whole plot line with Don John fits really beautifully as like a Western brotherly battle between Don John and Don Pedro,” fourth-year music theater major Megan January told New University.
January acts as Hero in “Much Ado About Nothing” and understudies Helena in “All’s Well That Ends Well.” She’s also the music director and band leader, with a background in the California Bluegrass Association.
“The play, really, to me, revolves around the three women, Leon, Beatrice and Hero … they stand up for themselves and for each other within that [patriarchal] structure, through a Western lens, which can be kind of kooky at times, and you know, fun and kitschy,” January said.
Eli Simon serves as the artistic director for New Swan. According to the New Swan Shakespeare Festival, the LA Times praised his productions in a 2017 theater review. With his success, he continues to direct for New Swan and teaches acting at UC Irvine.
Third-year musical theater student Sarah Hentges works as Simon’s assistant and serves multiple roles in front-of-house operations for the New Swan. Hentges assists in production and directing, giving her access to Simon’s “wonderful understanding of the theater world,” as she describes.
“He just is a very charismatic and understanding person who is super artistic and creative and a wonderful mentor,” Hentges told New University.
In addition to assisting Simon, Hentges sings in the band and plays guitar. She believes these are integral elements of the theater experience.
“I think that the music adds so much to the production,” Hentges said. “I think music is just able to aid a story in a way that nothing else can and connect to audiences in a very visceral way.”
Recent UCI graduate Sam Schneider is understudying for Claudio in “Much Ado About Nothing.” He enjoys the social aspect of this summer’s festival and uses it as an opportunity to learn as much as possible about performing, production and the art of theater.
According to Schneider, this year’s festival offers a uniquely enthralling experience.
“I think for this production… there’s just such a sense of wonder. Like, the theater space itself feels magical, like this really intimate, outdoor space where everyone is piled up around you,” Schneider told New University. “The first day we were in the theater in costume, and everyone just had that sense of magic wash over them and feeling like, oh, wow, we’re actually here for the first time.”
Despite the wonder many actors feel while performing, the theater industry has faced difficulties in attracting audiences, funding, and success in business.
According to the American Theatre, the modern climate of post-COVID America created a “crisis of contraction,” as theaters across the United States face closures, layoffs, pauses and the need for emergency fundraising.
Part of this decline relates from the COVID pandemic, which magnified subscriber loss, labor issues and lower attendances, as the New York Times details.
Similarly worrying trends exist in the arts more broadly, though. According to The Nation, potential bills under the Trump administration eliminate the need for arts in secondary education while current art departments face significant cuts. Major schools like University of California, Los Angeles, University of Colorado Boulder and Princeton experienced declines from 27% to as high as 78% in the amount of art history majors.
Despite this, the New Swan Team remains vigilant and forward-looking.
Jesus Lopez Vargas works as the sole full-time employee with the New Swan Shakespeare Center as an outreach director. Lopez Vargas sees curtailing these trends “by keeping on going, by just continuing to produce stuff. Because risks are happening every hour in our world.”
They championed the New Swan’s response and approach to this year’s performances.
“We decided as theater to just bring joy to people’s lives. So there’s a lot of laughter this year,” Lopez Vargas told New University. “There’s a lot of turn off your phone and for these two hours, recharge with this community and laugh together.”
For students interested in attending the New Swan’s first few performances, they can purchase tickets on the New Swan Festival site.
Aidan Wyrough is a Features Intern for the summer quarter 2025. He can be reached at awyrough@uci.edu.
Edited by Alyssa Villagonzalo and Annabelle Aguirre
