CCCT alumni direct repertory run through Aug. 29
Chino, Calif. (Chino Hills Online) — Chino Community Children’s Theatre will convert the Seventh Street Community Theatre into a two-show Shakespeare event, staging the “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare through Aug. 29.
The festival features one of the great tragedies of Shakespeare and one of the most frequently staged comedies by the playwright, while also featuring two CCCT alums as directors.
The Shakespeare Festival runs Aug. 20-29. Shows for the festival feature one of Shakespeare’s great tragedies and one of his most frequently performed comedies, alternating productions in the Seventh Street theatre over two weekends.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 21, 27 and 29, with matinees on Aug. 22 and 23. “Romeo and Juliet” is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Aug. 20, 22, 23 and 28, with a matinee on Aug. 29.
All performances take place at Seventh Street Community Theatre, 13123 Seventh St. in Chino. The productions are appropriate for teens and adult audiences.
Repertory format adds to festival style
The format of the Shakespeare Festival provides some uniqueness compared to a standard single-show run.
Rather than putting up a single production for several weekends and dismantling the set at the end of the run, the theatre is putting on two complete Shakespeare plays in the same period, requiring performers and production teams to coexist on a shared stage, using the same systems and backstage facilities to tell two entirely different stories.
CCCT alums direct productions
Mikayla Estrella directs “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Estrella is a former Chino Community Children’s Theatre performer who is a graduating senior studying theatre production at Hofstra University in New York, according to a press release issued by CCCT. Hofstra’s academic record lists Mikayla X. Estrella as one of the students listed on the Spring 2025 Dean’s List at the university. Estrella’s name is listed as Mickey Estrella in the theatre’s audition materials.
Marlee Lane directs “Romeo and Juliet.” Lane has recently graduated from the University of Ottawa with a master’s in dramaturgy, according to a press release by the theatre. Lane’s connections to the theatre community at Seventh Street go further than performance experience; “Steps to the Stage,” the organization’s audition materials, identify Lane as a Cal State Northridge theatre graduate who has worked at Seventh Street in directing, stage managing, set design, properties, technical direction, producing and camp leadership.
These two productions fit within the model of the children’s theatre organization that has operated since its founding in 1984. CCCT was founded by educators and community members Paul and Karen Larson to create a setting where youths in the greater Chino area could get theatre training and be involved in live productions. The organization describes itself as a volunteer-run non-profit that seeks to provide children and families the opportunity to get involved in theatre in an environment of education, performance and respect.
For a youth theatre organization, bringing former performers back in leadership roles is also part of what the educational pipeline to future success can look like. Young performers can move from performing to technical jobs, stage managing, design, directing and academic work. This year’s Shakespeare festival features this kind of progression with two of the alumni directors returning following theatre-related university work.
Two plays with unique tones
The Shakespeare Festival also presents the audience with two very different tones.
“Romeo and Juliet,” which is believed to have been written in the 1590s, tells the story of two young lovers whose relationship takes place against a backdrop of an ongoing feud between the two families – the Montagues and the Capulets. The play moves from romance to violence very quickly, dealing with issues of family loyalty, impulsive decisions, generational conflict, societal pressures and the effects of the cycle of revenge.
These kinds of topics have kept the play as part of school curriculum and stage performances for centuries. For teen audiences, the young central characters and conflicts with adults can bring the play closer than the Elizabethan English.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the opposite of “Romeo and Juliet.” This comedy centers on a number of young lovers, amateur actors and fairies who meet in an enchanted forest and are driven by mistaken identities, the magic in the forest and romantic attachment in the wrong places before the situation returns to order.
This play is one of Shakespeare’s most accessible comedies because its humor isn’t just in the language but in the physical comedy and misinterpretations of situations. It also allows directors wide latitude when interpreting the world of the fairies, costumes and movement.
Performing these two plays side-by-side in repertory allows the festival to be something greater than two completely unrelated shows. The audience can watch how Shakespeare has used two very different formats and tones to examine youth, love, authority, conflict and choice.
Long Shakespeare history at CCCT
The 2026 festival is not the first time that Shakespeare has appeared on the Chino Community Children’s Theatre stage.
The theatre’s archives show that the “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” has appeared on stage in 1988, 2003 and 2009. “Romeo and Juliet” appeared in the season in 1992. In 1990 and 2007 the organization put on “The Taming of the Shrew.” In 1999 and 2004 it staged “Twelfth Night” and “The Tempest,” respectively. And in 2003 it staged “Shakespearience,” which was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” accompanied by Shakespeare-themed plays.
This history is important in understanding Shakespeare. For young performers, Shakespeare can be a particularly difficult task because of the need to know not just the lines, but the rhythm, argument and meaning behind them. It can also require the actors to do things such as sword work, complex blocking and physical comedy.
However, Shakespeare’s plays also provide young performers with material that can be interpreted many ways. A director can stage it with a traditional period setting, can place it in any era or in a modern setting while keeping the basic dramatic structure of the plays.
The 2026 audition information for the Shakespeare festival featured that fact in its requirements, asking performers to present a prepared monologue and reading a Shakespeare sonnet.
More than four decades of community theatre
Beginning in 1984, when the theatre began with “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” Chino Community Children’s Theatre has presented a rich history of musicals, dramas, comedies and children’s plays.
It has presented over 150 productions in its archives through 2024, including “West Side Story,” “Les Misérables,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Miracle Worker,” “In the Heights,” “Matilda the Musical,” “Newsies,” “The Lightning Thief,” “Shrek the Musical Jr.” and “Carrie the Musical.” “Frozen Jr.” and a virtual performance of “Into the Webs” were also part of the theatre’s work in 2020. “Frozen Jr.” is noted as being unfinished in the disruption of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and live production activity resumed in 2021.
CCCT has been recognized many times locally in the community. The Chino Champion has named Chino Community Children’s Theatre as Best Live Theatre in 2017, 2018, 2019 and each year from 2021 through 2025. In addition, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Readers’ Choice has honored the theatre as a Live Theatre Favorite in 2017, 2018, 2024 and 2025, with additional awards in 2024 as Best Kids Camp and Best Kids Entertainment.
CCCT’s history even includes appearing in 1995 as a Regional 8 representative at AACTFest with “A Few Good Men.”
Seventh Street Theatre part of Chino’s history
The Shakespeare festival is happening in a building with its own historical significance.
City planning documents show that the Seventh Street Community Theatre is a single story, 4,990-square-foot building located in Chino’s historic civic center. The theatre facility inventory of the city shows the building dates to about 1950 and was used as an Art Deco era telephone center from the late 1940s, until it was converted to a theatre facility with assistance from the city.
Because of this location, it is part of Chino’s civic core, adjacent to Chino Branch Library, the Senior Center, Chaffey College facilities and the downtown civic center. The adopted Downtown Civic Center Master Plan includes plans for expanding the Seventh Street Theatre to include performing arts and plaza space as part of Chino’s vision for the area.
The location of the theatre provides the festival with a local connection that makes it different from watching Shakespeare in a large regional performing arts facility. Seventh Street is a small community theatre that has served the needs of performers and volunteers for many years.
Festival continues through Aug. 29
For residents of Chino Hills and Chino, there are still a few opportunities to attend the festival and see either production.
The “Romeo and Juliet” show is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 23 and Aug. 28, with a final matinee at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 29. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is scheduled at 7 p.m. Aug. 27, with a closing night at 7 p.m. Aug. 29.
The shows cost $15 for adults and $12 for children, students and seniors. Tickets are available through the Chino Community Children’s Theatre website and the box office at 909-590-1149. The organization’s contact information shows the address of the Seventh Street Community Theatre is 13123 Seventh St., Chino, CA 91710.
For Chino Community Children’s Theatre, the Shakespeare festival carries on the tradition that began almost four decades ago. For the two directors, it also provides an opportunity to return to the local theatre where they once performed – this time leading young performers through some of the most famous plays in English-language stage history.
