shakespeare in miami

What does "Shakespeare in Miami" mean? For one, it means that the works of William Shakespeare are very much still alive-- they address humanity's questions, problems, worries, dreams, and desires that persist throughout time, that pursue us all despite the century we live in. Even more than that, though, Shakespeare also speaks to the unique audience found in Miami, FL: a vibrant community made up of a melding of culture, language, and memory. There is particular value in bringing Shakespeare into the Miami vernacular in a meaningful way, and this is especially true with Miami's youth. To the third-generation Cuban-American university student, The Tempest proposes relevant questions of cultural inherited memory; to the international student who struggles with arrival to an unfamiliar place, As You Like It offers questions of selfhood and displacement; and to the typical Gen-Z student navigating the complex and ever-widening online landscape, Hamlet poses important meditations on authenticity, performance, and surveillance. In these ways, Shakespeare is not only relevant to a Miami audience, it is vital.