Madeline Park Shakespeare Festival

Coming September 2023!

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
A dynamic new Bilingual Adaptation!

September 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th 


Festival opens at 6pm
The play begins at 6:40 pm in front of the gazebo. Patrons are welcome to bring blankets or lawn chairs and picnic baskets. The show is a family-friendly and bilingual 80-minute version of one of Shakespeare’s most popular Comedies.

The Festival features a market with arts, crafts, and food vendors, including sandwiches from Kern Place eateries Pilón and Savage Goods. Family-friendly activities include dancing lessons, a juggler, a tarot card reader, and live preshow entertainment by groups like El Paso Opera and Capoeira El Paso!

The Festival is produced in collaboration with the Kern Place Association, the UTEP Department of English, the City of El Paso Parks Department, and is supported by a grant from UTEP’s College of Liberal Arts.

---FREE ADMISSION!!!---- 

Additional Guests and Entertainment

capoeira edited.mp4
el paso opera edited.mp4
el paso opera2 edited.mp4
dance edited.mp4

Cast and Crew

Jay Stratton is the producing Artistic Director of the Madeline Park Shakespeare Festival and a theatre professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. As a UTEP professor, Jay is the co-adapter and creator of UTEP’s acclaimed bilingual A Christmas Carol en la Frontera. Jay also created UTEP’s Halloween productions of Shakespeare’s Asylum and Bloody Shakespeare! and the site-specific outdoor production of Lysistrata. Other UTEP productions include Medea, Sister Act, and Sara Ruhl’s In The Next Room. Jay is also the writer and director of the irreverent Covid comedy, Keeping Distance. Most recently, Jay collaborated with El Paso’s exciting new Teatro Neplanta Company to direct their very daring immersive version of The Motherf@#ker with the Hat by Stephen Adley Guirgis 

For more, check out www.jay-stratton.com

~ Frequently Asked Questions ~

How do I get to Madeline Park?

The park is located in the heart of Kern Place near the University of Texas at El Paso. Please reference the map for driving directions.

What can I bring to the park? 

We invite you to bring picnic blankets or lawn chairs, snacks and drinks, and of course, your sense of wonder! We also recommend insect repellant, sunscreen, and a light jacket depending on the weather. The market vendors generally accept either cash or card. Glass containers at parks are currently prohibited by the City of El Paso.

A full list of park rules can be found here: ParkRules.pdf (elpasotexas.gov) 


Will there be a different show each night? 

All the performances will be Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, but feel free to return as often as you wish!


How much does it cost to see the play?

The show is absolutely free! Made possible by the generous contributions of private donors, grants, UTEP's Department of English and College of Liberal Arts, the Kern Place Association, and Eden Performing Arts. If you'd like to support the Festival, please click here: Donate (paypal.com)


Where can I park?

Kern Place has graciously invited Festival visitors to use the area's curbside street parking. We do ask that you not park in restricted zones such as driveways, within 20 feet of a crosswalk, and within 15 feet of fire hydrants. Also, we kindly ask that any trash be carried out or placed in bins before leaving the area.

There is also plenty of nearby parking at the seven story Sun Metro garage next to the Don Haskins center. A 15-minute walk to the park from there will take you through Kern Place's vibrant Cincinatti district. There is a fee to park at the Sun metro garage of $1 per hour. Directions to the garage can be found here:  Sun Metro Glory Road Transfer Center - Google Maps

UTEP has some parking lots that are free to park at after 5pm unless otherwise labeled. Please read posted signage at the lot for more information. Depending on which lot you park at your walk time to the festival ranges from 15 to 35 minutes.

There are no labeled disabled parking spaces at Madeline Park and only one ramp entry with a paved walk located at the corner of the park at the intersection of Baltimore and Kern. This walkway leads directly to the pavilion where the play will take place (approx. 350 ft. from the entry ramp).


Can I bring my pet?

Madeline Park is a city owned park and as such you are welcome to bring your furry family members. Please remember it is unlawful to have them in public at-large (off-leash), unregistered, and without an up-to-date rabies vaccination by county ordinance. Please clean up after your pet! For more information about the city's pet ordinance visit: OP-16-013 Animal Regulations.pdf (epcounty.com)


How long does the event last?

The Festival opens at 6pm and the show starts at 6:40. The performance is about 85 minutes, and the market vendors usually stay open for half an hour after the show. The park itself is open from 6am-11pm.

Sponsors