About Us
About Us
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Macbeth | September 25 & 26, 2026 | October 2 & 3, 2026 | 5pm - 9pm | Madeline Park
Our Story
Our Story
In 2022, Artistic Director, Jay Stratton, had a vision to create a free festival that features Shakespeare in the park. He thought, "What better place to do this than Madeliene Park? With its magical charm and perfect location, in the heart of the Kern Place Neighborhood!" That summer, by kismet and happenstance, Jay's daughter took a tumble in a coffee shop lobby, bumping into, now Executive Director, Sydney Monroe Gaglio. Jay shared his vision with Syd, and they got to work to turn the festival into a reality. By that Fall, the first ever Madeline Park Shakespeare Festival came to fruition. Over the years, the team has expanded to also include our Artistic Associate - Isabella Camfiled, Translator - Gaby Reyes, Web Designer - Johnathan Andrew Cereceres, and Choreographers - Mari Núñez and Rayven Armijo.
Mission & Values
Mission & Values
Mission
Mission
Our ongoing mission is to make free, family friendly, and FUN Shakespeare that is accessible to all El Pasoans! It is equally important to us, to honor the work and skill of our creatives, performers, and technicians by paying each of them a stipend. Each year we produce a Shakespeare play that is adapted to be bilingual, and runs about 1 hour and 20 minutes. We couple that with a vendor market, pre-show entertainment, and the excitement of an outdoor park for an all around festival experience.
Our ongoing mission is to make free, family friendly, and FUN Shakespeare that is accessible to all El Pasoans! It is equally important to us, to honor the work and skill of our creatives, performers, and technicians by paying each of them a stipend. Each year we produce a Shakespeare play that is adapted to be bilingual, and runs about 1 hour and 20 minutes. We couple that with a vendor market, pre-show entertainment, and the excitement of an outdoor park for an all around festival experience.
Meet the MPSF Team!
Meet the MPSF Team!
Jay Stratton (Artistic Director/Stage Director/Co-Adapter)
Jay Stratton (Artistic Director/Stage Director/Co-Adapter)
Now in its fifth terrific season, Jay is the Producing Artistic Director of the Madeline Park Shakespeare Festival which adapts and reconceives the works of the bard into productions that are fun, family-friendly, and free for all El Pasoans.
For the last decade, Jay has worked as a professor of Theatre at the University of Texas at El Paso where his research has focused on the reinvention of classical theatre. Utilizing found spaces, non-traditional structures, and bilingual texts, Jay adapts and reframes classical material to heighten its value for 21st century audiences. Jay has acted and directed all over the country, most recently directing The Outsider at Lyric Rep in Logan Utah. Jay will also be the director of Rhinoceros coming up at UTEP in the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Jay is the co-adapter and creator of UTEP’s acclaimed bilingual, A Christmas Carol en la Frontera, as well as the covid era, site-specific outdoor production of Lysistrata. Jay also created UTEP’s Halloween productions of Bloody Shakespeare! and Shakespeare’s Asylum. Jay is also the writer and director of the irreverent Covid comedy, Keeping Distance.
Before coming to UTEP, Jay spent nearly two decades as a New York based professional actor working on stage and screen. Some of Jay’s favorite acting projects include the film Wanted Man with Dolph Lundgren and Kelsey Grammer, a lead appearance on ABC’s What Would You Do, and the title role in Oedipus at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre.
Making Shakespeare accessible and free for El Paso audiences is one of Jay's great passions!
For more, check out www.jay-stratton.com
Sydney Monroe Gaglio (Executive Director/Production Manager/Sound Designer)
Sydney Monroe Gaglio (Executive Director/Production Manager/Sound Designer)
Originally from El Paso, Texas, Syd returned home four years ago, after 8 years away in New York for university, work, and life. Syd’s niche is in creating experimental, audience-immersive, story-telling experiences.
Syd has been a part of MPSF since its inception in 2022. While back in El Paso, Sydney has been a production manager for Viva! El Paso (2023), a stage manager and production manager for the first two seasons of productions for Teatro Neplanta, and she has traveled back to New York to work with Mexico City’s Xipe Arts Collective.
When not working on productions, Syd is either over at Keystone Heritage Park doing plant and wildlife education, working as the office assistant for El Paso Opera, or playing with dogs.
Isabella Camfield (Assistant Director/Co-Adapter)
Isabella Camfield (Assistant Director/Co-Adapter)
Isabella is currently an English teacher at Franklin High School and a PhD student in Teaching, Learning and Culture at UTEP. She received her bachelors degrees in English and theater and a Master’s in education. She has previously collaborated on several productions with Shakespeare in Yosemite as an actress, musician, and curriculum advisor, with Teatro Neplanta in their 2024 production of Dream House, and with MPSF as an actress, assistant director, adaptor, and school tour director.
As an English teacher, she often facilitates students’ first encounters with Shakespeare, and thus is passionate about making Shakespeare accessible and relevant, and about sharing the beauty of the language.
Gaby Reyes (Translator)
Gaby Reyes (Translator)
Gaby Reyes is a third-year MFA Performance and Pedagogy candidate at Texas Tech University. She is returning for her fourth year with the Madeline Park Shakespeare Festival, where she has worked as both an actor and translator. Her festival performances include Rosalind in As You Like It, Maria/Antonia in Twelfth Night, which was also her first translation work. She has also translated The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. Le dedica esta producción a su mamá por todo su apoyo!
Johnathan Andrew Cereceres (Festival Photographer & Web Designer)
Johnathan Andrew Cereceres (Festival Photographer & Web Designer)
Johnathan is a versatile photographer specializing in performing arts, event, landscape, and portrait photography, with a portfolio spanning the Madeline Park Shakespeare Festival, El Paso Opera, El Paso UTEP Opera, government agencies, elected officials, urban planning firms, and nonprofit organizations. His work draws inspiration from the Chihuahuan Desert landscape, urban design, performing arts, and current events. Dedicated to preserving the lived experiences of the region, his photography reflects a deep connection to place, space, culture, and the unique character of his subjects.
Johnathan holds a Bachelor of Arts with a Double Major in Political Science and Chicano Studies from UTEP, a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs from UT Austin, and Master of Arts in Sociology from UTEP. Currently, Johnathan is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at UTEP.
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