COMPANY HISTORY

Yonder Window Theatre Company formed in the winter of 2017 with the first iteration of The Dream Project, a multilingual, multidisciplinary retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This first production was the catalyst for Yonder Window’s mission to explore cross-cultural relationships as it brought together artists from the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Today, Yonder Window Theatre Company focuses on three specific avenues; Multicultural and Multidisciplinary Devised Productions, New Plays, and Education.

Since it’s conception, The Dream Project has gone through three phases of development. The first phase took place in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in 2017, the second in Brooklyn, New York in 2018, and the third in Montreal, Quebec in 2019. Along the way, YWTC has amassed a network of highly skilled aerial artists, actors, and designers from across the continent, capturing the most compelling art forms of North American culture.

In the summer of 2018 YWTC remounted a training program called The New York Teen Shakespeare Intensive (NYTSI).  NYTSI delves deeply into Shakespeare’s works, characters, and language through a progressive program of physical movement training and character development techniques to prepare young actors, ages 15-19, with the fundamentals required for university and the professional acting arena. Yonder Window Theatre Company Artistic Director, Katie McHugh, and Director of Training Elke Van Dyke have been teaching Shakespeare Intensives to teens across the globe for over a decade. This summer, YWTC took the intensive online for the first time, welcoming students from corners of the world such as the United Arab Emirates and Australia.

In the summer of 2019, Yonder Window Theatre Company produced their first industry play reading of Jasper by Grant MacDermott in collaboration with Adelaide Raleigh Productions and Boz and the Bard Productions. The reading featured Abigail Hawk (Blue Bloods), Jessica Pimentel (Orange is the New Black), and Hisham Tawfiq (The Blacklist). 

In 2020, Yonder Window devised a new project entirely online featuring approximately 45 performers from over 7 different countries across the globe. Creative Crusade: The Story of Solitude is a virtual collective of artists collaborating with each other in the devising process to tell the story of solitude.

Throughout 2021, the Yonder Window team developed a subscription based service aimed at helping young performers get accepted to the school of their dreams. Stagepunch was created as the ultimate tool for artists on their journey to apply for a performing arts degree. Yonder Window and the Stagepunch team are passionate about educating the artists of tomorrow.

In 2021, Yonder Window launched the Ascending Playwrights Program. APP is a mentorship opportunity for playwrights age 15-25. After a successful year workshoping new plays with talented young playwrights, the program was renewed in 2022 and from it the New Works Collective was born. Yonder Window selects a handful of playwrights to continue their journey with the company to develop their work and receive mentorship from the YW team. As 2022 unfolds we cannot wait to see how these writers grow and what they create.

Currently, YWTC is producing a full production of Jasper and The Last Radio Hour. Co-producing and investment opportunities are available.