ARTS FOR YOUTH.
Paso Nuevo is GALA's free, year-round program offered to high school students between the ages of 14 and 19 during Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. This is a bilingual, inclusive theatre education program incorporating acting training, playwrighting, and mentorship. Students can earn community service hours, receive performance stipends, go on field trips, and train for future employment and leadership opportunities.
Paso Nuevo offers singing, acting, stage makeup, music and guitar, podcast production, web series production, and much more! To learn more about the program and its history, click here.
Participating students have had the opportunity to perform at The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, The DREAM Project, and The White House.
To register for the Summer 2025 Paso Nuevo cohort, click here.
Keep up with Paso nuevo news! Sign up here to receive our monthly e-newsletter.
For more information, email pasonuevo@galatheatre.org and follow Paso Nuevo on Instagram: @pasonuevotheatre
PASO NUEVO PRESENTS.
BETWEEN PAGES
On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 7:30 pm, Paso Nuevo presents the musical Between Pages by Jorge Cogollo. Directed by Chris Ríos and performed by Paso Nuevo students, this work is about the importance of literature and to always finish reading your books. The story follows Alicia who is tasked with finding the author of the book with the missing last page so the Prince and Princess Ponchita can be reunited and have their happily ever after. Helped by two detectives, she encounters colorful characters on her journey, while learning how anyone has the ability to write a book.
This FREE show is appropriate for all ages.
THE SPECTRUM OF LOVE
On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at 7:30 pm, Paso Nuevo presented the bilingual original work The Spectrum of Love. Written and performed by Paso Nuevo students, the show wove together tales of love in all its forms -family, romantic, heartbreak, and platonic. Paso Nuevo developed the characters in the show from four songs: Historia de taxi, Maracas, El gran varón, and Hoja en blanco.
This FREE show is appropriate for all ages.
NUNCA DIJE QUE ERA
UNA NIÑA BUENA
On Thursday, August 1, 2024, at 7 pm, Paso Nuevo presents an adaptation of Nunca dije que era una niña buena by Gustavo Ott. The play revolves around the conflicts between two groups of modern day teenagers in their opposing gangs, exploring the consequences of people who choose to pursue violence and the lessons they learn when searching for a different path in life.
This FREE show is appropriate for ages 13 and up.
ÓYEME, THE BEAUTIFUL
On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 7:30 pm, Paso Nuevo presented Óyeme, The Beautiful by Miriam Gonzales. This bilingual play delves into the lives of four refugee students who find themselves grappling with the challenges of adapting to life in the United States while confronting the trauma of the lives they left behind... A testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of hope to triumph over adversity.
This FREE show is appropriate for all ages.
WINTER SHOWCASE 2023
On Thursday, December 14, 2023, at 7 pm, Paso Nuevo presented its Winter Showcase 2023, an evening of music, dance, and acting that included excerpts from the play Óyeme, The Beautiful by Miriam Gonzales. Students also touched on Latin American traditions such as La llorona and the universal topics of family, life, and death.
This FREE show is appropriate for all ages.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
On Wednesday, August 9, 2023, Paso Nuevo and the DC Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP) presented A Midsummer Night's Dream (Sueño de una noche de verano) by William Shakespeare. Directed by Chris Ríos and presented in Spanish, this comedy tells the story of the reconciliation of two pairs of lovers, as well as the wedding of a King and his bride.
This FREE show is appropriate for all ages.
SHOWCASE 2022
On Thursday, December 15, 2022, Paso Nuevo presented highlights of the work developed by the students in 2022, including excerpts of El puente (The Bridge) by Carlos Gorostiza, a play presented in Summer 2022. The show also included a new work inspired by the famous salsa song Pedro Navaja by Rubén Blades, which is recognized throughout Latin America for its dark humor regarding issues of life and death. The FREE show was presented in Spanish.
EL PUENTE
On Thursday, August 4, 2022, Paso Nuevo presented El puente by Carlos Gorostiza. This new staging, presented in Spanish with English surtitles, is the story of two families united by a tragic event. A mixture of tragedy and comedy that has become a classic of Latin American theater.
RISKS OF AN IMMIGRANT WOMAN
On Friday, December 17, 2021, Paso Nuevo presented their original show for the Fall 2021 cohort, Risks of an Immigrant Woman. Directed by Francisca Tapia and presented in Spanish with some English, this play is about a teenager who dreams of becoming an actor, but the profession is closed and forbidden for women in her home country. Determined, Dani emigrates to the US, where she is also barred from the industry and endures seemingly endless abuse from men... Taking her fate into her own hands, Dani will dress as a man and pursue her dreams.
This show is appropriate for ages 12 and up.
Listen to the Soundtrack here!
LOS PAPELEROS
On Thursday, August 5, 2021, Paso Nuevo presented Los papeleros by Isidora Aguirre, which explores power, exploitation, inequality, and violence against women. This musical production, presented in Spanish and English, was the final work of the Summer 2021 cohort.
Enjoy!
CREATIVIDAD LATINX
Overcoming the challenges of social distancing in COVID-19 times, Paso Nuevo students worked in a hybrid format to create Creatividad Latinx, a series of podcasts in Spanish.
In the first season of Creatividad Latinx, Paso Nuevo students provide stark and refreshingly candid portraits of their lives, cultures, families, cultures, and migration to the U.S. El Violinista Maldito (The Cursed Violinist), an original play is presented in segments throughout the season.
In season 2, Paso Nuevo shares a compilation of original works, including poetry, a play written by the students, and a very special episode about climate change and what we can do as a community to combat the issue (sponsored by Pepco-Exelon).
Listen on Soundcloud, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts now!
EXPLORA DC
In a hybrid format, Paso Nuevo student-artists write, produce, and direct a series of videos to welcome Spanish-speaking recent arrivals to the D.C. area.
Proud sponsor of Paso Nuevo and GALA's education programs
