June 2, 2016 -- Those planning to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death can turn to Santa Monica College to help them count the ways.

SMC's Theatre Arts and The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA)announced Wednesday a "Summer of Shakespeare" collaboration featuring the launch of the SMC Shakespeare Apprentice Company that will take place from June 24 to August 21.

The "groundbreaking" collaboration -- with the endorsement and sponsorship of the City of Santa Monica's Arts Commission -- will be presented in tandem with SCLA’s 30-year anniversary of "award-winning accessible LA-centric Shakespeare productions," organizers said.

“Samuel Taylor Coleridge called Shakespeare ‘myriad-minded’ and we are living that out through this vibrant collaboration," said Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, SMC Superintendent/President.

"Summer of Shakespeare," Jeffery said, offers an opportunity to "rediscover the genius of Shakespeare in a context that we Angelenos will particularly enjoy."

Featured in the premiere season will be two of Shakespeare’s most popular romantic comedies -- "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" and "Twelfth Night" -- reimagined as though they are a part of Los Angeles history," event organizers said.

The SMC Shakespeare Apprentice Company’s production of "A Midsummer's Night Dream" -- which will be performed June 24 to July 10 at the SMC Main Stage at 1900 Pico Boulevard -- will be "set in Laurel Canyon during the 1960’s sexual revolution," organizers said.

Directed by SMC Theatre Arts instructor Danny Campbell, the play features students training at SMC's Theatre Arts Department.

"Twelfth Night" -- which will run from July 27 to August 21 also at the SMC Main Stage -- will be directed by former Royal Shakespeare Company member Kenneth Sabberton and set a quarter century earlier.

"The cast of 'Twelfth Night' finds itself in the aftermath of the 1942 Invasion of Los Angeles, a historical incident when many Angelenos believed the city was either under attack by World War II enemies or aliens from outer space," organizers said.

“Somehow, imagining that William Shakespeare is a contemporary Los Angeles playwright seems to inspire some of the most enjoyable and accessible interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays we have produced,” said SCLA’s Founder and Artistic Director Ben Donenberg.

“I’m convinced we are at our very best as a company when we adhere to Shakespeare’s mandate to hold the mirror up to nature and without changing a single word of text, challenge ourselves to rediscover Shakespeare for the 21st century.”

Organizers encourage theater patrons to bring picnics and blankets to dine al fresco on the SMC Grand Lawn before the performances, and picnic dinners are available for purchase with VIP seats.

Happy hour cast and crew pre-show and post-show dessert mingling events are planned at area restaurants, organizers said.

“From Page to Stage” presentations will be announced throughout the season for "Shakespeare enthusiasts looking for a deeper exploration of the Bard’s work," organizers said.

To reserve tickets for either of the shows, call 213-481-BARD [2273] or purchase online at www.shakespearecenter.org.

Active military personnel, veterans, their families and care-givers may reserve tickets free of charge. Students qualify for discounted tickets. Contact Erin Cameron at erin@shakespearecenter.org for media interviews and photos.