Lauren Gunderson’s “The Book of Will,” the story of two actors and friends of Shakespeare who take it upon themselves to collect all of Shakespeare’s plays, is perfectly at home in the Grove at DeLaveaga it only seems as though it was written for Santa Cruz Shakespeare to perform.
Santa Cruz Shakespeare
Posted inCity Life
Don’t sleep on Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s ‘Shrew’ this summer
Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s 2023 season is in full swing, but with high-profile productions of “King Lear” and “The Book of Will” also on the slate, it would be easy to overlook “The Taming of the Shrew.” That would be a mistake, Wallace Baine writes.
Posted inCity Life
With one foot in the past and another in the future, Santa Cruz Shakespeare presents a pivotal season of theater
“The Book of Will” opens the summer this week for Shakespeare Santa Cruz, with “The Taming of the Shrew” and “King Lear” to follow as the company marks a change of artistic directors, the return of a local acting legend and a renewed focus on expanding the audience for the Bard of Avon.
Posted inCoast Life
Fundraising plea signals storm clouds for Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Santa Cruz Shakespeare flourished with a comeback season in 2022, but the effects of the pandemic and inflation that have rippled through other local organizations are being felt at the West Coast’s live-theater crown jewel. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival says it needs $1.5 million by June for its 2023 season to continue, and it’s put a hold on planning for 2024.
Posted inCity Life
It’s Two Gents of DeLaveaga for Santa Cruz Shakespeare with changing of guard atop company
Longtime artistic director Mike Ryan, a steady hand in Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s transition from UC Santa Cruz to DeLaveaga Park, is sharing that role with Charles Pasternak, himself a familiar face to local theatergoers, this summer. After that, it’s Pasternak’s ship to steer. “I see my role in expansion as a sort of daring but careful one,” he says of what’s to come.
Posted inCity Life
With Jewel prepared to take final bow, what’s the future of theater, other performing arts in Santa Cruz?
Where Jewel Theatre Company struggled to revive its audience numbers after the COVID shutdown, Santa Cruz Shakespeare had a banner season in 2022. Indoors vs. outdoors is certainly a factor, but what of shifting demographics, economics, attention spans in the smartphone age? And is there a secret sauce in local audiences’ tolerance for new or unfamiliar styles? Wallace Baine explores.
Posted inCity Life
A clown at heart, actor Patty Gallagher ‘works like a demon’ on Santa Cruz stages
Patty Gallagher went back to her childhood to capture Corita Kent for Jewel Theatre’s new production — and found a surprise connection to her character. Esteemed for her work by her peers and much of her audience, Gallagher pays tribute to the support she’s received. “My colleagues have supported and loved me into an artistic career,” she says. “I have this enormous karmic debt to UCSC and to Santa Cruz as an artistic community.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Shakespeare and social justice and Santa Cruz! The old, dead white guy has a lot to teach us today
William Shakespeare has been dead for more than 400 years, but for Rebecca Haley Clark, education programs manager at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, “ol’ Billy Shakes” still has lessons to teach us today and to share with kids. A Santa Cruz native, Clark has spent years studying Shakespeare across the globe and now is back home and has created a program for Santa Cruz youth called “Shakespeare and Social Justice.” Clark is looking for schools interested in hosting the programs, which aim to knock the Bard of Avon off his pedestal and make him relevant to this generation and the issues they confront today, including racism.
Posted inUncategorized
After ‘most successful season,’ Santa Cruz Shakespeare announces 2023 plays — and Paul Whitworth’s return to the stage
After enduring a divorce from UCSC and then the pains of the pandemic, Santa Cruz Shakespeare releases its 2023 schedule and big plans for major physical improvements to its Grove theater.
Posted inCity Life
Local playwright brings contemporary ‘Midsummer’-ish rom-com to Santa Cruz Shakespeare
As the only non-Shakespeare production at this summer’s Santa Cruz Shakespeare festival, Kathryn Chetkovich’s “The Formula” updates the love-potion comedy for a contemporary audience for a world premiere in her hometown.