Over the last seven seasons the Shakespeare By The Sea actors repertory company has built a solid following among locals here in West OC by presenting open air Shakespeare on the grass. It has become a tradition that the end of July in Rossmoor means Shakespeare in the park. And at Rush Park on July 23 and 24 this year it was Othello and Cymbeline.
Over the last seven seasons the Shakespeare By The Sea actors repertory company has built a solid following among locals here in West OC by presenting open air Shakespeare on the grass. It has become a tradition that the end of July in Rossmoor means Shakespeare in the park. And at Rush Park on July 23 and 24 this year it was Othello and Cymbeline.
It is in fact the enthusiasm of the audiences at Rush Park that manages to keep Rossmoor in loop every year as one of the two dozen venues SBTS organizers lock in for scheduled Summer performances. Rossmoor is one of the smallest communities they visit in its touring season which is June through August, 43 productions in all across LA and Orange County.
All concerts are free and seating on the grass is wherever you can throw a blanket and some beach chairs down. But of course free is not really free. Even though the actors themselves provide the labor to build the stages and break them down (every night), the cost of each production averages out to about $7,000 per performance. “We are fully funded by some of the larger cities and along with our public grantors go a long way toward meeting that budget . . . but it’s only about halfway,” SBTS Artistic Director Lisa Coffi told me after the recent performance at Rush Park of Othello.
“Keeping us coming back to Rossmoor though every year is a challenge financially,” she admits, “But we do it because the audiences are so passionate here and they really go all out, some of them bringing their own little picnic productions with them.”
There is another practical reason the SBTS keeps the little Rossmoor venue on its itinerary every year, Lisa confided, “The actors themselves appreciate the audience response. . . and this crowd gives it to them.” During and after the performances audience members at Rush Park engaged Lisa and a number of the actors with questions and comments about the play or about Shakespeare himself. “For us,” Lisa said, “it’s not just about the business of breaking even. . .it’s about sharing and exposing the full canon of Shakespeare’s work to the public. That’s why we will do a rarely seen production of Cymbeline along with one of the Shakespeare classics Othello. There are rare jewels to be had from each and it is a thrill for the actors to deliver these lines to a receptive audience.” Such “Jewels” of the English language we use commonly today like “a rose by any other name,” “cruel to be kind,” to thine own self be true,” “all the world’s a stage” and my personal favorite “what is past is prologue,” all flow from Shakespeare’s pen.
But beyond the timeless one liners is the genius of Shakespeare as a storyteller. Devices we use today in fiction writing, essay and film exposition come from the toolbox of Shakespeare’s stock and trade that he honed to dramatic perfection, such devices as the three act structure, the rise, the fall, the resolution. The way Shakespeare would weave a metaphor of one man’s plight into a cautionary tale for us all. The transformation of arcane truths into common contemporary meaning. And of course his ability to hold our attention through the music of metered of words. These devices are not artifacts of history. They are working tools of writers today. And it was Shakespeare who showed the way.
From the great Othello to the minor Cymbeline all of these devices are present and discernable. If you listen carefully and look closely, you can experience Shakespeare‘s genius in ever deepening layers. That is why the Bard is as popular today as he was 400 years ago. And his plays presented over and over around the world.
So if you were not fortunate enough to be attend either of these recent July Shakespeare in the Park performances at Rush Park, despair not gentle reader, your very own Los Al TV has captured both performances for your amusement and your enlightenment. And just in case you misplaced your pocket Shakespeare Cliff notes, we provide a short stage side synopsis of the action to follow before each performance, courtesy of one of the actors themselves. See the Los Al TV listings in this edition for times and dates, or view the two plays online at losaltv.org. Join us and celebrate 400 years of the Bard, and in what better place to do it than a park.
John Underwood is a senior producer at Los Al TV and production coordinator at Studio 1 Productions
