Sacramento shakespeare
Sacramento Shakespeare Festival
Mission of the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival
The Sacramento Shakespeare Festival is produced by City Theatre at Sacramento City College and strives to provide top quality Shakespeare performances and training to the Sacramento community, utilizing the resources, teachers, and students of the Theatre Department, and the most experienced and professional artists in the Sacramento area. This is achieved by producing full-length plays in William Land Park, shorter versions of Shakespeare¹s plays in various locations throughout the Sacramento area, travelling scenes and workshops to classes, community centers, and an on-site High School Internship program.
A Brief History of the Festival
Classics Back to Back
City Theatre first produced plays by William Shakespeare in the William Carroll Amphitheatre in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s. These productions included Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. However, the social climate of the times and its inherent problems forced a return to SCC’s Art Court Theatre. There, the college continued to produce classic plays during the summer months. The “Classics Back to Back” program was active from 1980 to 1985 and included works by Moilere, Wycherly, and Sheridan along with the plays of William Shakespeare.
In 1985, Larry Hendrick, then Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts, and Theatre Professors J.D. Sutherland and Donna J. Sparks began exploring the possibilities of returning to the amphitheatre in William Land Park. They were joined by associate Professor Kim McCann and a long year of meetings with the College, the City of Sacramento, Parks and Rec, and others commenced.
Shakespeare in the Park
A season of Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew was set with McCann and Sparks designated to direct. Robert Musser was hired as the scenic and lighting designer and technical director and Margaret Wooten-Dennett was tabbed to design the costumes. The directors cast a company of approximately 26 actors who appeared in both shows, in true repertory fashion. The venture was called “Shakespeare in the Park” and despite working under very rudimentary conditions (minimal lighting, the most basic of sound systems), the team felt that the venture was quite successful.
Sacramento Shakespeare Festival
The Festival has continued to evolve and grow since that first summer, always looking for ways to improve the overall experience for both the audience and the company of technicians, designers, actors, and directors. The Festival’s name was changed to “Sacramento Shakespeare Festival” in the late 90’s in order to better reflect the area in which we work and the community we serve. Since its inception in 1986, we have expanded our “play list” to include the works of other authors that we believe still have the scope of the Shakespearean canon. This allowed us to produce Cyrano de Bergerac in 1997 (the play’s 100 year anniversary) and to produce Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. The director worked closely with Musketeers playwrights Douglas Langworthy and Linda Alper from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Shakespeare Lite
The Shakespeare Lite outreach program takes shortened versions of classic plays to outlying areas that might not otherwise experience our Festival.
High School Intern Program
The High School Intern Program enables high school students to work alongside the Festival’s staff in all aspects of production, from scene shop to performance. The Festival staff teach master classes in their particular areas of expertise, allowing the students to receive further training in all of the disciplines involved in the art of Theatre.
2007 Season
June 29 - August 5, 2007
William Land Park, William A Carroll Amphitheatre
Macbeth, in contemporary Kabuki style, directed by Kim McCann in her last production prior to retirement from the directors chair
The Comedy of Errors, a la Moulin Rouge, directed by Luther Hanson
Shakespeare Lite, touring 45 minutes versions to local Sacramento venues, directed by Christine Nicholson, featuring The Doctor in Spite of Himself & Pericles
2006 Season
Shakespeare Lite: The Three Musketeers & A Midsummer Night's Dream