Jan. 27, 2014—We're pleased to report that Shakespeare Play On, the group trying to keep Shakespeare in Santa Cruz, is within striking distance of its fundraising goal. As of today the group has raised $734,264 on its way to $885,000. There are four days left to give; visit the Shakespeare Play On website to donate.
Hilltromper cares about Shakespeare Play On. (Here's a longish rave from a few weeks ago.) For the past 15-plus years, our summertime outdoor activities have included evenings in the Glen. The Play On folks, mostly former board members of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, are trying to keep that tradition alive one way or another
Key to their rapid success is Play On's intelligently assembled Advisory Board, which is headlined by theater people of national significance:
• Patrick Stewart, before achieving superstardom as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, was a leading actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company. And Stewart has an SSC connection: he was on tap to come to Santa Cruz just before landing his gig on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• Olympia Dukakis, who won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her role as Cher's mom in Moonstruck, long ago returned to Broadway. She too has an SSC connection: she appeared with Marco Barricelli, Shakespeare Play On’s co-Artistic Director, in the American Contemporary Theater production of Vigil.
• James Bundy, as Dean of Yale School of Drama and Artistic Director of the independent Yale Repertory Theatre, knows something about the dynamic of the 'town-gown' split. He also directed The Taming of the Shrew for the California Shakespeare Festival.
• Emily Mann is Artistic Director of the McCarter Theatre, the first independent professional theater on a university campus in America, which is located at Princeton University and may be the best regional theater in the nation.
Along with these players on the national stage, Shakespeare Play On has assembled an impressive list of local luminaries:
• Roland Rebele, who built his fortune by bringing first-rate journalism to small cities in California and beyond, has become one of Santa Cruz's most prominent patrons of the arts, along with his wife Patricia Rebele. They also fund important work to help the homeless.
• David Haussler, who led the team that assembled the first genome sequence for the Human Genome Project, heads UCSC's Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering, which is looking into the genetic causes of cancer.
• Christa Stiner CFO of the Montalvo Arts Center in Monet Sereno, is a veteran arts administrator and former president of the Shakespeare Santa Cruz board of directors.
• Darrin Caddes, who had a brilliant career as a designer at BMW and Indian motorcycles before becoming VP of Corporate Design at Plantronics, is on the board of the Museum of Art and History. (And his Daily Doodle on Facebook is awesome.)
These people were selected no doubt for their artistic integrity as much as their accomplishments and their name recognition. Play On's board of directors, similarly accomplished, includes SSC's founding artistic director, Audrey Stanley, and founding board president, Karen Sinsheimer. This effort is being spearheaded by our friend (and counsel), former SSC board chair Bill Richter.
If they reach their goal the Shakespeare Play On board promises to stage a 2014 summer season. Marco Barricelli, Artistic Director of SSC since 2008, and longtime SSC actor Mike Ryan will serve as co-Artistic Directors.
Whether of not this means the survival of Shakespeare Santa Cruz itself, or whether the new independent company will be performing in the Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen, is an open question. The SSC homepage features this note:
"UC Santa Cruz and Shakespeare Play On have signed a letter of intent and both entities are working hard to identify, address and finalize details relating to Shakespeare Play On's production of a 2014 season in the Sinsheimer-Stanley Glen."
