LORRAINE HANSBERRY’S DIRECTED BY PATRICIA MCGREGOR 2014 SEASON 40TH ANNIVERSARY RITS_cover+color-RK.indd 1 4/25/14 10:45 AM “ With City National’s help we created an extraordinary theater.” 14 City National Bank 14 City National 0 ©2 We needed to renovate our dilapidated facilities at Cal Shakes. We had a short window to complete the project – and that’s where City National came in. They’re a community-oriented bank, and they under- stood our situation. They provided a loan and made it possible to build our dream theater. City National is The way up® for me and my business. Jonathan Moscone Artistic Director, California Shakespeare Theater Hear Jonathan’s complete story at cnb.com/PossibleDream. Experience the City National Difference.SM Call (866) 618-5242 or visit cnb.com to find a business banker near you. NMLSR #536994 City National Business Banking CNB MEMBER FDIC Untitled-22 1 4/10/14 11:57 AM CNB.83 CAL SHAKES_CalShakes2_Ad PROJECT MANAGER: JOHNSON, M. ID#: 3159.11 DATE: APRIL 4, 2014 11:04 AM CAMPAIGN: TESTIMONIAL_Moscone REVISION#: 0 APPROVED / OK TO PRINT REVISE / SUBMIT NEW PROOF SIZE: FP: 7.375 x 9.875 inches CATEGORY: AD COLORS: 4-color PUBLICATION: CALIFORNIA QUANTITY: PDFx/1a_ SHAKESPEARE THEATER (Encore) PROJECT MANAGER SIGNATURE CITY NATIONAL BANK CREATIVE SERVICES Feel pampered while taking care of your health. At our conveniently located women’s health center, you get the Location: care you need to maintain your good health. Our services include Women’s Health Center in Lafayette digital mammography screening, pelvic health physical therapy, 3595 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite 350 nutrition consultation, lactation support, and personal counseling. (925) 962-9129 We accept many insurance plans. It’s another way we plus you. Call to find out if we accept yours. altabatessummit.org/lafayette Untitled-3 1 4/21/14 9:45 AM May 2014 Volume 23, No. 1 LOCAL BANKERS Paul Heppner Publisher LOCAL DECISIONS Susan Peterson L D Design & Production Director Ana Alvira, Deb Choat, Robin Kessler, Kim Love Design and Production Artists Mike Hathaway Advertising Sales Director Marty Griswold, Seattle Sales Director Gwendolyn Fairbanks, Ann Manning, Lenore Waldron Seattle Area Account Executives Staci Hyatt, Marilyn Kallins, Tia Mignonne, Terri Reed Jim Wim-Kees Colleen Doug Kevin Tom San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives Griffin van Hout Benatar Maggi Louie Rodriguez Denise Wong Executive Sales Coordinator Jonathan Shipley Ad Services Coordinator www.encoremediagroup.com Walnut Creek | 590 Ygnacio Valley Rd., Suite 101 | 925.944.0180 Paul Heppner Also in San Jose at 2001 Gateway Place, Suite 135E, 408.573.7710 Publisher Leah Baltus scottvalleybank.com Editor-in-Chief Marty Griswold Sales Director Joey Chapman Account Executive Dan Paulus Art Director SVB 041114 local 1_3s.pdf Jonathan Zwickel Senior Editor Gemma Wilson Associate Editor Amanda Manitach Visual Arts Editor Amanda Townsend Events Coordinator www.cityartsonline.com Paul Heppner President Mike Hathaway Vice President Erin Johnston Communications Manager Genay Genereux Accounting Corporate Office 425 North 85th Street Seattle, WA 98103 p 206.443.0445 f 206.443.1246 [email protected] 800.308.2898 x105 www.encoremediagroup.com ad proofs.indd 1 Encore Arts Programs is published 4/11/14monthly by 4:37 Encore PM Media Group to serve musical and theatrical events in Western Washington and the San Francisco Bay Area. All rights reserved. ©2014 Encore Media Group. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited. 4 CALIFORNIA SHAKESPEARE THEATER WWW.CALSHAKES.ORG FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR. It is hard to believe that Cal Shakes is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. While much about the company has changed over the years (starting with names— from the Emeryville Shakespeare Company, to the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, the California Shakespeare Festival, and now California Shakespeare Theater) the important things remain the same—namely, our adventurous spirit and deep desire to create productions of Shakespeare and the classics that feel immediate, relevant, and wildly entertaining. While it is gratifying to look back (and I hope you’ll enjoy Philippa Kelly’s series of program articles this season on Cal Shakes through the years), mostly we’re celebrating our anniversary by looking forward. IN JANUARY, we unveiled a new mission to lead us into our next chapter: With Shakespeare’s depth of humanity as our touchstone, we build character and community through authentic, inclusive and joyful theater experiences. I hope you’ll fi nd it as inspiring as I do. IN FEBRUARY, we launched our Shakespeare in Communities program with director Michelle Hensley’s delightful production of Twelfth Night. Featuring a stellar cast of some of the Bay Area’s best actresses (yes, I said actresses), this all-female production performed at a homeless shelter (Berkeley Food and Housing Project); Alameda County Juvenile Hall; Oakland’s Civicorps, an education and job training program for at-risk young adults; and an LBGT senior center in San Francisco, among other sites. Additionally, we offered ten moderate- ly-priced public performances at San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts. We were happy to see many of your familiar faces alongside audience members new to Cal Shakes. We learned so much through his project—both in terms of how to make better plays and how to be better community partners—and we hope this is just the fi rst of many such tours we offer as we deepen our commitment to playing an integral role in community life. IN MARCH, at our annual gala, we announced the launch of the Cal Shakes Legacy Circle—a group of individuals who have made plans for Cal Shakes in their own estate plans—and the creation of the Moscone Permanent Endowment. We plan to be around for the next forty years, so we are tremendously grateful for these forward-looking supporters who are helping to ensure our future. We hope the Legacy Circle will continue to grow in the months and years ahead; please contact [email protected] if you are interested in learning more. IN APRIL, we joined with staff from nine other leading arts organizations from around the state at a convening held by the Irvine Foundation to imagine how we, as individual arts organizations and as a fi eld, can evolve to better serve our increasingly diverse communities. Envisioning a better California with art at its center was an inspiring way to spend a few days. And IN M AY, we open our 2014 season with Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking A Raisin in the Sun, a play no less potent today than when it opened on Broadway in 1959. We’re thrilled to be producing this American classic on the Bruns stage, and can’t wait to see it come to life under the direction of the superb Patricia McGregor and her meticulously-assembled team. And that only takes us through the fi rst half of the year! We’ve got so much more in store for you. Thank you for celebrating our 40th anniversary with us. Let’s get this party started. Susie Falk Photo by Kevin Berne. encoreartsprograms.com 5 CELEBRATE CAL SHAKES OUR STORY: PART ONE AT THE JOHN HINKEL PARK YEARS 40 BY RESIDENT DRAMATURG, PHILIPPA KELLY By the 1970s, Berkeley had established itself at the heart of the counterculture, a multifaceted outgrowth of the Beat movement (“cool jazz,” “beatitude,” anti-mate- rialism, anti-institutionalism) in which the children of post-war Americans sought to express their independence. These young people rejected their parents’ drive for security and prosperity, forming collectives and movements of their own that pushed for environmental reform, sexual freedom, and a stop to the Vietnam War. There were profound engagements with non-Judeo-Christian beliefs, including Buddhism, the EST self-realization movement, and the Hare Krishnas; the hedonism led by Timothy O’Leary, a direct outgrowth of drug-taking; and the music of Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Janice Joplin and the Woodstock Festival, iconic political embodi- ments of youthful idealism. Above: Lura Dolas as Rebecca and Annette Bening as Rowena in Ivanhoe, 1983; below: The California Shakespeare Theater had its origins in this culture. It began as a James Carpenter as Hal and Michael group of Shakespeare enthusiasts who wanted to stage performances. Led by Peter McShane as Falstaff inHenry IV, Part 1, 1987. Fisher, graduate student and musician, the group originally met as the ”Emeryville Shakespeare Company,” gathering in a shed in Emeryville, with an aim to stage only Shakespeare, leaving other playwrights to other newly-established theater companies like the Berkeley Repertory Theater and the American Conservatory Theater. Every decision was to be arrived at, where possible, through a non-hierarchical governing structure—what plays to perform, in what order, who to direct, and what budgets could be allocated. Each director, once selected and given a budget, had the free- dom to cast and staff the show at will. In 1974 the company pooled funds to establish a season budget of $3000, mov- ing to the ready-made amphitheater provided by Berkeley’s John Hinkel Park. They re-named themselves the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival. The park was shaded by a glorious oak tree, and at an early performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Puck swung onto the stage from one of its branches. Bay trees scented the amphitheater, and old, broken-down redwood benches, probably dating back to the 1930s, were built into its tiers. Once the City of Berkeley had replaced the benches with gravel, audiences camped along the tiers, making themselves comfortable on cushions and lawn chairs, often arriving very early—through either the bottom or the top of the park—to secure their favorite spots. Many brought sleeping bags so that when the fog rolled in and the temperature dropped, they were able to stretch out, warm and snug, with a picnic and a bottle of wine.