We’re proud to announce that we have deepened our commitment to environmental sustainability by becoming one of largest solar-powered outdoor professional theaters in the country.

“Our decision to go solar was more than just economically motivated,” commented Cal Shakes Managing Director Susie Falk. “With our home sitting on a protected watershed, environmental stewardship is in Cal Shakes’ nature. Our recent renovations at the Bruns created native plant habitats, a living roof, bioswales, and other sustainable features. We are also committed to responsible scenic design and building practices that reuse and recycle materials. The addition of solar power was therefore a natural but nonetheless tremendously exciting step in our environmental evolution.”

The Turn Key 37.4 kilowatt DC solar electric system was designed by CC Energy of San Rafael, CA and installed by Pacific Solar Energy of Pleasanton, CA with cooperation from East Bay Municipal Utitilies District (EBMUD). The 144 260-watt panels and four 9000-watt inverters are designed to supply up to 98% of the power needs to the recently-renovated Bruns Amphitheater.

So the next time you’re up at the Bruns, remember that the sun isn’t just making the grass grow on the living roof and hills—it’s powering the sound board and warming the hot chocolate, too.

We are pleased to announce announced that we are one of 42 nonprofit, professional theater companies that will receive a grant of $25,000 to participate in Shakespeare for a New Generation from August 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.  The National Endowment for the Arts, in cooperation with Arts Midwest, presents Shakespeare for a New Generation, bringing the finest productions of Shakespeare to middle- and high-school students in communities across the United States. This is the tenth year of the program, the largest tour of Shakespeare in American history.

“This is the seventh year in a row we have been recipients of a Shakespeare for a New Generation grant, and we are absolutely thrilled,” says Cal Shakes Managing Director Susie Falk. “This grant provides crucial funding for our Student Discovery program, which introduces thousands of low-income students to Shakespeare each year, both in classrooms and at live performances at our Theater. For many of these students, it is their most significant arts experience in the school year. We are grateful for the continued support from the NEA and Arts Midwest, and honored to have the value and impact of our Student Discovery program recognized in this way.”

We will present Student Discovery matinee productions of Hamlet, directed by Liesl Tommy, attracting at least 3,270 middle and high school students from 46 Bay Area schools. Accompanying pre- and post-performance workshops and residencies will serve up to 500 of those students, primarily from low-income communities. Our annual fall Educator’s Night will combine complimentary tickets to a performance with a two-hour professional development workshop for teachers.

To date, more than 94 of the nation’s theater companies have taken part in the NEA’s Shakespeare program since its inception and participating theater companies have presented 30 of Shakespeare’s works through 7,000 performances and 17,000 educational activities at more than 5,500 schools in 2,800 communities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information about Cal Shakes’ education programs, visit calshakes.org/education or contact Director of Artistic Learning Trish Tillman at ttillman@calshakes.org or 510.548.3422 x113. For more information about our 2012 season, contact Marilyn Langbehn, Marketing and PR Manager, at mlangbehn@calshakes.org or 510.809.3290; or visit calshakes.org.

We conclude our 2012 season with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, helmed by internationally-renowned director Liesl Tommy, from September 19 through October 14.

Pictured, left to right: Zainab Jah as Ophelia, Dan Hiatt as Polonius, LeRoy McClain as Hamlet, Julie Eccles as Gertrude, Adrian Roberts as Claudius, and Nick Gabriel as Horatio; photo by Kevin Berne. (Click photo for larger image.)

The production features LeRoy McClain (Cassio in Othello with Philip Seymour Hoffman; Boy Willie in The Piano Lesson at Yale Rep, directed by Liesl Tommy; Broadway productions of Cymbeline and The History Boys) in the title role, with Adrian Roberts (Ruined at Berkeley Rep; First Person Shooter at SF Playhouse) as Claudius and the Ghost, and Zainab Jah (Ruined at Berkeley Rep; Drama Desk Award winner for her performance as Helen of Troy in Trojan Women for Classical Theatre of Harlem) as Ophelia. Also featured are Cal Shakes Associate Artists Julie Eccles (title role in 2011’s Candida) as Gertrude, Dan Hiatt (title role in Uncle Vanya, Newman Noggs in Nicholas Nickleby) as Polonius and the Gravedigger, and Danny Scheie (Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing, Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream) as the Player King and Osric. Others in the cast include Nick Gabriel (A.C.T. core company member, last seen at Cal Shakes in Candida) as Horatio, Nicholas Pelczar (Ferdinand and Trinculo in the season-opener The Tempest) as Laertes and Luciano, Mia Tagano (last seen at Cal Shakes in Nicholas Nickleby) as the Player Queen and the Doctor, Jessica Kitchens (Elvira in Blithe Spirit) as Rosencrantz, Brian Rivera (Yellowjackets at Berkeley Rep, two seasons with SF Mime Troupe) as Guildenstern and Bernardo; and Joseph Salazar as Marcellus and others. Mr. McClain, Mr. Roberts, Ms. Jah, and Mr. Rivera are all making their Cal Shakes debuts with this production.

Widely hailed as one of the greatest plays ever written, Hamlet returns to the Cal Shakes stage for the first time in more than a decade. In discussing her vision of the production, director Tommy says, “I’m mainly interested in exploring feelings of loss and grief in my work; the idea of ancestors and their spirits are fascinating to me. In Hamlet, I’ll be able to do that by focusing on the family drama as the heart of the story. For me, this is a memory play, a haunting within a haunting; the story of this family is by turns poetic, absurd, romantic, violent, and sad. The world of the play becomes its own character; the room and the objects in it hold the secrets and memories of what took place there. In essence the structure has outlived its inhabitants and is now a haunted place.”

The design team responsible to create this haunted world are set and costume designer Clint Ramos, whose work has been seen in numerous productions throughout the U.S. including Ms. Tommy’s production of Ruined (Berkeley Rep), Party People and Measure for Measure (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), and Tony Kushner’s The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism (Public Theatre); lighting designer Peter West, whose lights have graced such Cal Shakes’ productions as 2009’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and 2003’s Much Ado About Nothing, plus several productions at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, the Juilliard School, and Tanglewood Opera, among others; and sound designer and Cal Shakes Associate Artist Jake Rodriguez, creator of soundscapes for numerous Bay Area productions including Cal Shakes’ Nicholas Nickleby, Magic Theatre’s Bruja, A.C.T.’s Rock and Roll, plus the world premieres of Passing Strange, The People’s Temple, and Fetes de la Nuit at Berkeley Rep.

Internationally-renowned director Liesl Tommy made her Bay Area debut in 2010 with Lynne Nottage’s Ruined at Berkeley Rep; the production was subsequently named one of the year’s Ten Best by the San Francisco Chronicle. Recent projects include Party People (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The White Man – A Complex Declaration of Love (DanskDansk Theatre, Denmark); Peggy Picket Sees the Face of God (Luminato Festival/Canadian Stage. Toronto); Eclipsed (Yale Rep, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company); The Good Negro (The Public Theater, Dallas Theater Center), A History of Light (the Contemporary American Theatre Festival); Angela’s Mixtape (Synchronicity Performance Group, New Georges); A Stone’s Throw (Women’s Project); and Misterioso 119 (Berkshire Theatre Festival, Act French Festival). Ms. Tommy was awarded the NEA/TCG Directors Grant and the New York Theatre Workshop Casting/Directing Fellowship. She has taught master classes in acting, directing and new play development internationally and guest directed at Juilliard, Trinity Rep/Brown University’s MFA Directing Program, The Strasberg Institute, and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Ms. Tommy is a native of Cape Town, South Africa.

Hamlet plays September 19 through October 14 at the stunning outdoor Bruns Amphitheater. Get your tickets today.

Anthony Fusco, Jessica Kitchens, and René Augesen star in Blithe Spirit; photo by Kevin Berne.

Cal Shakers are theater lovers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s interested in engaging with and enjoying Cal Shakes through insider opportunities and events.

WHEN:   Friday, August 17, 6:30pm

WHERE: Bruns Amphitheater, Orinda

WHAT: 

Pre-performance party: Stockholm Krystal Vodka martinis and oysters fresh-shucked by The Oyster Girls (and that’s just the cocktail hour!); a delectable dinner; socializing and tarot readers—all served up in one of our eucalyptus-shaded picnic groves.

Performance of Blithe Spirit: The funniest haunting that ever there was: Noël Coward’s biting comedy of a novelist who, in researching his next book, unwittingly summons the spirit of his first wife—making his current spouse none-too-pleased.

TICKETS:  Call our Box Office at 510.548.9666 between 10am and 6pm Monday through Friday, or between 10 and 2 Saturday to purchase tickets.

1. Tickets to the pre-performance party are $25 for Shakers and $45 for non-Shakers.

2. Tickets to the evening’s 8:00pm performance of Blithe Spirit are sold separately, so you can choose seats—and prices—that suit you best. Prices rise when a show like this sells well, so GET YOUR TIX EARLY FOR THE BEST PRICES!

• Guests younger than 30 can get $20 theater tickets.
• Shakers get $10 off the price of two regularly-priced theater tickets.
• Non-Shakers ticketed for the pre-show party get $5 off any regularly-priced theater tickets.

JOIN:  The first ten people to join Cal Shakers by making a $75 membership donation by August 11 will win a certificate for a pound of Peet’s coffee—and get a total of $50 off tickets to this event!

THANKS!  This event is made possible by the support of Mechanics Bank, The Oyster Girls, and Stockholm Krystal Vodka.