History
past productions
Founded in 1974, the Theater began as an artistic collective and
has evolved into a fully professional theater known for its innovative
productions of classic theater. From 1983 to 1995, it was guided
by the leadership of artistic directors Dakin Matthews (1983-1987),
and Michael Addison (1987-1995). During its 15 years at Berkeley's
John Hinkel Park, such actors as Annette Bening, John Vickery,
Douglas Sills, Julian Lopez-Morillas, and Lura Dolas appeared in
over 53 productions, primarily of the plays of William Shakespeare.
In 1991, the Theater built its current performance venue, the 545-seat
Bruns Memorial Amphitheater in the hills between Berkeley and Orinda,
following a capital campaign led by East Bay philanthropist Clarence
Woodard and supported by foundations and Bay Area community leaders.
In 1995, actor Joe Vincent became the Theater's artistic director
and served until 1999.
In 2000, following a yearlong national search, Jonathan Moscone was appointed
its current artistic director. Under his leadership, California
Shakespeare Theater has set out upon an ambitious growth path,
intended to deepen the Theater's artistic and educational roles
in the communities of the Bay Area. Since then, Cal Shakes has engaged artists of the highest caliber from the Bay Area and around the country, including: directors Joel Sass, Lisa Peterson, Mark Rucker, Karin Coonrod, Daniel Fish, Amanda Dehnert, and Kate Whoriskey; designers Daniel Ostling, Christopher Akerlind, Riccardo Hernandez, Stephen Strawbridge, and Christine Jones; composer Gina Leishman and choreographers Joe Goode, K.T. Nelson, and Erika Chong Shuch; and actors James Carpenter, L. Peter Callender, Sharon Lockwood, Steven Skybell, Gerald Hiken, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Domenique Lozano, Michael Emerson, Patrick Kerr, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ravi Kapoor, and Reg Rogers. These artists
come to the work without preconceptions or reverence for the iconic
personality of Shakespeare, but with a shared belief in revealing
his stories innovatively and with an immediacy that is borne of
intellectual rigor and emotional honesty.
Since Moscone's tenure, California Shakespeare Theater has broadened its
programming to reflect our mission to create fresh rediscoveries of important
works of world theater.
In 2001, with the support of the East Bay Community Foundation, Cal Shakes
engaged in a year-long assessment to define the vision for our educational
efforts and how to root them in the mission of the Theater. We
sought to integrate these with our artistic efforts, and discover
how to serve the diverse communities of the Bay Area in meaningful
and sustainable ways. With the support of the Board and staff,
and in collaboration with area educators and arts education funders,
the Theater created the Artistic Learning Initiative, with the
vision of creating a culture of lifelong learners, nourishing imaginations
of young people and adults in preparation for the work of life.
For more information on Artistic Learning, click here.
A hallmark of the Bay Area communities is the broad diversity of the people
living here. It is a goal of Cal Shakes to make theater that reflects
the rich diversity of our communities. To that end, we have created
New Works/New Communities, an initiative that brings diverse communities
together around the creation of new works of theater inspired by
the classics. In partnership with other arts and community-based
organizations, we hope to articulate a larger, more inclusive concept
of community that embraces our cultural, ethnic, social and geographic
differences.
New Works/New Communities was launched in 2003 with a partnership with San Francisco's Intersection for the Arts and its resident theater company, Campo Santo, around Hamlet: Blood in the Brain. In 2007, NW/NC partnered with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, MFA students at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), and community organizations working with homeless LGBT youth in San Francisco, to create King of Shadows; and with teens and young adults at San Francisco’s Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center (LYRIC) and Oakland's Youth Empowerment School (in partnership with East Side Arts Alliance) to present Love Test. Beginning in 2007, NW/NC worked with playwright Octavio Solis, the Word for Word Performing Arts Company, and community groups in the Salinas area to adapt John Steinbeck’s Pastures of Heaven for a 2010 Main Stage production—the first play to ever have its world premiere at the Bruns Amphitheater. In October of 2010, we received a three-year, $300,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support the creation of a sustained partnership with Intersection/Campo Santo. This partnership, born of both companies’ desire to further develop their common vision for the creation of new theatrical works, aims to build on the shared goals of fostering community through theater and a desire to increase each organization’s impact in disparate communities. For more information on New Works/New Communities, click here.
The official change of the company's name from California Shakespeare
Festival to California Shakespeare Theater in 2003 more clearly defines
our role as a theater serving the diverse communities of our region beyond
our summer programming. We envision becoming a true cultural leader of
the Bay Area, providing a home for our community of artists, audiences
and learners 365 days a year.
Past Productions
Year |
Director |
1974
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1975
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1976 |
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1977 |
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1978 |
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1979 |
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1980 |
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1981 |
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1982 |
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1983 |
Anne McNaughton |
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1984 |
Tony Amendola |
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1985 |
Richard E.T. White |
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1986 |
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1987 |
Kathleen Conklin |
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1988 |
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1989 |
Peggy Shannon |
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1990 |
Julian López-Morillas |
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1991 |
Richard Seyd |
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1992 |
Michael Addison |
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1993 |
Penny Metropulos |
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1994 |
Paul Barnes |
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1995 |
Chris Barton |
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1996 |
Robert Kelley |
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1997 |
Joe Vincent |
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1998 |
Lillian Groag |
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1999 |
Ed Hastings |
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2000 |
Lillian Groag |
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2001 |
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2002 |
Jonathan Moscone |
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2003 |
Jonathan Moscone |
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2004 |
Sean Daniels |
| 2005 |
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2006 |
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2007 |
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2008 |
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2009 |
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2010 |
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2011 |
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2012 |
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