Go Together!
Help sustain Cal Shakes through 2022 and beyond.
"Go Together, You Precious Winner's All."
~Paulina, The Winter's Tale
This year we vanquished the fears; we responded to concerns and were diligent in putting safety first; and we met at the Bruns after a long time away.
Almost every aspect of our operations has been touched by change. Catalyzed by necessity, no doubt, yet every choice was grounded in the knowledge that our existence is integrated with the resiliency of our communities.
Your support is integral to our existence, too. Without individual donors, Cal Shakes could not have survived the pandemic.
We believe in theater that connects us to our past, invites complexity, and expands our capacity to imagine. When we do this together with open hearts, we all win.
Did you know...
Despite the pandemic, social-distancing measures, and our cancelled season, Cal Shakes pivoted to continue to serve our community, our artists, our students, and our audience as we would in any other year. Things just looked a little different.
Both our summer conservatory and in-classroom residencies moved online proving it’s possible to teach stage combat over Zoom! And we expanded to offer adult classes with Shakespeare In-Depth and Structural Design for the Stage. Our team is busy developing innovative programming for the Spring.
Though we couldn’t produce plays at the Bruns, we offered up the grounds as a resource for socially-distanced activities that followed all local safety protocols. From film premieres to virtual concerts, dance classes to Bar Mitzvahs, our beautiful space became much more than a theater.
Two weeks into shelter-in-place, we launched Cal Shakes Online—a digital platform designed to bring solace, conversation, and laughter to our community. Our most popular series, Direct Address, continues to examine the historical structures at the root of the racial inequality in our industry.
To support the artists and arts workers who lost their livelihoods this year, we offered sessions on financial management, provided micro-commissions, gathered in listening circles to learn how we might contribute, and adjusted our operations to meet what needs we could.
We continue to work with activists and community groups to use storytelling as a form of civic engagement and are eager to highlight Tatiana Chaterji who is finishing a curriculum for teaching artists with a lived connection to criminalization to lead theater-based work inside a carcel setting.
Cal Shakes remains a place where classic stories from all points of view have a home, a place where extraordinary artistry contributes to a more just society. As we look toward a brighter 2021, we look forward to welcoming you back to the Bruns and reconnecting after along time spent apart.
Looking for other ways to donate? From recurring gifts, gifts of stock, planned giving, and donor-advised funds (like Fidelity Charitable, Charles Schwab Charitable, or BY Mellon), there are lots of ways to show your support. Learn more and see if your company offers a matching gift program with one easy click!
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Header photo from the 2021 production of The Winter’s Tale; photo by Jay Yamada.