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California Shakespeare Theater history
California Shakespeare Theater company history timeline
Founded by an intrepid group of actors in 1974, we’ve been reimagining and expanding the classical canon ever since.
In 1974 the company pooled funds to establish a season budget of $3000, moving to the ready-made amphitheater provided by Berkeley’s John Hinkel Park.
In 1979, against some objections, the collective appointed its first Artistic Director, George Kovach.
In 1979, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival began Summer with Shakespeare programs, six-week camps for ages 14–18, culminating with a performance in the John Hinkel Park amphitheater.
In 1991, the company (then known as California Shakespeare Festival) built the Bruns Amphitheater in the hills of Orinda.
After four years as an actor and teacher in the Company, in 1996 Joe Vincent becomes the next Artistic Director.
In 2000, Jonathan Moscone was appointed its Artistic Director.
In 2001, they began teaching pre- and post–show workshops wherein Cal Shakes teaching artists visit classrooms in order to enrich and support the Student Discovery Matinee experience.
In 2003, Cal Shakes launched New Works/New Communities (NW/NC) with the aim of engaging marginalized communities while creating new works of theater based on the classics.
Directed by Artistic Director Eric Ting, black odyssey played 25 performances, selling 5,600 tickets and earning $283,000 in single ticket revenue, surpassing the long-held record from the 2005 production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Part One.
-- With the new name comes a new initiative: New Works/New Communities, launching a partnership with Intersection for the Arts and Campo Santo to create "Hamlet: Blood in the Brain," an updated, Oakland-set version of "Hamlet" that would premiere in 2006.
In 2007, Cal Shakes commissioned San Francisco playwright Octavio Solis to adapt The Pastures of Heaven, an early novel of interconnected stories about farm life in the Salinas Valley by John Steinbeck.
In 2009, Susie Falk was named Managing Director, following the departure of Debbie Chinn.
The camps have continued, in one form or another, to this day, going under several different names (Camp, Conservatory, Summer Theater Programs). In 2009, the camps were offered to ages 8–18 in two- and five-week increments, with locations in Lafayette, Oakland, Orinda, and El Cerrito.
In 2009, Cal Shakes announced a second capital campaign, titled Building for the Future, to renovate the Bruns Amphitheater—including its grounds, backstage area, technical facilities, and the theater itself—using sustainable practices.
The Oakland Tech students then performed their production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2010.
The 2010 Season opens with John Steinbeck’s Pastures of Heaven (the first play to ever have its world premiere at the Bruns Amphitheater) and the unveiling of the new Sharon Simpson Center following extensive lobby and grounds improvement and additions of actor’s dressing rooms.
In 2010, the Advanced Drama Department at Oakland Technical High School revisited Hamlet: Blood in the Brain, choosing the play as their entry in the American High School Theatre Festival, which they won.
In 2015, Jonathan Moscone stepped down as Artistic Director after 15 years.
In 2016, California Shakespeare Theater celebrated its 25th anniversary at the Bruns.
“The War of the Roses” from William Shakespeare’s “Henry VI” & “Richard III,” adapted by Eric Ting & Philipa Kelly, directed by Eric Ting, Scenic Designer Nina Ball, at California Shakespeare Theater, Orinda, California, through Saturday, September 15, 2018.
2021 Season Winter’s Tale What’s Happening at the Bruns? past productions
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California Shakespeare Theater competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakespeare Theatre | 1985 | $19.2M | 200 | - |
| Williamstown Theatre Festival | 1955 | $3.9M | 375 | - |
| Atlantic Theater | 1985 | $10.0M | 5 | - |
| Manhattan Theatre Club | 1970 | $30.3M | 50 | - |
| La Jolla Playhouse | 1947 | $16.3M | 300 | - |
| TheatreWorksSV | 1970 | $7.2M | 31 | - |
| Seattle Rep | 1963 | $10.8M | 300 | 1 |
| Roundabout Theatre | 1965 | $86.8M | 750 | - |
| East West Players | 1965 | $5.0M | 42 | - |
| Huntington Theatre | 1982 | $11.9M | 100 | - |
California Shakespeare Theater history FAQs
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California Shakespeare Theater may also be known as or be related to CALIFORNIA SHAKESPEARE THEATER and California Shakespeare Theater.