Only 3 Weekends Left of GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

Celebrating 10 years of free Shakespeare in the park

LOS ANGELES - GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, the largest Shakespeare festival in the history of the City of Los Angeles, is in its final three weeks at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park, presenting Macbeth, As You Like It and special festival offerings. The festival closes September 1 with As You Like It.
The festival opened on June 27 and, by the end of the first six weeks, had been seen by over 23,000 people, an increase of 21% over the same time period of the 2012 festival. The festival is on track to perform to a record-breaking 45,000 audience members this summer.
“For the last ten years, we have had the extraordinary privilege of performing free Shakespeare in Los Angeles,” says Artistic Director Melissa Chalsma. “It is an extremely diverse community, and it is crucial that we have opportunities that bring us together. Sharing great stories with one another reminds that we are all connected and much more alike than we are different. It's also a joy to see so many families in the audience. Knowing that we are the first experience of Shakespeare (and even live theater) for so many young people is an honor, and we feel a responsibility to make the experience engaging, challenging, and memorable. We want everyone to feel welcomed and included in the event, and this commitment is built into the performances themselves: our actors are uniquely accessible, and always happy to take a moment to talk to audience members before and after the shows. Not only that, the action of the play frequently moves through and into (and often includes) the audience. We treasure our unique connection to those who come to the plays!”
In addition to the productions, other festival offerings include education workshops and special pre-show performances by great Los Angeles artists.

Players in the Park/Teatristas en el parque are pre-show workshops on select evenings. Led by ISC teaching artists, families will learn about the play, explore Shakespeare’s language, take a backstage tour, and try out how it feels on the ISC stage. Students take home materials about the play. All workshops are offered in both English and Spanish, and are made possible in part by a grant from Union Bank.
Workshop before As You Like It: Saturday, August 17, 5pm Workshop before Macbeth: Sunday, August 25, 5pm
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Festival Arts Partners are local performing arts groups invited to present a special pre-show performance.
The Lampshades, America’s favorite dying lounge act, performs Saturday, August 17 before As You like It. The Lampshades are Kate Flannery (The Office) and Scot Robinson (Anchorman).
Mojácar Flamenco, the collaborative partnership of dancer-choreographer Katerina Tomás and guitarist-composer Stephen Dick, performs Sunday, August 25 before Macbeth. Mojácar Flamenco will present original works which blend lively, wild and romantic elements with the percussive and soulful heart of flamenco.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Directed by David Melville. Closes August 31.
Macbeth, a great warrior, lives in an era of violence. He is beloved by his King and respected by his friends. But when he has an otherworldly encounter, he is seduced by a vision of power. As he and his wife give in to their deepest yearnings, they make a chilling discovery: once opened, the gates of hell are very hard to close.
Quite a bit of blood completes Shakespeare’s tale of inappropriate desire and dire consequences. It may not be appropriate for younger children.
Macbeth Scenic design is by Caitlin Lainoff; costumes by Daniel Mahler; and lighting by Bosco Flanagan

As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Directed by Cassandra Johnson. Closes September 1.
What would you do if you could break all the rules?
One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies tells the story of a kingdom in disorder. Its rightful leader is banished, a young man is denied his due by his malevolent elder brother, and a woman is exiled from the place that has always been her home. All of their paths lead away from the “painted pomp” of the court into the heart of the forest of Arden.
It’s a place where natural laws outweigh the laws of man and the force of love reigns supreme. As bitter winter passes into the bloom of spring, the residents of Arden discover that transformation is always possible, and sometimes the disguises we wear are the best way to discover who we are.
Scenic design is by Caitlin Lainoff; costumes by Michelle Neumann; lighting by Bosco Flanagan; and music composed by David Melville.

ISC Acting Company members are some of Los Angeles’s most seasoned stage professionals. Their experience ranges from Broadway, London’s West End, major US regional theaters, and some of LA’s best venues.
From 2004–2009, the site of the festival was Barnsdall Park in Hollywood. By 2009, ISC had outgrown the site and were turning audience members away. In partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, ISC moved the festival to the current site at the Old Zoo and 2010 was the premiere of the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Last year’s 2012 season presented 40 performances of three plays in repertory; a phenomenal 38,000 people attended, an increase of almost 300% since moving to Griffith Park in 2010.
ISC has historically attracted an uncharacteristically youthful and diverse theater audience, particularly with the venue change to Griffith Park, the demographics of have become more populous. The 2012 audience was: 52% non-Caucasian, 78% under 35 years old (38% under 18), and 63% earning under $50,000 a year.
ISC is one of the few theaters in Los Angeles performing under a paid contract with Actors Equity Association and is one of only nine Los Angeles theaters offering health and pension benefits to its Union performers.

Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival runs Thursdays through Sundays at 7 p.m. through September 1 with an added performance Wednesday, August 28. All Performances are FREE! The festival is located in The Old Zoo at Griffith Park (near 4730 Crystal Spring Dr.) GPS Coordinates of the parking area: 34*8.034’N, 118* 17.100‘W Visit www.iscla.org or call (818) 710-6306 for directions and information.

PLEASE NOTE: There is no seating at the site. Please bring a blanket or low-backed chair. It is
also very cool when the sun goes down. Dress warmly.

About Independent Shakespeare Co. (ISC)

ISC was founded in 1998. We have been producing accessible, imaginative performances of classical plays since that time. Our first performances were located on the Lower East Side of New York. The stripped down production style of our early productions enabled us to travel easily and we quickly found ourselves touring Europe, ending with an invitation to perform our production Macbeth for four weeks at The King’s Head Theatre in London. In 2001 we relocated to Los Angeles and -- with the support of the Department of Recreation and Parks and the Department of Cultural Affairs -- founded Free Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park, in 2004. Because of audience demand, in 2010 we moved to the significantly larger venue at the Old Zoo and re-christened the summer season the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. We have produced 21 fully staged productions over nine summer seasons. The growth in attendance is extraordinary: our first season played to fewer than 1,000 people; by 2012 nearly 38,000 people came to Griffith Park for 40 nights of free Shakespeare productions. For more information call 818-710-6306 or visit www.iscla.org.