LOS ANGELES – For the first time in approximately 20 years, the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA) returned to the Japanese Garden on the grounds of the VA West Los Angeles Healthcare Center campus with their summer production of As You Like It, directed by Royal Shakespeare Company artist Kenn Sabberton. The Center chose the location partly because Artistic Director Ben Donenberg remembered the beauty of the space when they performed there in the early 1990s, but also as a continuation of their work to make Shakespeare vital for everyone—in this case, veterans.
“Veterans’ health care is a major issue that we’ve yet to really absorb in our country,” said Anthony Byrnes, a producer for the Shakespeare Center on this project. And the Shakespeare Center wanted to be able to do more to help them than just offer free tickets. They found a way, thanks to the help of Federal Judge Harry Pregerson. Pregerson served as a Marine in WWII, and has been a tireless vet advocate. He was instrumental in the Shakespeare Center’s return to the VA campus.
Once that connection was made, the Shakespeare Center worked with the VA Center and engaged vets on every level of production: two vets acted in the show, vets helped build the stage and set, the sound was mixed by a veteran, and all of the front of house staff, parking attendees and ushers were vets. “We’ve been able to hire them to do everything from putting the set up to welcoming the audience, to acting in the company onstage, to mixing the audio—they’re involved everywhere,” Byrnes said.
The veterans were trained and guided by a roster of production companies that donated equipment and time, thanks to the efforts of longtime board member (and touring industry stalwart) Patrick Stansfield. He drew on his long list of contacts within the production industry to help out with staging and venue setup. Because the gardens hadn’t been used in what seemed like 20 years, the performance space was an overgrown field. The production team spent thousands trimming trees, clearing brush and rehabilitating the area. Once that was done, production partners donated or heavily discounted all the equipment necessary to set up a stage and 650-seat auditorium in the wilderness.
Brown United donated the bleachers, seating risers and chairs, a major portion of the infrastructure. SGPS Showrig supplied the truss and staging at cost. PRG donated all of the lighting, loudspeakers and control consoles. Road Radios gave radios for the production staff. Rock-It Cargo helped with transportation. “Steve Maples at Rock-It Cargo was absolutely amazing,” says Byrnes. And Jon Sound gave the Shakespeare Center a great discount on the wireless mics. All Access Passes provided backstage passes and the donor sponsor logos on a step-and-repeat banner. CAT Entertainment Services supplied the power, two 150 kVA generators, as well as cable and distro necessary to cover the 5-acre site. “This was an enormous gift,” said Stansfield. “Steve Jackson in New Jersey and Burt Bracegirdle in Los Angeles were terrific and unstinting in their service.” No detail being too small, even the comfy seat pads were donated by Mountain Productions for use on the bleacher units.
This wasn’t the first time these companies have helped out the Shakespeare Center. “Brown United has been supporters for 27 years,” said Patrick Stansfield. “SGPS supplied the truss and rig, and have for years in other locations. They’ve both been very, very loyal supporters. Ditto, well, everybody: Cat Entertainment Services, PRG, Road Radios, TMB, Rock It Cargo and All Access Passes. They’ve been very good to me on this whole thing, and I’m very grateful to them. They’ve been more than generous and bent over more than backwards to accommodate my Shakespeare fetish.”
The event was a great success, both in terms of the performance and its impact on the vets, and the Shakespeare Center is eager to see it continue to delight thousands of audience members from across all spectrums of Los Angeles.
“We’re hoping this becomes a long-term venue for Shakespeare Center Los Angeles, and we’d like to scale this program up to serve more veterans, employ more veterans and be here every summer for the next 20 years,” added Byrnes.
