Bring your picnic, blanket, and the kids – Rustic Canyon Park is about to get a little more mischievous this summer, thanks to The City Shakespeare Company’s (City Shakes’) weekend performances of Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
Founded in 2012 by Brooke Bishop and Allison Volk, City Shakes is on a mission to bring together community members to enjoy classic theater in a fun, accessible way, and there’s no better venue than Rustic Canyon Park’s “little urban oasis,” as Bishop, the show’s director, calls it. “Working in and around the Rec Center, our thespian activities become an integral part of the community, rather than something tucked away in an isolated, windowless theater,” she says.
As You Like It follows the story of Rosalind (Allison Volk) as she dresses up as a man and runs away to the Forest of Arden after her uncle banishes her from court (or in this production, a circus). There she encounters her true love, Orlando (Theo Salter) and must find a way to woo him without revealing her true identity. Lion tamings, live blue grass music and laughs for the whole family take the stage in this special production.
As You Like It plays Saturday June 8, 15, 29 & July 6 at 2pm. Rustic Canyon park at 601 Latimer Road, Pacific Palisades. Free admission. Donations will be gratefully accepted. For more information please visit www.cityshakes.org.
Shakespeare in LA 