Shakespeare in LA

Cornerstone Theater Company continues its world premiere adaption of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, titled California: The Tempest, written by Cornerstone co-founder Alison Carey and directed by its artistic director Michael John Garcés. The year-long tour performs in ten diverse California cities on a journey that began in 2014. Join Cornerstone as they move from the downtown Los Angeles Arts District to Arvin, Lost Hills, Grayson & Westley, Pacoima, East Salinas, Fowler, Holtville, Eureka, San Francisco and then back to Downtown L.A. (where it all began) as each of these ten communities contributes to writing the play they inspire.

In California: The Tempest, “What’s past is prologue,” as playwright Alison Carey’s adaptation of The Tempest meets California’s challenges head-on in a traveling experience that conjures love, disaster, revenge, forgiveness & music (all that you would expect from Shakespeare); mixed with earthquakes, drought, overdevelopment, food equity, state politics, fracking and immigration policy (all that you would expect from California) as Prosper, her daughter Minerva, her servant Caliban and Californians from across the state yearn to find the commonality in our diversity and imagine a healthy and inclusive future for California. 

Michael John Garcés says, “It is a monumental effort and collaboration on which we embark with this project, but playwright Alison Carey’s themes are so vital and important to our work as a company; when are we individuals, and when are we part of communities? When are we residents of real California, and when are we aspirants to mythic California? What is hunger in this state that feeds so much of a country, and in how many ways are we hungry? These are the questions we hope to explore on this year-long quest across California.”

A core cast made up of Cornerstone’s ensemble, graduates of Cornerstone’s Institute Summer Residencies as well as performers from the collaborating communities, will tour to all the cities. This cast includes Elzie Alexander, Karen Covarrubias, MC Earl, Gabriel Garcia, Iris Gonzalez, Chelsea Gregory, Brent Grihalva, Peter Howard, Joji Koyuri, Page Leong, Francisco Martinez, Gema Sanchez and Bahni Turpin. In each town, a community chorus will be incorporated into the show. Cornerstone will spend three weeks in each location. Here is the schedule of upcoming dates and locations where you can catch the tour:

Feb. 5-7: Pacoima (Los Angeles), indoors at ArTES, Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academy, 1001 Arroyo Ave. in San Fernando, CA 91340. (7:30 pm)

Feb. 19-21: East Salinas, aka Alisal (Monterey Co) indoors at the Los Padres Elementary School, 1130 John Street, Salinas, CA 93905 (7:00 pm)

March 5-7: Fowler (Fresno Co), Outside at Panzak Park, Merced Street and Third Street, Fowler CA 93625 (7:00 pm)

May 7-9: Holtville (Imperial Co). outdoors at Finley Elementary School, 627 East 6th Street, Holtville, CA 92250 (7:00 pm)

May 21-23: Eureka (Humboldt Co), outdoors at the Blue Ox Millworks, 1 X Street, Eureka, CA 95501 (7:00 pm)

June 4-6: San Francisco, indoors at Z Space Theatre, Mission District, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 (8:00 pm)

June 18-20: Downtown Los Angeles, outdoors at Grand Park
200 N. Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012 (8:00 pm)

Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can (suggested donation of $10.00). To make a reservation for a tour performance, please call 1-800-578-1335. For group sales, please email grouptickets@cornerstonetheater.org. You can learn more about Cornerstone Theatre Company at Cornerstonetheater.org.