Shakespeare Festival Back for Second Year

By Kaila Mellos

For the second year, Dana Point will host the Shakespeare Festival on Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12, in Sea Terrace Park. Although it may be changing its name from the Orange County “ShakesBEER” Festival, the Dana Point Arts & Culture Ambassadors hope the community will still embrace it just the same.

Festival organizers are putting a spin on the popular outdoor Shakespearean production after Fourth of July weekend, blending family time and live entertainment with performances of “Twelfth Night” at Sea Terrace Park.

“ With our second year, we’re finding there are certain things that we’re going to hold true to. One of those is making Shakespeare fun and ensuring everyone has a great time,” said Alicia Erlinger, a long-time Dana Point resident, educator, theater maker, advocate and Arts & Culture Ambassador. “Whether or not you are familiar with Shakespeare and the play, we hope to make it accessible to everyone. The play is family-friendly, and we’ve condensed it to 90 minutes, focusing on the straightforward story and the characters having fun.”

Those who attended the first year of the festival enjoyed beer tastings from local breweries. While that may not be a part of this year’s festivities, there will still be pre-show music performances, kids’ activities, food trucks and drink vendors.

This year, the festival will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 11, with two bands performing before the play. The musical guests will be Iris and the Shade and Queen Anne’s Blouse, which were also part of the pre-show performance last year. The festival will also take place on Saturday, July 12, 5 to 9 p.m.

It is recommended that guests bring a low-back lawn chair or blanket, along with any outside food, as picnics are permitted during the show. The play will begin promptly at 7 p.m. and last 90 minutes without intermission.

For those unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” this rendition of the play aims to make theater more enjoyable and accessible, thereby reducing the intimidation factor for the audience.

“‘Twelfth Night’ is a comedy, and I chose it because of the funny characters and this whole idea of identity and confusion,” Erlinger said. “I think this will be something the audience will really enjoy, and it also gives us opportunities to have physical comedy, not just the Shakespeare wordplay.”

Erlinger has compiled a cast of 12 actors from hundreds of auditions; three actors have even returned from last year. One of the actors has also been composing original music for the show, which is hoped to leave the audience in awe.

“We’re just so fortunate to have the actors we have. We began the process with a regional audition, where we saw over 100 actors. From there, we were able to call back about 28, and then select our 12 from that group,” she said. “ Now that we have 12 actors, one of whom composed original music for our show, we’re in the middle of the third week of rehearsals out of six. We are excited to receive our costumes next week, which will finally bring everything together.

“ I have a wonderful director; her name is Sarah-Jane Finch, and she’s leading this production, doing a fantastic job. When we organize Shakespeare Festivals in the park, we always try to center them around a maritime theme, set in a maritime setting, utilizing our rich history in Dana Point. This year, we are excited that it is pirates and the concept is based around that.”

As this is a free festival in the park entirely run by the hard work of many generous volunteers, they hope that guests will make it possible to compensate the actors.

“ We have wonderful actors, and they are all volunteers. They give their time, talent, work hard and come prepared to rehearsal,” Erlinger said. “ As this is a free festival in the park, we rely on several ways we have set up to donate and support them. We collect donations at the end of the show, but we also have Venmo set up, so people can donate electronically. Then, whatever’s in the pot, we split among the actors.”

Like last year, the main goal of the two-night performance is to make it accessible for those interested in supporting and enjoying live theater. Community is important to many artists, and the ambassadors hope everyone can attend to strengthen it.

“ I hope guests will appreciate live theater by taking the time to come out to see the play on one of the two nights. It’s essential for the community and for us all to come together and enjoy a great live performance, stepping out of the digital world for an hour and a half to connect with characters and Shakespeare’s language,” Erlinger said. “Getting to know just how fun Shakespeare is and how current he is, as he has lasted over 400 years in the arts, is what I’m hoping for. This will continue to evolve into something that the city and its visitors look forward to attending.”