Theater group presents Shakespeare, Dickens




ACTING UP-Marley  (David Himes) is ready to show Scrooge (Mark  Silver)  the  true  spirit  of Christmas in the Santa Susana Repertory Company's production of

ACTING UP-Marley (David Himes) is ready to show Scrooge (Mark Silver) the true spirit of Christmas in the Santa Susana Repertory Company’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” now playing at the Scherr Forum in Thousand Oaks.


Since Shakespeare is part of the regular high school curriculum, the Santa Susana Repertory Company decided to stage dynamic live theatrical productions to bring the author’s work to life and immerse the students in the world of timeless classics.

The professional nonprofit theater company recently presented Hamlet and Macbeth exclusively for the benefit of schools in Ventura County and surrounding areas, and so far about 2,000 students have seen the shows.

Shakespeare is meant to be seen rather than just read in class, said Lora Novak, who went to see Hamlet with her 12thgrade advancedplacement English class from Westlake High School. “It’s a good visual culmination to the study of the play,” she said.

“Many of these students have never seen a live performance before,” said Robin Stidham, the liaison for school sales and bookings for the company.

The programs are developed to excite and educate students by bringing characters and events off the page and onto the stage, she said. The actors stay after the productions to participate in discussions with the students. Schools can also receive online support.

“It’s very gratifying to have kids actually cheering for Shakespeare, given the competition out there and the attention span of the average middle- to high-schooler,” said Lane Davies, founder and artistic director for the company.

“I think we caught them off guard-in spite of limited budgets and 400-year-old language, though no less arcane than the average rap song,” he said. The students were viscerally stimulated by the close presence of very good actors who revel in the richness and power of Shakespeare’s plays.

“I think it’s important for us to share Shakespeare because he is a true treasure, and he said it better than anybody else,” said Marc Silver, a professional actor who portrayed Polonius in Hamlet and one of the witches in Macbeth.

“Shakespeare is made to be seen and felt in a theater,” said Silver, adding that he likes to share the magic of words and ideas embodied in Shakespeare’s work. “There is no greater theatrical satisfaction for me,” Silver said.

Silver is also playing Scrooge in the current Santa Susana Repertory performances of “A Christmas Carol.” “It really is the ultimate story for getting out the Christmas spirit,” he said.

About 1,400 students are expected to see “A Christmas Carol,” Stidham said. Charles Dickens’ classic will also be performed for the general public for the next two weekends. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays until Dec. 17.

The company will perform “Twelfth Night” in February. There will also be two evening performances for that show.

Student shows are $12 per person and Santa Susana Repertory also brings in students from lower income areas at no cost to the pupils, Stidham said.

The 200607 season represents a sort of renaissance for the Santa Susana Repertory, said Davies, who cofounded the California Lutheran University Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival with Michael Arndt.

There is still considerable crossover and support with the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival, Davies said. Visit the theater company’s

website, www.santasusanarep.org for more information about school bookings.

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