Santa Cruz Shakespeare, the venerable theater festival that reaches back 40 years, will go dark this summer.
SCS’s artistic director Mike Ryan announced on Friday that, because of the ongoing pandemic crisis, the company’s upcoming summer season will be postponed until 2021. The decision came after long deliberation and was a difficult one to make, Ryan said in a statement, but “we are certain it is the right one.”
Ryan cited “our utmost concern for the health of our community and employees, the dubious vitability of public gatherings this summer, and our need to act quickly to minimize financial damage to the company” as the reasons for the decision.
The company’s summer season was to begin July 7 with productions of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Twelfth Night, and of Melissa Rain Anderson’s farce A Flea In Her Ear. In lieu of live performances, Ryan said SCS will produce a number of behind-the-scenes videos and virtual play readings.
For more information on Santa Cruz Shakespeare, go to santacruzshakespeare.org.
