Fairies, Magic, and the Bard Come to Godric Grove

It’s been more than a decade since the eloquent words of William Shakespeare have been recited in the all-natural environs of Elings Park, the huge private nonprofit open space high above the Mesa that’s perfect for performances of the Bard’s best. But now late summer is bringing two different productions of Shakespeare plays to Godric Grove, the tree-and-stone-lined open-air amphitheater atop Elings that boasts both intimacy and enviable mountain and city views. 

First up on Saturday afternoon, August 17, is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the signature production imported from Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, the Topanga Canyon company that has staged Shakespeare and more in its amphitheater for 51 summers. The show will be transported to town in the midst of its signature annual repertory run in Topanga. There could hardly be a better introduction of Theatricum Botanicum to Santa Barbara. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not only perhaps the most accessible, but in this case also the most appropriate of Shakespeare’s works – given its setting in an enchanted forest inhabited by lovers both fairy and human. 

The merry romp of a comedy conjures a world of wonder, magic, and romance where misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and the pain of potentially unrequited love are all joyously reconciled through midsummer night revelries and the enduring power of nature. 

“We’ve been doing Midsummer Night’s Dream since the very beginning of our company. Our theater is in a creek bed which passes underneath the stage,” explained director Willow Geer, granddaughter of the theater’s legendary founder. “It’s in an oak grove, which is perfect for the play because you’re in the forest and the fairies come out all over the place, which is so much fun.”

Godric Grove might go one better, as there’s actually an oak tree growing through the stage, easing the transition of the space to an enchanted forest of Athens.  

“I’ve actually been there for a wedding before, and it’s absolutely beautiful,” Geer said. “We’re really excited to be coming up there to do the show.” 

Willow – whose grandfather Will founded the theater when he was blacklisted during the 1950s, before memorably portraying Grandpa in The Waltons in the 1970s – has been a part of the company since she was in diapers, and has played just about every role in Dream as she grew up.

“I was the changeling child when I was two, then I was a different fairy every year – Mustardseed, Moth, Cobweb. I was the first fairy for about five years from 13 to 17. Then I got to play Helena for 10 years, before taking on Tanya. And I’ve directed it twice before. That’s the beautiful thing about Shakespeare – you can work your way up through all the parts.” 

Familiarity has not bred contempt at all for Geer, however. 

“I have a lot of room in my heart for it, and I still hear new things every time,” she says. “This is my first time coming back since I’ve had children of my own, which really has changed my outlook. I’m having such a blast.”

Geer said those uninitiated in The Bard will particularly enjoy Dream. 

“It’s a soft start, like a gateway drug to Shakespeare. It’s funny, it’s joyful, it’s magic and silly, but it’s also about love and reconnecting. It’s all positive and warm in the end. Our production is extremely accessible for kids and families. It’s like a good Bluey episode where the adults will cry and laugh and the kids will be delighted. And who knows? It might ignite a fire in a young person who will end up adoring Shakespeare.”

That’s partly because Theatricum Botanicum takes pains to work with actors who have the rhetorical training that enables them to stress the words that are the most important and let “the superfluous stuff” fall to the side, Geer said. “The storyline sticks in your brain and you can really relate to the characters.” 

The company also smartly edits each play to cut out references of half a millennium ago, and language so arcane as to be indecipherable. 

“You don’t need to say everything in a Shakespeare play,” Geer said. “You don’t want to lose people because of things that aren’t pertinent nowadays. You want to keep it nice and trim and lean so that you stick with what the point of the whole play is.”

Which is pretty simple when it comes to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as much of the words are set in verse, she said. “It’s a lot easier to hear and follow. It’s almost like a fun pop song.”

Theatricum’s Dream will be followed by UCSB’s award-winning student company Naked Shakes, staging performances of Much Ado About Nothing directed by founder Irwin Appel on September 6 and 8 – when the focus will decidedly be more on the language. Audiences can enjoy both approaches in the same setting of Godric Grove. 

“We are planting the seeds of Shakespeare in Elings Park. Our hope is to bring the Bard back to the Park every summer,” said Elings executive director Dean Noble. “Summer Shakespeare could become the next Santa Barbara tradition.”

Geer said her company is certainly game. 

“I think it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”