Community Connections
Arda & Carl Clark
Midsummer's Night Dream was our introduction in 2000 to Shakespeare by the Sea. We had seen it listed in the Easy Reader's guide to summer activities and eagerly anticipated it. Live theatre has a special place in our hearts - virtually all of our courtship dates were to see plays - and we were eager to share the joys of theatre with our young sons. Sitting on blankets in Hermosa's Valley Park, we shared a picnic and fell in love with Shakespeare by the Sea. We've never missed a season since then.
We have seen many Shakespeare productions at the Mark Taper, in Solvang, and in Ashland, Oregon. But there is something truly special about seeing Shakespeare in a local park that contains memories of other community events and your own children playing and growing up. We've made a point of going every summer, inviting friends and family - including out-of-town guests - to Hermosa's Valley Park, or Redondo's Veterans' Park or Manhattan's Polliwog Park. Carl, who is a member of Redondo Beach's school board, was especially thrilled to help bring Shakespeare by the Sea to the Redondo Union High School campus in 2007.
From our first introduction, we have always been highly impressed by the quality of the productions and the generosity of spirit that the actors and production crew display. It's very touching to know that actors come from near and far, working for no pay, to bring Shakespeare to our own backyard. We're grateful to Lisa Coffi for creating this program and we're continually amazed by the way it has improved and expanded.
Over the years, we have tried to express our appreciation for Shakespeare by the Sea. We began by simply contributing to the "hat" at the end of the plays and buying T-shirts. A couple of years ago, we donated a small sum, and then advertised our real estate business in last year's program. It feels great to support a program that brings the magic of Shakespeare to our communities.
Previous Community Connection stories:
Arlene & Herb Zimmer
