On a warm, summer evening, the words of Shakespeare floated through a Conejo Valley park. A nonprofit theater company is celebrating three decades of bringing the Bard’s stories to the community.
"It's incredible. I didn't think we'd last five years. To be here 30 years from our start is just amazing," said Michael Arndt, director and founding member of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company. "It's sort of like Field of Dreams. If we build it, they will come. We've been playing to five to six thousand people (every summer) for 15 to 20 years."
The retired California Lutheran University professor said the company is presenting two productions this summer. Currently, they're performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream, set in 1920s Chicago. Second is Hamlet, which has been shifted to the late 19th century.
"We've done 26 of Shakespeare's plays," Arndt explained. "This is the third time we're doing Hamlet, and this is the fourth time we're doing A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's wonderful, because based upon the director's approach, it becomes a brand new production."
Caitlin Arndt is directing the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
"1920's Chicago, the Jazz Age, just really resonated, because the show is so fun and fast and surprising, just like jazz music," said Arndt. "I had this concept that the character Puck is a jazz singer (who) is bringing us into this world."
The theater company’s performances happen at Kingsmen Park on the California Lutheran University campus in Thousand Oaks. The company is the university’s professional theater company.
"It's so amazing, because we are taking Shakespeare to a whole new place," said Shannon J. Sharp, who stars as Puck in the currently running production. "All of Puck's magic comes from her jazz singing."
Former Cal Lutheran Student Seta Waininqolo co-stars as Oberon. After graduating from the university, he earned a master's from Yale, and is now a professional actor. He’s excited about returning to rejoin the theater company to perform this summer.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play a role like this," said Waininqolo.
He credits Arndt, his time at Cal Lutheran, and the Kingsmen Company with giving him the experience to get into Yale and pursue a career on stage.
"Families' kids have grown up coming here to see Shakespeare," said Arndt. "We're celebrating a lot this summer. We're inviting our alumni to come back. We've had over 900 people work for us over the past 30 years. We're going to celebrate all through the summer."
A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs through July 5, with Hamlet following from July 10 through 26.
Editor's note: California Lutheran University is the licensee of KCLU Radio. They had no input on the reporting of this story.
