Petaluma Shakespeare Festival to present ‘The Taming of the Shrew’

Shakespeare lovers in Petaluma, rejoice! Petaluma is now home to its very own Shakespeare festival, rightly dubbed The Petaluma Shakespeare Festival. Hosted by a collaboration of the Petaluma Reader’s Theatre and the Bay Area Readers Drama Society (B.A.R.D.S.), this new summertime event will showcase one of the literary master’s finest creations, “The Taming of the Shrew.”

Jay Cimo is the director of the play, who developed the Shakespeare reading group that brought about the idea for the festival. Cimo is no stranger to the stage or the director’s chair, as he started his own theater company in Fairfax prior to moving to Sonoma County.

“A friend and I got together and decided that we needed to do monthly Shakespeare readings in Marin County’s venues, and it was successful for many years. We went through the entirety of Shakespeare’s plays several times over the course of seven or eight years, and it kind of just fizzled away. Then I moved up to Sonoma several years ago and thought, ‘I haven’t done much, I’m getting bored - I’m going to start another Shakespeare reading group.’ I found this place (Aqus Café) because I had started to make this film, and there was a film festival at Aqus, so we entered the film here, and I loved the it. I said ‘Let’s do a Shakespeare reading group here,’ and we’ve been doing it for over a year now and it’s been very successful,” said Cimo.

The idea for a complex production sprang from a common affliction: boredom. When simply reading was no longer pacifying this group’s love for Shakespeare, they decided to begin the process of producing and developing a successful production.

“I started to get tired of reading and wanted to do a whole production, and the whole group, including Jennifer March, Stephen Hamilton and John Crowley, decided to do a Shakespeare festival. This year, we’re doing ‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ and we might try to do two or three plays next year,” said Cimo.

One of Cimo’s main goals is maintaining a high level of community involvement within the production. Although he found it difficult to find local talent that was not already committed, his unique methods turned up hidden gems.

“I was the new kid on the block (in Petaluma) and I started late, so most of the actors in town already had a gig. I managed to get a few people involved who lived in town, and then I pulled in some ringers from Marin. I walk around the street and say ‘Oh, have you ever been in a play before? Are you an actor?’ They’ll say ‘No.’ And I’ll say ‘Well, you look good. C’mere, read this line. Okay, you’re in.’ I go around and handpick my actors desperately. It’s a juggling act,” said Cimo.

The cast is comprised of mostly local actors, and they are actively enlisting local help in the numerous other areas that are required to debut a successful show.

“We can use a couple of people who would like to be on stage to play servants and help create the atmosphere in the scenes. We are looking for a few people who are looking to get up on stage, as well as people who are willing to set up chairs, do some pre-production work and organize costumes a little bit. It’s really community oriented and really fun. We need people to pass out programs, put up posters. We need help getting props put together and managed,” said Cimo.

In an effort to expand the attention that the production receives, Cimo is attempting to make the play a multi-media affair, utilizing a community organization to broaden the play’s audience.

“I joined PCA, Petaluma Community Access, and got a few local film people involved,” he said. “We’re shooting the rehearsals, interviewing the actors, and will ultimately make a mini-documentary that will air on PCA. We’re also going to shoot several of the performances, and in post-production put them together so that we’re actually going to have a live film of the play, which will also be aired on PCA.”

Putting on a festival of this size is no easy task financially, so the production team has organized a multitude of fundraising efforts and has compiled a number of impressive sponsors, including local companies Azari Vineyards and Lagunitas Brewing Co. Member of the team (and director of Petaluma Reader’s Theatre) Jennifer March said they are hosting a fundraising event called “Scenes, Soliloquies and Songs from Shakespeare.”

“We are having a fundraiser right here at Aqus on Aug. 13, where 15 percent of your meal will go to us. We will be accepting additional donations, too. There will also be soliloquies, as well as songs from Shakespeare’s time. It will be very Shakespearean,” said March.

The festival will open with a gala, with all proceeds going toward the charity Guided to Safety, which focuses on education and support for victims of domestic violence, dating violence and sexual assault. Cimo believes strongly in supporting causes, and has dedicated each one of his productions to a specific charity. The play will be presented on the Foundry Wharf Green and will run over the course of three weeks. For those looking for a down-to-earth yet professional production that holds its roots in the community close to its heart, there is no better place to be than the inaugural Petaluma Shakespeare Festival.

(Contact Michaela West ern at argus@arguscourier.com)