OLIVENHAIN — All the world’s a stage for The Theatre School at North Coast Repertory Theatre in the summer, as youth actors hold annual outdoor Shakespeare performances throughout North County.
This summer’s performances of William Shakespeare’s tragicomedy “The Winter’s Tale” mark the 11th year of The Theatre School’s summer Shakespeare program, featuring free outdoor performances for the community in three coastal North County cities.
The Theatre School premiered “The Winter’s Tale” from July 16-18 with performances outside the Olivenhain Meeting Hall along Rancho Santa Fe Road. Additional performances will take place at the San Dieguito Lagoon’s Birdwing Open Air Classroom in Del Mar from July 23-25, La Colonia Park in Solana Beach on July 31 and at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach on Aug. 1.
Ben Cole, Director of Theatre School Education and Outreach, said all of the venues are slightly different, giving the cast a chance to adapt to different environments.
“It’s a unique opportunity that we get to perform outdoors. A lot of student theater is indoors, so we feel very proud to be in three different cities in three different outdoor venues. Each of the stages we have to adapt for each of our performances,” Cole said.
At the July 16 opening performance, the eucalyptus trees and historic wooden buildings at the Olivenhain Meeting Hall grounds provided a rustic backdrop to the Grecian-style outdoor stage.
Community members seated on blankets and lawn chairs watched Queen Hermione, played by 16-year-old Isabella Podesta, indignantly stand trial as she is accused of infidelity by her husband King Leontes, played by 18-year-old Kai Bunyak.
Podesta, a rising senior at Carlsbad High School, has been with The Theatre School for five years, and this is her second year participating in the summer Shakespeare program.
“I get to portray love, hatred, literally every scale of human emotion. It’s such a complex role, and she’s so smart,” Podesta said of Hermione.
Performing outdoors has its challenges, but it ultimately provides a more connected experience for the audience and actors. At the end of the first act, a bear bursts through the audience, unencumbered by a separation between the seating and stage.
In addition, the actors have all their props and costume changes out in the open behind the audience, providing an unobscured view of the show’s entire production.
“They can see the actors drinking water, getting ready, wiping the sweat off their face to get ready to go back on stage. All of that adds to the connection with the audience,” Bunyak, 18, said.
For Bunyak, the summer performances through North Coast Repertory have inspired a life-changing passion for Shakespeare. They started participating in summer Shakespeare with The Theatre School back in 2020, when the school persevered through the pandemic to perform “The Tempest” via Zoom.
Since then, they have performed main roles in “Much Ado About Nothing,” “As You Like It,” “Hamlet,” the touring student outreach production of “Romeo and Juliet,” and now “The Winter’s Tale,” as well as other non-Shakespeare productions.
Bunyak, a recent San Dieguito Academy graduate, will pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting at the University of Minnesota this fall.
“Being involved with this theater space has been one of the most important things in my theatrical life, and without it, I wouldn’t be the person I am today who engages with art the way I do,” they said. “I wouldn’t have known how beautiful and connected Shakespeare could be.”
All performances of “The Winter’s Tale” take place at 5:30 p.m. and are free for the community to attend. Audiences are encouraged to bring their own blankets and outdoor seating. The play runs for 90 minutes with no intermission.
“It’s live, it’s free and I think it’s really quality Shakespeare acting with teenage performers,” Cole said.
For more information, visit northcoastreptheatreschool.org/production/season-44.
