Bakersfield Californian Mountain Shakespeare
Bakersfield Californian
Camille Gavin: Mountain Shakespeare Fest on the rise
by CAMILLE GAVIN, contributing columnist
e-mail: gavinarts@aol.com | Wednesday, Jun 25 2008 10:42 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jun 25 2008 10:42 AM
Some local residents may be surprised to learn, as I was, that a budding Shakespeare festival awaits them at the top of the
Grapevine and that it’s now in its third season. A few years ago I wrote a few lines about live theater performances in the Frazier
Park area but had no idea it’s grown into what is now called the Mountain Shakespeare Festival.
True, the festival is still in its formative stages, with performances on weekends only from July 5 to 27, outdoors at Pine
Mountain Club.
Even so, Peter Kjenaas, the artistic director, thinks it has the potential to become an attraction equal to that of the Oregon
Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore., which draws people from all over the country during its 10-month season. The director
is no stranger to Ashland, having spent three seasons there playing lead roles. He’s also got solid professional credits, with
memberships in the Dramatists Guild, Screen Actors Guild, and Actors Equity Association.
Kjenaas believes Frazier Park itself could well be the biggest draw for a festival, given the beauty of its natural environment and
its location, only an hour’s drive from either Bakersfield or the northernmost communities of Los Angeles.
“We’re trying to get folks to see it as a great weekend getaway, a place where the whole family can have fun and breathe clean
air,” said Kjenaas, who has lived in the area for the past eight years. He and his wife, actress-teacher Michelle Morain, are the
parents of two children.
“We had been living this theatrical lifestyle — 15 days here, 15 days there — and we realized we couldn’t do that anymore,” he
said. “So we moved here in 2000, then we adopted twins from Bolivia, a boy and a girl.”
Many of those in the festival’s company live in the mountain community, including a number of Frazier Park High School
students. As for the more experienced actors, several involved in this summer’s productions — “Comedy of Errors” and “You
Can’t Take it With You” on alternating weekends — will be familiar to Bakersfield theatergoers.
One is Bob Kempf, who is directing “Comedy of Errors.” He has been involved with Bakersfield College’s Kern Shakespeare
Festival and has acted in and directed productions at other local venues.
Among the actors appearing are Roger Mathey, former manager of Spotlight Theatre; Don McClure, who played the lead role in
BC’s “Hamlet”; and Joe Mitchell, who was in the cast of “You Can’t Take it With You.” That show, written by George S. Kaufman
and Moss Hart, just finished a three-week run at Spotlight, and was directed by Kempf. Kjenaas, however, will direct the
Mountain Shakespeare Festival’s production of the play, which opens July 11.
Coupling an Elizabethan play with a 20th century comedy may seem a bit odd. But, says Kjenaas, they are linked by a common
thread.
“They are both about the uniting of very different worlds and the coming together of different walks of life,” he said.
Both, he added, have enjoyed a rich and successful production history.
Performances are on a thrust stage that has been added to the gazebo at Pine Mountain Club. Chair seating is provided.
1 comment June 28th, 2008
