Forest Theater

Not to be confused with Forrest Theatre.
Forest Theater
Forest Theater
Sunset over the Forest Theatre during 1997 Carmel Shakespeare Festival production of Julius Caesar
Location in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Location in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Location in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Location in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Location in Carmel-by-the-Sea
Forest Theater (California)
General information
TypeAmphitheatre
LocationSanta Rita St, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States
Coordinates36°33′13″N 121°55′00″W / 36.5535°N 121.9168°W / 36.5535; -121.9168
OpenedJuly 10, 1910
OwnerCity of Carmel-by-the-Sea
Design and construction
Architect(s)Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Website
Official website
Forest Theater Guild

The Forest Theater is an historic amphitheater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest outdoor theaters west of the Rockies.[1] The performer and director Herbert Heron and author Mary Austin were founding forces.[2] The theater includes an outdoor stage, a smaller indoor theatre, and a school.

History

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Forest Theater Society

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Main article: Herbert Heron (writer)
Herbert Heron as Hamlet in 1926

Beginning in 1910, Heron's idea was to stage plays by Carmel authors with local residents as performers. He approached James Franklin Devendorf, co-founder of the Carmel Development Company, and obtained permission to use the space rent-free. He assisted in the clearing the land and building the stage.[3]

The first theatrical production, David, a six-act biblical drama written by Constance Lindsay Skinner under the direction of Garnet Holme of Berkeley, inaugurated the Forest Theater on July 9, 1910.[4][5] Reviewed by newspapers in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, it was reported that over 1,000 theatergoers attended the production.[2][6][7][8] Heron produced and acted in the play as David. Helen MacGowan Cooke played the character Michal, Joseph W. Hand as Hushai, as well as a cast of other local carmelites.[3]

There was no electricity at the theater. In 1910, Calcium floodlights were brought by covered wagon from Monterey to light the stage.[9][3] Two bonfires were also lit in semi-circular stone firepits on opposite ends of the proscenium, a tradition which continues today.[10] In 1912, the first electric lights were used.[3]

1911 production of Twelfth Night

In July 1911, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night opened the second season at the Forest Theater. Garnet Holme was the producer.[3] The Forest Theater Society produced several other plays in the next few years. Of note was the 1911 production of the play The Land of Heart's Desire given by the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club,[11] and the 1912 production of The Toad, a play written by Bertha Newberry, the wife of Perry Newberry, a Carmel resident. That year, the first children's play was staged at the Forest Theater, Alice in Wonderland, adapted by Newberry and painter Arthur Honywood Vachell.[2]

Western Drama Society & Carmel Arts & Crafts Club

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In 1913 theatergoers witnessed four new productions: a Robin Hood drama entitled Runnymede, Newberry's play for children Aladdin, Mary Hunter Austin's Fire starring George Sterling and directed by Austin, and Takeshi Kanno's poem-play Creation-Dawn.[12] A split in the ranks of the theater literati caused Sterling and Heron to found an alternative theater society, the California (or Western) Drama Society; the factions were eventually reconciled and returned to the Forest Theater.[5] In 1915, a season that had 11 productions, audiences saw the premiere of Newberry's Junipero Serra, a historical pageant focusing on the life of Father Junípero Serra with Frederick R. Bechdolt as Serra; and Joseph W. Hand in his 7 Aug 1915 farewell appearance in the play The Man From Home, written by Harry Leon Wilson and Booth Tarkington[13] In 1916 two of the productions were Yolanda of Cyprus and The Piper, in which Carmel artists acted and painted scenery, including William Frederic Ritschel, and Laura W. Maxwell.[14][15][16]

Other notable Carmel artists who volunteered their time as actors and set designers include Frederick R. Bechdolt, Josephine M. Culbertson, Xavier Martinez, Jo Mora, Ira Mallory Remsen and Herman Rosse.[5] The ensuing decade saw the Forest Theater reach the height of production, with 50 plays and musicals staged between 1915 and 1924, including a 1922 production of Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra, with director Edward G. Kuster.[17] The California State Library has a collection of images from the plays produced at the theater.[18] Remsen, a local painter and playwright, produced Inchling in 1922 and Mr. Bunt in 1924 at the Forest Theater.

The overabundance of plays became a strain on resources and there was factional strife between the groups and the quality of theater in Carmel began to decline. In 1924, the competing producing organizations disbanded, and under the auspices of the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club, the Forest Theater Corporation was created to produce and manage the plays staged at the Forest Theater.[19][1]

In 1927, the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club and theater were sold to the Abalone League and the proceeds were used to pay off the Forest Theater debts.[20] Productions at the Forest Theater became a village affair and the resulting success enabled the Carmel Club of Arts & Crafts to buy the land from the Carmel Development Company in 1925.[21]

On July 22, 1922, the Carmel Woods subdivision was opened to the public with 119 homesites offered for sale. The opening day, coincided with Serra Day, officially proclaimed as a holiday by the town trustees of Carmel; and the Serra festival featuring Garnet Holme's Carmel Mission play Serra, at the Forest Theater.[22][23]

Great Depression

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WPA workers rebuilding the Forest Theater in 1939.

The Great Depression struck and it affected all aspects of local life. The Forest Theater had accumulated debt that had taken its toll. In September 1936, Inchling was presented again.[24] The revival of Inchling, and accompanied village fair at the theater grounds, brought in a profit of over $500 (equivalent to $10,978 in 2023), which reduced the theater's debt.[25]

When repairs were needed and no money could be found from local donors, the idea of applying for WPA money was proffered. Funds were only available to government entities and the private non-profit Arts & Crafts Club was not eligible. In 1937, it was decided to deed the Forest Theater to the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea in order to obtain WPA funds for major renovations, with the stipulation that the facility would be a public park and "continue outdoor theater performances."[26] Improvements to the facility included building new benches, laying a concrete foundation for the stage, and replacing the surrounding barbed-wired fences with a traditional grape-stake fence. The Forest Theatre was unused during the three years of renovations.[27]

In 1937, the property was deeded to the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea in order to qualify for federal funding and, in 1939, the site became a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. The WPA rebuilt the outdoor theatre and created an indoor facility beneath the outdoor stage,[28] the site re-opened as The Carmel Shakespeare Festival, with Herbert Heron as its director, and, with the exception of the World War II years of 1943–44, the festival continued through the late 1940s. In 1949, Heron and twenty villagers started the first Forest Theater Guild. In 1958, the City Council instituted an Arts Commission, charged with operation and maintenance of the Forest Theater.[27] The guild remained active until it disbanded in 1961, after which the outdoor theatre lay unused and neglected for over a decade.[29]

Carmel Shakespeare Festival and post-war years

[edit]
Twelfth Night production at Forest Theatre July 1911

With a rejuvenated space, the Forest Theater was ready to get back into the theater business. The works of Shakespeare had proven highly popular beginning with Heron's 1911 production of Twelfth Night, and upon completion of the WPA project, Heron formally resumed productions with the inauguration of the Carmel Shakespeare Festival in 1940. The festival offered Shakespeare, including Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar and As You Like It, as well as the works of Carmel authors, including the first local production of Robinson Jeffers' The Tower Beyond Tragedy. With the advent of World War II, however, mandatory blackouts were ordered for coastal towns and cities. The residents of Carmel participated and halted all Forest Theater activity, essentially closing the facility in 1943–44, and again in 1946.[21]

From 1947 to 1949, the facility resumed annual productions of Shakespeare and local authors. Herbert Heron continued to write, produce, direct, and star in productions. He retired from active involvement, but he organized and co-founded the Forest Theater Guild in 1949.[30] The guild began to produce plays by local authors, Shakespeare, and classic drama. It ceased operations in 1961.[29] By the mid-1960s, the Forest Theater Guild had closed and abandoned the facility, and, with a few minor exceptions, no plays were being shown on the main stage. The city began to use the site for other purposes, such as camps.[31]

1968 to 2010

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From 1968 to 2010, Marcia Hovick's Children's Experimental Theatre (CET), leased the indoor theater. Formed in 1960 by Marcia Hovick to develop "creative confidence" through theatre training, CET had been using space at the Golden Bough Playhouse and Sunset Center, and needed a permanent place for their activities.[32] In 1969, Hovick formed a new production entity called the Staff Players Repertory Company, staging classic drama on the small Indoor Forest Theater stage. In 1971, a second Forest Theater Guild was established by Cole Weston, and the group began producing summer musicals and community plays on the outdoor stage.[33] In 2010, after 50 years, CET ceased operations, and the lease on the school was then given to Pacific Repertory Theatre for its ten-year-old School of Dramatic Arts (SoDA).[29][34]

The main stage remained dark and, in 1971, the Cultural Commission considered closing the theater for good.[35] Again, the residents of Carmel voiced their opposition. A second Forest Theater Guild was created, this time as a nonprofit organization, with former president Cole Weston as the new Guild President.[36] To raise needed funds, as well as draw attention to the possible closure, the new group produced a staged reading of Robinson Jeffers' Medea and The Tower Beyond Tragedy, which featured actress Dame Judith Anderson.[29] In 1971, the Guild officially incorporated.[37] Mayor Gunnar Norberg and Weston, recognizing the theater's cultural significance and historical value, rallied the community to a preserve the theatre.[38] In 1972, to raise funds for the Theater's preservation, Norberg and Weston staged their first full production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.[39] The city council commissioned a study to evaluate the efficacy of the theater.[40] After several months of discussions, the city council decided to continue city operation of the facility.

In 1984, Pacific Repertory Theatre (PacRep), originally called GroveMont Theatre, started producing classics, children's theater and musicals on the outdoor stage, beginning with Jeffers' Medea.[41] PacRep reactivated the Carmel Shakespeare Festival in 1990.[42] PacRep continued to stage productions at the Forest Theater every September and October, expanding into August in 2000.[43] Meanwhile, over the last decades of the 20th century, the Forest Theater Guild produced over 20 plays, including Moon for the Misbegotten and Long Day's Journey into Night. In 2005, PacRep presented the theater's highest-attended production, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, to a total of more than 10,000 ticket holders.[44]

In 1997, the Guild began Films in the Forest, a series of first-run movies, classic feature films, and documentary film screenings.[45]

2014 to present

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On April 23, 2014, the facility was shuttered due to health and safety issues caused by years of deferred maintenance.[46] On May 5, 2014, the city council declared a "cultural community emergency" and planned to reopen the theatre as soon as possible.[47] In January 2015, anticipating delays in the renovations, the city announced that the reopening of the theatre would be postponed until 2016, and the theater companies cancelled their upcoming seasons. After a contentious design period, a two-phase project was approved by the city council. Phase 1 addressed the safety and ADA compliance requirements, while phase 2 planned to upgrade the concessions and restroom facilities, and make other improvements.[48]

In 2017, the nearby Sunset Center signed a 30-year lease with the city of Carmel to manage the site.[49][50] In 2019, the Forest Theater Guild, announced that Sunset Center management had drastically cut back the Guild's 12-week season, offering only 12 dates at the historic theatre for film presentations, and no dates for their theatrical productions. The Guild asked the city council to intervene.[49] In 2020, the venue was once again closed, this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[50] In 2021, the Sunset Center sought an early end to their 30-year lease agreement.[50] The city of Carmel solicited proposals for a new organization to manage the venue.[51] In August 2021, the theater reopened with a seven-week run of Shrek, put on by PacRep.[52]

In early 2022, the city of Carmel entered into a lease with Pacific Repertory Theatre for the nonprofit to manage the venue for the next five years, with a five-year renewal option. The Forest Theater Guild was designated an "historic user".[53] The venue continues to host events produced by the Forest Theater Guild, Pacific Repertory Theatre, the Monterey Symphony, as well as other small arts organizations and civic events.[54]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Bostick, Daisy F.; Castelhun, Dorothea (1977). Carmel at Work and Play. Seven arts. p. 68. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  2. ^ a b c Michael Williams (1912). "The Forest Theater at Carmel". Pacific Monthly. p. 319. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  3. ^ a b c d e Irene Gaasch (1976-07-15). "A long and glorious history". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 4. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Biblical Drama Is Given Under Garmel Pines". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. 10 Jul 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  5. ^ a b c Edwards, Robert W. (2012). Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel and Berkeley Art Colonies, Vol. 1. Oakland, Calif.: East Bay Heritage Project. pp. 49, 124, 144, 179, 191, 197, 201, 326, 346, 360–61, 364, 381, 414, 465, 495, 500, 502, 523, 528 547, 587, 595, 609, 617–18, 621, 627, 653–54, 671. ISBN 9781467545679. An online facsimile of the entire text of Vol. 1 is posted on the Traditional Fine Arts Organization website ("Jennie V. Cannon: The Untold History of the Carmel and Berkeley Art Colonies, vol. One, East Bay Heritage Project, Oakland, 2012; by Robert W. Edwards". Archived from the original on 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-06-07.).
  6. ^ Monterey Daily Cypress: 29 May 1910, p.1; 19 June 1910, p.1; 19 July 1910, p. 1.
  7. ^ "Carmel Pleased With Its Play". The San Francisco Call. San Francisco, California. 11 Jul 1910. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  8. ^ Barman, Jean. Constance Lindsay Skinner. University of Toronto Press, 2002.
  9. ^ Letter to Richard N. Palmer from Herbert Heron, June 12, 1963. Harrison Memorial Library, Herbert Heron Collected Papers.
  10. ^ "Written Historical And Descriptive Data" (PDF). Historic American Landscapes Survey Pacific West Regional Office National Park Service. Oakland, California. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  11. ^ "Fairy Play In Forest Theater. The Land of Heart's Desire Is Given by the Carmel Club". The San Francisco Call. San Francisco, California. 24 Sep 1911. p. 18. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  12. ^ San Francisco Examiner: 27 April 1913, p.45; 25 May 1913, p.46; 29 June 1913, p.44; 27 July 1913, p.71; 17 August 1913, p.35.
  13. ^ "Man From Home Will Son be Here" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Camel, California. 4 Aug 1915. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  14. ^ Christian Science Monitor, 25 July 1916, p. 6.
  15. ^ San Francisco Chronicle, 25 June 1916, p.21.
  16. ^ The Wasp (San Francisco, CA), 8 July 1916, p. 11.
  17. ^ "20th-Century California Photographers". Pat Hathaway Photo Collection. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  18. ^ "Browse All for Josselyn, Lewis". California Revealed. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
  19. ^ "Rich Returns From Carmel Circus Day; Forest Theatre Elects Officers". Carmel Pine Cone. 15 September 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  20. ^ Hal Garrott (1928-12-14). "A Profane History Of Carmel". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  21. ^ a b Cf. Letter to Palmer, June 1963.
  22. ^ "Carmel Woods Sale July 22". The San Francisco Examiner. Francisco, California. 15 Jul 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-01-04 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Carmel Woods takes shape and sell well, Serra honored with statue" (PDF). The Carmel Pine Cone. 2019-09-20. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  24. ^ "Former Production of Inchling Recalled as Revival Approaches". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. 21 Aug 1936. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  25. ^ "Forest Theater In Final Report". Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Carmel Pine Cone. September 25, 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  26. ^ Carmel City Council resolution 671, April 15, 1937
  27. ^ a b "Historic Context Statement: Carmel-by-the-Sea" (PDF). ci.carmel.ca.us/. The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  28. ^ William R. Lawson. "Achievements, Federal Works Agency. Work Projects Administration, Northern California." 1940: 89.
  29. ^ a b c d "Forest Theater a 'bohemian grove' for Shakespeare fans – Page 2 of 2". The San Francisco Chronicle. August 2, 2011.
  30. ^ "David Prince to head newly organized Forest Theater Guild." May 9, 1949. Harrison Memorial Library, Nixon File Forest Theater #11.
  31. ^ "Forest Theater given support." Monterey Peninsula Herald, August 4, 1966.
  32. ^ Nichols, Kathryn M. "40… and still going strong." Monterey County Herald, September 7, 1999.
  33. ^ "Cole Weston Elected President; Forest Theater Guild Maps Ambitious Program." Monterey Peninsula Herald, July 29, 1971
  34. ^ Brownfield, Mary (February 4, 2011). "PacRep beats out Guild for chance to lease kids' theater" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. pp. 2A.
  35. ^ Nickerson, Roy. "Is Forest Theater's usefulness outlived?" Monterey Peninsula Herald, June 2, 1971.
  36. ^ "Forest Theater Guild Celebrates Elected President." Monterey Peninsula Herald, Aug. 3, 1971
  37. ^ "Forest Theater Guild". GuideStar. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  38. ^ "Gunnar Norberg 1907-1988". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. 18 August 1988. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  39. ^ "Forest Theater". Carmel-by-the-Sea, California: Carmel Pine Cone. July 6, 1972. pp. 11–12.
  40. ^ Forest Theater Committee of the Cultural Commission, City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. "Report on the Forest Theater." December 4, 1971.
  41. ^ Blum, Terry (January 2002). "Spotlight On Carmel Stephen Moorer". Mctaweb.org, Monterey County Theatre Alliance. Archived from the original on 2008-10-04. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  42. ^ Engle, Ron, Felicia Hardison Londré, and Daniel J. Watermeier. Shakespeare Companies and Festivals: An International Guide, entry on Carmel Shakespeare Festival by Philip Clarkson, Greenwood (1995) ISBN: 978-0313274343
  43. ^ "Pacific Repertory Theatre" Archived 2008-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, Theatre Bay Area website, accessed July 23, 2009
  44. ^ "A Theater with Countless Stars". www.montereybayadventures.com.
  45. ^ "Films in the Forest at Outdoor Forest Theater". The Monterey County Weekly. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  46. ^ Ryce, Walter. "Inspectors shut down Forest Theater as an 'unsafe structure.'" Arts & Culture Blog, Monterey County Weekly, April 24, 2014.
  47. ^ Mazur, Jacqueline (May 6, 2014). "Plans underway to reopen Carmel's Forest Theatre". KSBW.
  48. ^ Ryce, Walter. "The city of Carmel announces the Forest Theater will not reopen this summer, but in 2016." Arts & Culture Blog, Monterey County Weekly, January 29, 2015.
  49. ^ a b Marino, Pam (12 December 2019). "The Forest Theater Guild faces possible closure after losing its namesake stage for live shows". The Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  50. ^ a b c Argueza, Marielle (26 February 2021). "Sunset Center officially wants out of managing the historic outdoor Forest Theater". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  51. ^ Argueza, Marielle (23 March 2021). "A new life for the Forest Theater is in sight. Carmel wants your thoughts". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  52. ^ Chappellet-Lanier, Tajha (24 September 2021). "Performing arts are back. But putting on a show is not as simple as it once was". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  53. ^ Popęda, Agata (28 February 2022). "Carmel set to finally sign a lease with PacRep for the Forest Theater". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  54. ^ Conrad, Caitlin (2016-06-24). "Forest Theater in Carmel reopens". KSBW. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
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