SF Shakes Covid-19 update
An update from our Artistic Director
Dear Friends,
Hey. Here we are. All of us. It’s been a couple of weeks of shelter-in-place here in California - two weeks of wildly shifting emotions, of rapidly acquired hobbies, of anxiety, of connection, of pressing a giant pause button on our lives and finding out how that feels. For some. For others, our first responders, medical professionals, food, farm, and grocery workers, delivery folks, and sanitation workers, it’s anything but a pause, and those of us living our suddenly quiet and tightly inscribed lives think of them often.
It’s also a heartbreaking time for artists and culture workers. We depend on live, in-person, real-time interactions between humans. So many of us have been thrown suddenly out of work, seen dream roles disappear as shows are cancelled, locked the doors of museums and theatres and concert halls that are nothing without the people who inhabit them. Many are struggling with unemployment claims, relief applications, and access to health care, not to mention keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table.
But in some ways, it’s also a hopeful time for the arts. Many have noted that during this time, folks have turned to culture for solace, for laughter, and for connection. Online concerts and readings, great performances suddenly made available, education opportunities from favorite artists… these things have been bright points of light on our ever-present screens.
Many of us have also taken comfort in nature – we can still get outdoors, within our 6’ bubbles. Some have noted – doesn’t the sky seem bluer? Aren’t the animals, even in urban settings, emboldened by our absence? Without the noise of traffic and airplanes, does the birdsong seem especially clear and sweet? Our parks are oases of sanity, places to take deep breaths and appreciate the planet we often treat so poorly.
I have been thinking of London in 1606, where Shakespeare wrote King Lear under quarantine, and Mexico City in 1695, where Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, herself infected with plague, finished the brilliant work which we are only now fully exploring and appreciating. It is an astonishing coincidence that these two writers and these works were exactly what we were exploring in the month of March, as we moved so rapidly from in-person rehearsals to little boxes on our screens. We found great joy in working on these plays, even remotely – we learned that no matter what, we must continue to make plays together, in whatever form we can.
SF Shakes exists at the intersection of art, nature, community, and access. This is who we are, and who we’ve always been. We don’t know when we can come together again in person as a community, in nature, to enjoy a live presentation for free in the park. What we do know is that engagement, the exchange between artists and community, between neighbors who sit beside each other to break bread, laugh, and cry at our shared human experiences, is our mission just as it has always been. We can’t be with you in person right now. But we ARE still here, and we are still committed to offering Free Shakespeare, either in your park or in your living room, featuring the brilliant actors you have always enjoyed seeing on stage. Your children can still attend Bay Area Shakespeare Camp in its new distance-learning format, with the great teaching artists who have always been the core of our company. We hope that as we explore new ways of engaging with the ever-flexible, ever-relevant words of William Shakespeare, you will join us. Humanity, and theatre, have made it through this before, and we will again.
And now for the inevitable request – which you are hearing from every cultural organization you support. We need you more than ever. We need to connect with you, we need your ideas, we need to know what would bring you joy and comfort, and we need you to support us with whatever financial resources you can. At this time, we still have artists on the payroll, and we have not let any staff go. We are a lean and frugal organization and we know how to work with very limited resources. 2020 will be an even leaner, harder year for us, but we will do what we can to stay together and make art – and we cannot do it without your support.
Thank you. Be well. Stay safe. See you soon –
Rebecca Ennals
Artistic Director, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival