CFA | The first production of Shakespeare on the Bluff attracted an estimated 1,400 people over three days in two venues and was acclaimed by the crowd. The Theatre Arts Department at Loyola Marymount University performed “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in June with a troupe of professional actors as well as LMU alumni, faculty and current students.
Next up is “Othello” on July 27-28 at Lawton Plaza on the LMU campus, then July 29, at the Playa Vista Central Park Bandshell. Veteran Shakespearean actors Baron Kelly and Lynn Favin will play the lead roles of Othello and Desdemona. Ronnie Clark, a member of LMU’s theatre arts faculty, is the director of the production.
“To do an outdoor Shakespeare on the Bluff festival is a dream come true,” Bryant Keith Alexander, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, told the Argonaut newspaper. “Because we are not only able to engage in the joy of performance — of public performance of Shakespeare — but also to sort of bleed the borders between campus and community. … This is another way in which the university is building bonds and relationships.”
The idea for the festival originated with Kevin Wetmore, LMU theatre arts professor and chair of the department. Wetmore also serves as artistic director for Shakespeare on the Bluff. He is excited about playing Othello’s nemesis Iago, but more so in establishing a free, outdoor Shakespeare festival on the Westside that he hopes will become an annual event and serve as a training ground for L.A.’s up-and-coming theater professionals.
All performances are free and open to the community, family-friendly, and will be 90 minutes long. Audience members are invited to bring a picnic and lawn chairs for a beautiful, outdoor theatre experience.
“OTHELLO”
LMU Performances: July 27, 28 at 8 p.m., Lawton Plaza
Playa Vista Performance: July 29 at 7 p.m., Playa Vista Central Park Bandshell
