New Swan Theater

The New Swan Theater is an outdoor, portable theater that is assembled and disassembled each summer as part of a Shakespeare festival at the University of California, Irvine. It is a replica of Shakespeare's Old Globe theater.

Construction

It was designed and constructed by the in-house faculty and staff of UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA), and opened in Summer 2012 for its first New Swan Summer Shakespeare Festival.[1]

The New Swan Theater is constructed of 15 modular units, each weighing one ton. The units are "portable" and transportable, allowing the theater to be assembled in a variety of indoor and outdoor locations.[2] When not in use, the units are stored in the CTSA Production Studios. A couple months before the Festival's start, the units are moved to their outdoor location at the University's Gateway Commons.[3] Equipment and personnel needed to move the modular units are 2 18-wheel trucks 2 forklifts, 1 truck with crane, and a 12-person crew. Every year, the theater must be constructed from the ground up, including all electrical wiring, lighting and seating. Construction must pass several inspections before it is ready to welcome patrons.

The New Swan is styled as a mini-Elizabethan theater, and it is constructed of recycled materials.[4] It is roof-less, allowing al fresco seating on warm Southern California nights. The modular design provides flexible staging options, and it consists of two tiers of seats for 127 patrons on groundling, mezzanine and balcony levels. Each seat is close to the stage, enabling the audience to see, hear and feel the actors' thoughts and emotions in an intimate setting.[5]

The theater was first used in February 2012 when it was installed on the stage of the school's Claire Trevor Theatre for performances of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. The New Swan's first outdoor usage was in August 2012 when it was first transported to Gateway Commons for performances of The Comedy of Errors and The Merchant of Venice. Billed as "Shakespeare under the Stars," tickets for the entire run sold out in just two weeks.

For the second season of the New Swan Shakespeare Festival, in 2013, King Lear and A Midsummer's Night Dream sharing the stage during August. In September, The Fantasticks was performed.

In 2013 the Claire Trevor School of the Arts was presented with an Orange County Arts Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Built Environment.[6]

New Swan's third season in 2014 included performances of Twelfth Night.[7]

References

[8][9]

  1. ↑ "Long-awaited theater finally rises on UC Irvine campus". Orange County Register.
  2. ↑ Fallon Okwuosa. "UC Irvine's School of Arts Moves 15-Ton Theatre For Shakespeare Festival". News 4 Southern California
  3. ↑ "New Swan Shakespeare Festival returns to UC Irvine ". Orange County Register.
  4. ↑ "Stage must rise before curtain". Daily Pilot. June 19, 2013 By Michael Miller
  5. ↑ "New Swan’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ is to Die For" Sarah O'Connor New University, Aug 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ "State Arts Council Gets an Earful at Listening Tour Stop in OC". Arts Orange County.
  7. ↑ Beers, Joel. "A Tale of Two Shakespeares". OC Weekly.
  8. ↑ "'Intimate' Shakespearian experience at New Swan". The Orange County Register.
  9. ↑ "News from Arts Orange County".

Coordinates: 33°38′41″N 117°50′34″W / 33.64472°N 117.8428°W / 33.64472; -117.8428

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