For 26 years, Shakespeare by the Sea has been much-anticipated summer fare for San Pedro.
The nonprofit theater company annually launched and ended its summer run of shows at the bandshell in San Pedro’s Point Fermin Park, on the town’s southern bluffs overlooking the ocean.
But this year’s traditional opening and closing at Point Fermin Park has been scrapped. Instead, Shakespeare by the Sea officials are looking to move the final show elsewhere in San Pedro — and open the season in neighboring Long Beach.
The reason for the move, Shakespeare by the Seas officials say, is primarily too much crime.
The breaking point came a year ago.
After an evening rehearsal last summer, a cast member was assaulted at gunpoint by four assailants in an attempted carjacking in the parking lot, said Stephanie Coltin, co-artistic director for Shakespeare by the Sea.
The Los Angeles Police Department would not provide details on the incident without a formal public records request. But the car, Cotlin said, was not stolen and while the cast member’s injuries were minor, they still required a trip to the hospital.
But that was only the final incident, Coltin said.
Leaving the bluff-top park that had been so associated with Shakespeare by the Sea since its opening in 1998, in fact, was something that came only after a few years of ongoing issues, Coltin said.
On another occasion, for example, Cotlin watched as “a guy came up in a car inside the park, grabbed one of our props and broke it over his knee,” she said. That person then hit someone in the face, she added.
“It was not an easy decision,” Coltin said. “It’s nobody’s fault.”
Last summer’s incident, though, jarred more than a few nerves among those who perform there after dark every summer.
“There has been increasing crime in the park for several years,” Coltin said. “This was the culmination. This is an outdoor, public venue so I know it can happen anywhere.”
The area’s City Council member, Tim McOsker, said his office will work with park and public safety officials to return Shakespeare by the Sea to Point Fermin Park.
The group hired private security after the assault, she said, but that was expensive for a small nonprofit. The private security’s scanner, though, revealed how many other issues were happening around the park, 807 Paseo Del Mar, Cotlin added.
The designated but unlit parking lot — which is across Paseo Del Mar on a vacant lot at the base of Angel’s Gate Park — added to the wariness and concern for everyone’s safety.
The adjacent Sunken City portion at the east end of the park — which is gated off but still an attraction for some who get around the barriers for access — was also perceived as posing an ongoing risk after dark, Cotlin said.
“We were very concerned about the safety of our patrons (and crew) late at night,” she said.
After last summer’s attemped car theft, police officers were stationed at the park during performances, at the request of Shakespeare by the Park officials. McOsker came to the park the following day to speak with crew and cast members — and arranged for the police patrols.
McOsker, in a written statement, said that while troupe will still perform multiple shows this summer in the 15th District he represents, he also wants Shakespeare by the Sea to return to the historic Point Fermin bandshell.
“We will work with the Department of Recreation and Parks and our public safety officers,” he said, “to ensure the safety of the actors, production crews, all those involved.
“Nevertheless if other locations are selected,” McOsker added, “we know that we will be hosting great shows in great venues in the One-Five.”
Shakespeare by the Sea traditionally travels around Southern California during the summer, performing throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. But it typically opens and closes its tour in San Pedro.
This year, however, organizers are planning to host the opening show at the Long Beach bandshell in Recreation Park.
But plans are still in the works.
No contract has been drafted yet, said Brent Dennis, director of Long Beach’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine.
“That is not to say,” Dennis said, “that eventually, with all of the steps and follow-up information provided that one would then be developed.”
Long Beach, Dennis said, has been exploring accommoding the move and would issue a joint news release should an agreement be reached.
If all goes well, this year’s season will open in Long Beach on June 21 with a performance of “Cardenio: Double Falsehood,” followed by “Henry IV: Falstaff & the Boy Who Would Be King” on June 28.
Plans for the closing show are still being finalized as well.
Shakespeare by the Sea will finish this year’s run in San Pedro as usual, Coltin said — but tentatively at 22nd Street Park, which is under Port of Los Angeles jurisdiction. The final show is set for Aug. 3.
Phillip Sanfield, spokesperson for the Port of Los Angeles, confirmed a permit application has been filed to use 22nd Street Park for the closing program of Shakespeare by the Sea, But the request is still under review, he said, with an answer expected in the next 30 days.
“The Port of Los Angeles has been great,” Coltin said.
Long Beach, meanwhile, has been trying to reactivate its 1920s bandshell, Cotlin said, so performing there is seen as helping out another important local landmark.
But Long Beach isn’t home.
“We absolutely love San Pedro,” Coltin said. “We’ve been there for 26 years.”
Staff writer Kristy Hutchings contributed to this report.