Enjoy, pursued by a bear: Kern Shakespeare Festival returns for 39th year to BC

Oct. 4—The Kern Shakespeare Festival has always been an all-hands-on-deck operation. This year's gathering not only presents three shows — two from the Bard and one retelling of a classic — but the show directors are also pulling double duty acting in the festival.

For nearly 40 years, the Kern Shakespeare Festival has brought the comedy and drama of the Bard to Bakersfield College.

This year, in addition to "The Winter's Tale" and "As You Like It," the annual event will add a complementary show to the festivities: Luis Alfaro's "Electricidad," a modern retelling of Sophocles' "Electra."

Adding a non-Shakespeare play is very rare in the festival's history. Most recently, Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" played alongside "Hamlet" in 2017 and Robert O'Hara's "Bootycandy" was part of the virtual festival presentation in 2020.

Brian Sivesind, the festival's artistic director, said although the contemporary play is not connected to Shakespeare it remains true to the spirit of the festival.

"We felt 'Electricidad' was a good fit for the festival because it's based on a Greek play but updated to our era," he wrote in an email.

"Electricidad" director Cristina Goyeneche said she sees a connecting theme among the plays about the effects of toxic masculinity.

"In 'As You Like It,' Rosalind gets banished from her home all because her uncle was scared that people would love her more than him," she wrote in an email. "In 'The Winter's Tale,' a king believes that his wife cheated on him with no proof whatsoever and sends her to prison, which eventually leads to more banishments and deaths. And then there's 'Electricidad,' where we see this young woman dealing with the affects of this toxic cholo upbringing that was ruled by men who used aggression and violence to get what they wanted when they wanted."

A fan of the other plays of Alfaro's Greek trilogy ("Mojada" and "Oedipus El Rey"), Goyeneche said she was drawn to direct this female-centric play.

"Not only is this a play about women, but it tells the story of strong Chicana women who are complex. They're so complex to the point that you truly don't know who is right and who is wrong, yet, all you want is for these people to heal. I love stories that show us the reality and complexity of grief and trauma."

In the play, the title character (played by Laylah Lievana) plots revenge against her power-hungry mother, Clemencia (played by Goyeneche), who is responsible for the death of her gang leader father. A gossiping trio of fatalistic "mujeres" (Marissa Garcia, Margarita Diaz and Selah Gradowitz) serves as a Spanglish chorus.

Along with strong female performances, the play will feature a set enhanced by local artist Victoria Olmos.

"The show calls for a very different setting from the other two shows and I needed someone who could paint and create the style I was going for. ... I couldn't be more excited to have her onboard."

Departing from the gritty realism of Alfaro's play, "The Winter's Tale" director Cody Ganger took Shakespeare into fairy tale territory.

She wrote in an email, "I was inspired by fairy tales as I designed the show, because the show has many mystical, magical moments, plus lots of fairy tale motifs — there's a lost princess, for instance, and we open with a royal ball. So, the world is something akin to a Cinderella court. We are in a world of real kings and queens and princesses, where ancient gods are real and can make magical things happen."

Ganger said she was drawn to the "really beautiful, emotional, moving play."

"It's epic in scope — we move across kingdoms, we move from court to country, there's a 16-year time jump, multiple dances, a bear attack, a shipwreck, divine prophecies, and magical transformations!"

In the play, King Leontes (TJ Sandoval) believes his pregnant wife, Hermione (Shelbe McClain), has been having an affair with his childhood friend Polixenes (Jaspreet Singh).

Polixenes flees while Hermoine's daughter is abandoned on the coast, rescued by a shepherd (Scott Deaton) and his son (Alex Young), and the queen dies.

Sixteen years pass and the now teenage girl, Perdita (Sonnet Haddad), is in love with Polixenes' son, Florizel (Jesse Magdaleno).

As often happens in Shakespeare's comedies, all the parties are brought together for a happy ending.

Ganger would like audiences to leave with a hopeful feeling after this play about forgiveness, healing, grace, and redemption.

"You may not be able to change the past, but you can find healing and a path forward."

Sivesind will bring audiences back to America in the 1960s for the comedy "As You Like It."

"The play is about escaping to the forest and finding freedom and letting go of the way things used to be ... and that felt like the '60s, with the anti-war movement and the hippies and the love," he wrote.

Rosalind (Riss Halbwachs) is banished from the court of her uncle, Duke Frederick (John Spitzer), and flees with his daughter, Celia (Alana Edwards). The young women don disguises and head to the Forest of Arden meeting many strange characters as well as Orlando (Jose Magana), a gentleman in love with Rosalind who has also fled the kingdom.

Disguised as the young man Ganymede, Rosalind attempts to help cure Orlando of his love while a shepherdess, Phoebe (Leslie Art), pursues her.

"It's about love at first sight, but it's also kind of Shakespeare mocking his own genre," Sivesind wrote. "Every Shakespeare comedy ends in a wedding, and this one ends in four weddings! Like... everything works out in the end."

In addition to directing, Sivesind, Ganger and Goyenche also perform in their respective shows. (Ganger credits her assistant director, Savanna Lux, with making her double duty possible.)

Another acting feat this year is accomplished by Jesse Magdaleno, who appears in all three productions: the court jester Touchstone in "As You Like It," besotted Prince Florizel in "The Winter's Tale" and the title character's brother Orestes in "Electricidad."

"He's the only one because scheduling is so crazy with three shows rehearsing at once," Sivesind wrote of the hard-working actor. "But it goes to show how talented this kid is, and how dedicated he is to his craft. We are very lucky to have him at BC."

The Kern Shakespeare Festival is underway now and runs through Oct. 22 at Bakersfield College.

Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter at @realstefanidias.