More theater: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The newly formed Davis Shakespeare Ensemble's debut production, Romeo and Juliet, is set to open Sept. 16 in the UC Davis Arboretum, with eight shows planned through Sept. 26.

The ensemble is not affiliated with UC Davis, but eight of the nine founders are connected with UC Davis. “Almost the entire cast has worked with the UC Davis theater department and were behind Studio 301’s most recent productions, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth and Hair, two of which were in the arboretum as well," said Rob Salas, who is directing Romeo and Juliet.

Studio 301, the only student-run theater company on campus, presented Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the Wyatt Deck in the arboretum and Hair in the gazebo.

Salas, who serves as the company’s primary director, is the only one of the founders without a UC Davis connection; however, he is a UC graduate student, in his last year of the theater directing program at UC Irvine.

He has directed at UC Irvine and Harvard University, New Village Arts (San Diego), South Coast Repertory (Orange County) and the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

His Davis Shakespeare Ensemble co-founders are all UC Davis students or graduates, or staff.

“Though it's our first show, we're experienced, confident and will impress our audience with a high level of skill and execution,” Salas said by e-mail.

“Our ensemble's mission is to share appreciation of classical theater with the Davis-area community. We are all passionate about Shakespearean text, and believe it deserves to be performed as frequently as possible.

“We decided that our first order of business would be to put all of our focus around one project that would show audiences how great Shakespeare done with love and care can be. We chose Romeo and Juliet because it is an extremely special piece. It's not only that almost all of us have studied it in school at some point, but it has the substance to make it worthy of being an eternal text.”

Company co-founder Gia Battista is playing Juliet; most recently, Battista played the female lead, Sheila, in Studio 301’s Hair. Before that, she directed Studio 301’s Macbeth.

She played Perdita in UC Davis’ A Winter's Tale and Isabella in UC Davis’ Measure for Measure.

Romeo is being played by Ian Walters, a UC Davis student. He “doesn’t boast the resumé of some of our other alumni,” Salas said, “but he is a fantastic actor and skilled athlete who just hasn't been able to fit theater into his busy schedule.”

The gazebo is an intimate performing space, Salas said, “so we wanted our cast to have an intimate relationship with the audience to match.” Therefore, the cast comprises only seven actors, each of whom will assume one to three roles.

“Each actor's multiple roles make sense for the storytelling, and we think will shine a new light on some characters.” Salas said.

Salas said the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble’s long-term goal is to continue to perform and produce classical work in different spaces throughout Davis.

“As we do so, we will also be developing a series of workshops and classes for kids. Many of us have a lot of education experience, so we are looking forward to using our skills to make Shakespeare accessible for young people.

“Next summer, we hope to not only produce another professional level show with our ensemble, but also have events and programs to offer children in the area.”

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, co-presented by the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble and the arboretum

WHEN: 8 p.m. Sept. 16-19 and 23-26

WHERE: Gazebo, at the west end of the arboretum. Chairs will be provided, but audience members are advised to dress warmly and even bring blankets.

TICKETS will be sold at the venue; you can make reservations by calling (760) 310-0323 or sending an e-mail to davis.shakespeare@gmail.com.