Of Mind and Soul: An Intern’s Experience with the New Swan Shakespeare Festival
Entrance to the temporary outdoor New Swan Theater, where Shakespeare’s works are performed each summer. Photo credit Briana Bao
For the last ten years, the New Swan Shakespeare Festival has always produced two plays by the Bard for the community to enjoy. The professional festival, co-hosted by the Drama Department at UCI’S Office of Research, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, and the School of Humanities, features UCI students, faculty, and professionals in an intimate outdoor theater named the New Swan. Modeled after theaters from the Elizabethan era, the New Swan is a portable space that seats about 130 people and fosters an intimate connection between the actors and the audience. In a sense, the New Swan Theater itself is a centerpiece of the show.
During the first season of the festival in 2012, New Swan put out two shows: The Comedy of Errrrorrs and The Merchant of Venice. They were both sold out within three days.
When asked about the start of the annual production, Artistic Director Eli Simon stated that he and his team had never actually planned for it to be the New Swan Festival we know of today. However, after the success of the first two shows, he realized at that point that “[it] was providing something to the community that [it] really wanted, and has since really embraced.”
Fast forward to the summer of 2022.
After two years of closing down due to COVID-19, the festival welcomed its 10th anniversary this year with the plays Pericles, Prince of Tyre and The Comedy of Errrorrs. Mr. Simon states that these two plays are timely for this occasion because, much like the separation many experienced during the pandemic, the plays both feature “families who were once lost, are searched for, and are ultimately found.” In the spirit of reuniting after separation, the New Swan performed for audiences all summer long.
The artistic director aims to make the plays accessible by setting the Elizabethan plays in contemporary times. The physical closeness between audience and actor further enhances the connection to the story. “It’s all about the experience,” Mr. Simon claims.
After conducting this interview, I held great expectations for the New Swan Festival. On a warm summer night I attended a performance of Pericles, Prince of Tyre and it exceeded my sky-high expectations.
The small outdoor theater was encircled in colorful boards, small flags, and twinkling fairy lights. The air carried the faint scent of pine from the surrounding trees. The New Swan Theater was located next to Aldrich Park on the UCI campus, but it felt like a theater from another space and time.
Entering the theater, I understood Mr. Simon’s explanations of the audience sitting so close to the action. Sitting in circular arrangements with my fellow audience members evoked the sense of a family gathering around a bonfire under the starry sky. The audience included children as young as six experiencing Shakespeare for their first time to senior citizens who have loved the Bard for decades. Mr. Simon credits this wide range of audience to the universal human themes “of love, jealousy, greed, and power” that are featured in Shakespeare’s works.
Audience member Sheila Silver shared that she has watched every single New Swan show for the past ten years, showing her passion for the festival and for Shakespeare’s works.
When the play began, I noticed that none of the actors were wearing microphones or other sound extending devices. The rawness in their voice easily reverberated throughout the New Swan, further enhancing the audience’s ability to connect with the stage action.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre features a sovereign who is lost at sea, both physically and figuratively. Pericles has lost his wife, children, and perhaps most importantly, his own purpose and identity. Pericles is a lonely soul both in search of himself and craving deep connections with those around him, not unlike many of us during the pandemic. Pericles lives in a time of global unrest, and the play brings to light the importance of exploring our diverse world in order to better understand the stories of other people. By forming a stronger bond with others, we also find greater strength in ourselves.
I found the play accessible and easily understood despite never having seen a live Shakespearean production before. The use of various costume arts, music, and choreography, along with incredible performances, allowed me to grasp the plot and themes of the play and find great enjoyment in doing so.
While this season has come to an end, with the last performance on September 3rd, the New Swan will be back next summer to take audiences on a wondrous journey in the world of Shakespeare. Keep an eye out for ticket sales for next summer!
Read more about this past season and look for news on The Swan’s next season online.
