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Politics & Government

Shakespeare Gets Yes Vote From Council; Debate May Be Much Ado About Nothing

Los Altos City Council approves Shakespeare at McKenzie Park in 2012, but theater company may decide to remain in Sunnyvale.

The Los Altos City Council gave its nod to free Shakespeare in McKenzie Park next summer, but it may all be much ado about nothing if the theater company decides to remain in its new Sunnyvale home.

The nonprofit Festival Theatre Ensemble spent 10 seasons performing free in the Hetch Hetchy right of way at Mid Peninsula High School in Menlo Park, until this year when the San Francisco Water Company announced it had to perform pipeline repair work in the area.

for the free performances in June and July, before heading to the Los Gatos Shakespeare Festival in August at Oak Meadow Park, which charges $10-$20 for performances.

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Los Altos was in the running to become this year’s free performance spot but was , which was able to move just a little faster in the approval process. This year’s performances of The Tragedy of MacBeth, The Twelfth Night and a 19th century play, Charley’s Aunt, will be at Full Circle Farm, 1055 Dunford Way, Sunnyvale, on the site of a former high school owned by the Santa Clara Unified School District.

“I think it’s an opportunity to bring a new experience to our community,” said Los Altos Councilman David Casas before voting in favor of the performances. But, he said, “this whole discussion may be moot.”

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In the meantime, the theater company’s directors said they were open to considering Los Altos for next year’s free performances. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Senior Recreation Supervisor Peggy Ford said the board would decide by mid-summer if it still wanted to pursue the McKenzie Park site or stay in Sunnyvale, depending on how things play out there. 

While the council decision was unanimous in welcoming plays to McKenzie Park, members said they wanted assurances that parking would not become a burden for surrounding neighbors or the medical office buildings on Altos Oaks Drive, and that audiences and the company itself would be out of the park by 10:30 p.m. on performance nights.

Resident David Stevens, whose house on Clinton Road would be directly behind the Shakespearian stage, said he thought it was asking too much of neighbors, who would have to put up with rehearsals and performances, as well as the set-up and strike of the set for two months.

“When it was first proposed, it sounded so minimal,” Stevens said. “It’s two months solid of Shakespeare in the park.”

He wanted the city to consider another location that did not have a big impact on residents, but acknowledged there wasn’t a good alternative. He suggested the city consider creating a field in the future, such as at the Civic Center, which would be bordered by city buildings, not homes.

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