THE TEMPEST - 1979 Photo by Alan McEwen
Sincere thanks to Jean D. Snow who has written the program notes and the brochure about the Forest Theater Guild which have been the prime source of material for the following SPOTLIGHT ON.
In its early years, Carmel-by-the-Sea had perhaps six hundred residents, four or five that number during the summer months with many artists and writers among them. Among these was Mary Austin who first suggested creating a Forest Theater in about 1908. Her play, THE ARROWMAKER, had been produced at the New Theater in New York, and she was interested in dramatics of the better kind. Herbert Heron, a poet and dramatist who had come to Carmel in 1908, and Michael Williams, an author, took up the idea and made a search for a site for an open-air theater, which was to become the oldest outdoor, community theater west of the Rockies. It meant campaigning and convincing the small community that they needed such a theater where plays could be written and produced by locals who could have fun doing the acting, directing, lighting, costuming and stage-setting. Heron's enthusiasm convinced some of the villagers as well as his writer, painter, and artist friends to become members of a group who in 1910 became known as the Forest Theater Society. In the following years Herbert Heron staged many productions, particularly Shakespeare and original drama.
The Carmel Development Company, which owned most of Carmel, cleared and turned over to the Society the site they had selected, without rental, and even advanced the money to build the stage and enough wooden benches to seat about 600. The original stage was built on a slope, between two great pines that form the proscenium arch, sixty feet wide. There wasn't and still isn't a curtain. There were no electric lights in Carmel - calcium floodlights were used at the theater which were rented in San Francisco, arriving in Monterey via train and brought over the hill by horse and wagon. The roads and paths to the theater were lighted by bonfires, two huge fireplaces on either side of the stage that are still used every performance evening. The theater opened before Carmel had a city charter and city electricity came in 1913. The founders had no great money-making plans; they only hoped that the theatre would be self-supporting. They could not prophesy the benefits that Carmel-by-the-Sea would receive from the first publicity of the theatre. In fact they stipulated that no play was to be done in modern dress on an indoor set and stated, "Carmel has 4 hotels - none so great that there is danger of a tourist influx!"
The theater opened on July 9, 1910, with the world premiere of DAVID written by Constance Lindsey Skinner and directed by the well-know professional coach, Garnet Holme, from the University of California. About 1,000 viewers (which was practically the whole town of Carmel) were present on opening night. In 1925 the Society was able to purchase the 16 lots on which the theater is located for the sum of two thousand dollars from the Development company. By 1953 the theater had shown 144 plays, including 64 premieres, and dramatizations by California authors. Numbered among these productions were those by Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Greek tragedies, 7 on local history, (one production even featured real horses on stage), children's plays, light operas and musical comedies.
There were always close ties between the community and the Forest Theater and in 1937 the property was deeded to and became the responsibility of the city of Carmel. Federal Works Administration funds were available to provide vital construction on the stage and in the seating areas. Herbert Heron reopened the theater with a Shakespeare festival production of MACBETH and THE TWELFTH NIGHT. Robinson Jeffers' THE TOWER BEYOND TRAGEDY was staged in 1941. More Shakespeare plays were presented just prior to World War II. Then the theater was dark until 1947 reopening with Don Totheroh's DISTANT DRUMS followed by the Fourth Shakespeare Festival in 1948. In 1949 the Forest Theater Guild was officially registered with the State of California and the Federal Government as a not-for-profit theater guild. The Guild flourished under the guidance of Herbert Heron and Cole Weston. Heron, Weston, and Philip Oberg, among others, were responsible for the creation of the underground theater that was built in 1950 and since 1969 has housed the Children's Experimental Theater. Cole continued directing plays for many years including WINTERSET, PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD, OLIVER, PIPE DREAM, OUR TOWN, OF MICE AND MEN, ONDINE, A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN, A LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, THE TWELFTH NIGHT AND AS YOU LIKE IT. Herbert Heron finished his 50th year with the Forest Theater with his own play, PHAROAH.
During the 50s and the 60s there was not much happening at the Outdoor Forest Theater. It was primarily used by city organizations for an assortment of events. A stronger theater group was at the Theater in the Round, what is now the Circle Theater of the Golden Bough. At the beginning of the 70s the Theater in the Round closed down, and a lot of its theater people moved up to the Outdoor Forest Theater. By 1971, the physical outdoor theater, with its decaying timbers and rotten seats and its weed-covered grounds, had become quite rundown, and the city fathers were beginning to consider terminating theater use of the property. When community members because aware of the closing, they rallied to the cause and a well-attended public hearing was held on August 30, 1971. It was proposed that information regarding other outdoor theaters be studied and estimates of the cost of renovating the Forest Theater be obtained and considered. These suggestions were followed out and professional theater people heard about the plans to seek funding to save the theater. Foremost among these was Dame Judith Anderson. On November 7, 1971, the reactivated Forest Theater Guild presented Dame Anderson in a powerful reading from Robinson Jeffers' "MEDEA and THE TOWER BEYOND TRAGEDY as a Guild benefit. The $5,000 proceeds from Dame Anderson's appearance insured the Guild's production of THE TWELFTH NIGHT in 1972. When assured that the theater could be used for production of high standards and quality, the city agreed to appropriate $10,000 to refurbish particular areas of the theater.
The refurbishment was accomplished and productions continued - CYRANO DE BERGERAC, THE MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT, PICNIC, A LION IN WINTER, TOM JONES, SIDDHARTHA, BECKETT, OF MICE AND MEN, THE GRAPES OF WRATH plus many Shakespearean productions. An early musical was produced in 1985 - John Steinbeck's PIPE DREAM By 1988 the Guild Board members realized that musical presentations were drawing both tourists and the local community members with a resultant growth in attendance figures. They increased the number of musicals presented including. BRIGADOON, ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS, SHOWBOAT, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, CAROUSEL, OKLAHOMA, THE FANTASTICKS and HELLO DOLLY! In 1994 the Forest Theater Guild debuted "Films in the Forest," showing films after sundown on weekday evenings including 3-D, comedy, classics, drama, student shorts, animation shorts and stories by John Steinbeck.
The Guild is overseen by a Board of Directors. In addition there is the Executive Director whose responsibilities include overseeing the Board, seeking grants and other funding, and overseeing the theater productions. The current Executive Director is Hamish Tyler who has held that position since 1994. Prior to Hamish the position was held by the first Executive Director of the Guild, David Miller. In 1999, the Forest Theater Guild established the position of Artistic Director, hiring John Newkirk to fill the post.
A lot of what has ensured the longevity and productivity of the Forest Theater Guild as a theater company has been the support of the community - volunteers and friends. It's the volunteers giving their time and energy that helps keep the theater going - helping with the mailings, passing out programs, helping with box office, monitoring the parking lot, and as all around "go-fers."
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Jean Snow and her hat |
On most nights, the first person one sees when coming to a play by the Forest Theater Guild is Jean D. Snow. Jean is the primary person at the box office and has been selling tickets to Guild productions since 1977. A lot of people don't know her name and call her "The Hat Lady" because she always wears her trademark - a straw hat adorned with flowers and birds. For those who have been curious about the origin of the hat, Jean explains, "I made it. As long as I can remember I've always had crazy straw hats of some kind or another. There used to be song called "The Naughty Little Bird on Nelly's Hat." My mother and my grandmother used to play it on the piano. It was from a musical in New York. So I put the Naughty Little Bird on the hat and then I put the nest with the babies on it." In addition to doing box office for the Forest Theater Guild, Jean has been in charge of public relations for the Guild for many years.
The local community and crowds of visitors flock to the Forest Theater Guild productions on the summer nights. And often it's for more than just seeing a wonderful play. Many come well before the performance starts - with their hot dinner or cold picnic, with their wine and their thermos of coffee and their jackets and blankets. They eat and talk and laugh, and then the night begins to fall and hopefully the sky becomes bright with stars; they marvel at the silhouette of the pines behind the stage and the oak trees surrounding the benches where they are seated - much as people did over 90 years ago.