From SOC’s “Comedy of Errors.”
By Jim Tortolano/Garden Grove Journal
After nearly two generations of staging Shakespeare in Garden Grove’s theater, Thomas F. “Tom” Bradac will be retiring this August as producing artistic director of Shakespeare Orange County.
Bradac will co-direct “Twelfth Night” and “Macbeth” in this, SOC’s 22nd season. Both plays will be on stage at the Festival Amphitheatre on Main Street in Garden Grove.
“I’m lucky to have spent 34 years producing, directing and occasionally acting in these great plays in Orange County,” said Bradac. “A special thank you to the city of Garden Grove for its support and encouragement while in Garden Grove and Dr. James Doti for nurturing the theater in its formative years in Orange.”
Bradac, a Garden Grove resident, founded the Grove Shakespeare Festival in 1979, with productions in the Gem Theater and the amphitheater. In 1991 he established Shakespeare Orange County at Chapman University in Orange, where he is a professor of theater.
SOC moved back to Garden Grove in 2004.
Bradac will continue at Chapman. One of his daughters, Alyssa, is completing an MFA in directing from the University of Calgary and will co-direct this season.
His retirement may not mean the end of Shakespeare at the Village Green Park.
The SOC Board of Directors is interested in continuing the non-profit theater; the City of Garden Grove, which owns the facility, may put out a request for proposals for potential operators or tenants of the 550-seat amphitheater.
It is with great sadness that I read this article. I have grown up as an actor in Orange County, and a large part of that growth has come at The Grove Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare Orange County, under the guidance of Tom Bradac. After doing summer theatre at Biola in the mid seventies, and Cerritos College in the late seventies, I joined the then thriving Grove Shakespeare Festival in the early 1980′s. I received my Actors Equity Card (joining the professional actor’s union) at South Coast Rep, happily returned to the Grove in the 90′s, and back again over the past two summers with Shakespeare Orange County, where I had the very great pleasure of playing Richard III last summer. I will return this summer in MACBETH and TWELFTH NIGHT, not for the job, but because I love the festival, believe in it, and know what a joy it can be, as well as an inspiration to young people. I am living proof of how a small festival, a night in the theatre, can change the humble life of a child. And as my star has risen in my profession (nearly 200 TV appearances and movies such as TITANIC, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and MULAN), it has been my great joy to return to the beautiful amphitheater in Garden Grove to perform over the years. The old summer program at Biola is gone. The summer theatre (called Southern California Conservatory Theatre) at Cerritos is gone. South Coast Repertory thrives, but offers no summer fare, and cannot anyway come close to the outdoor beauty of the GG theatre. I want to make sure that Shakespeare Orange County goes on.
I want to keep this theatre alive. I have spoken to Tom Bradac about my stepping forward and becoming the next Artistic Director of the SOC and keeping it alive. Tom has told me he is in my corner and would happily serve as mentor to me in growing the summer festival. I would like to return it to its former prominence as in the late eighties and early nineties, when the theatre was a jeweled summer destination and packed on summer Saturday nights. I have been a founding member of two of Los Angeles’ most heralded theatre companies, The Antaeus Company and The Matrix Theatre, and am positioned in my life to dedicate the time and energy to keep SOC alive, and to grow it to thriving. Tom Bradac has been a volunteer, keeping the festival alive over the past decade, to a large extent on his broad shoulders and with a small group of dedicated helpers, as a labor of love. I would like to rally the City to keep the festival alive, expand it to include a youth theatre, education outreach, and additional fare along with Shakespeare, as well as making it even more inclusive for the surrounding community. My guess is that many Garden Grovers remember the joys of a night watching a great show under the moonlight at this beautiful theatre, even if the city staffers may not. With a seasoned group of supporters and advisors at my side and great actor friends a phone call away, I am lucky to have the experience and energy to keep this beautiful amphitheater happy and lit on summer evenings, and the joy of these great plays available to the City of Garden Grove… a safe and wonderful evening destination on Main Street. It should not be allowed to crumble and fall into disrepair as it was allowed to a decade ago. I will petition the City and rally the Main Street community to keep Shakespeare Orange County alive and a source of great pride for Garden Grove. I hope that your readers will join in me in asking for the City’s ear. I hope that there are enough of you who would voice your support for this worthwhile tradition to continue and flourish. I would really hate to see SOC find a home somewhere else in the County, should the Amphitheater shut down to SOC. I truly believe that SOC and Garden Grove share an even brighter future together. Please help me in rallying the city leaders to keep it alive, and I will do my best to make you proud and rewarded by your stepping up.
John Walcutt
I had the recent good fortune to work with Tom Bradac and Shakespeare Orange County. It was for me one of those magical times as a member of Actor’s Equity. Working in film and television can be very rewarding — but for an Equity actor, truly “the play’s the thing.” Experiencing a theatrical production in an outdoor venue such as Garden Grove’s amphitheater is a special treat for audience and actor alike. Then there is Main Street, with its restaurants, shops and cafes, and the Friday classic car shows, that makes it a terrific “destination spot” for audience members who are attending a performance later in the evening. (Doug’s Grill is worth the trip just to try their sweet potato fries.)
Tom Bradac has grown Shakespeare Orange County into a local cultural treasure. I truly hope that Garden Grove will preserve and promote this treasure for current and future audience members – young and old alike. John Walcutt has a strong tradition with the organization, and would be the ideal person to continue nuturing and growing this tradition for the future – I hope that Garden Grove will strongly consider his petition to do so!
Respectfully, Franc Ross
I had the opportunity to work with Tom in three great productions. King Lear as Lear, Prospero, in theTempest and Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice. They were all very successful and personally rewarding. Last week , as I received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Lead Actor in a play..(Waiting For Godot) at the Mark Taper Forum, I took the time to
pay tribute to Tom Bradac and the Orange County Shakespeare Festival. He has done an exemplary job as Producer, Director, Teacher and as an actor. A true man of the Theater. Tough shoes to fill but, you have John Walcutt available to you. He would be a terrific person to fill those shoes. A brilliant theater Artist, Walcutt is the the right man for the job. He would attract the top notch theater artists you need to keep Orange County Shakespeare alive and thriving. Please feel free to contact me should you need further input.
Sincerely,
Alan Mandell
Tom Bradac has been the backbone of the Orange County Shakespeare Festival seemingly forever……It’s hard to imagine the festival continuing without him. As actor, director, and producer, he has provided a stable and inspirational leadership for decades. When I found out that John Walcutt was interested in taking over for Tom, I had to express my delight and approbation. Huzzah!!!! There!! I have known John since we were in The Diviners together at SCR almost 35 years ago. Since then, he has developed a long and successful career as an actor, from playing Hamlet at the Denver Theater Center to roles in dozens of films, including James Cameron’s academy award winning The Titanic. One of the reasons John works so much, is because he is a joy to work with. Unfailingly supportive and enthusiastic, he brings his vitality and bonhomie to any project that he takes on. John has directed several films and has taught acting at many different venues for years. His students adore him…..He is always upbeat, positive, and encouraging, and as a result, he brings out their best efforts. In short, he is a nice man!…….he works well with others……perhaps the most important attribute when it comes to running a theater and dealing with staff, actors, and board members. Garden Grove will get another chance to enjoy his talent this summer as he essays the roles of Macbeth and Malvolio. John loves Shakespeare, and he obviously loves working at the OC Festival. I hope he gets his chance to lead the Festival forward into a new era.
Don Took
Founding actor at South Coast Repertory