On April 30, Independent Shakespeare Co. artistic director Melissa Chalsma released the following statement to supporters, audience members, donors and the community of Los Angeles:
"It is with great regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the 2020 Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Having spoken with the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks, it is neither possible nor responsible. After 17 years of continuous programming, it feels very strange to contemplate this hiatus. We hate to disappoint our audience, but the reality of the situation is clear, and we must do our part to help our city through this crisis as safely as we can.
"Cancelling programming presents grave challenges for all arts organizations. We rely on donations from our free programming and ticket sales from our Studio events. Moreover, we are concerned for our festival artists and staff, many of whom have come to count on our summer contract. With this in mind, we have been strategizing how to honor our commitment to our audience and our artists.
While we stay safer at home, ISC will present a livestream event, The Living Room Follies on Saturday, May 16 at 7:30pm PST. This fundraising event will feature ISC artists, celebrity guests, music, scenes and more. It will be streamed free for all, and everyone is encouraged to dress up for a night in, and share on social media using the hashtag: #ISCFolliesChallenge. ISC launched the Imagining Tomorrow Fund to support the organization and ISC artists continuing to create and plan bringing accessible theater and Shakespeare to the community.
ISC continues to share art and Shakespeare with the ISC Art Break, a series of podcasts, video projects and more, featuring ISC artists.
All offerings are accessible through their website: www.iscla.org
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