John Walcutt Named New Producing Artistic Direcotr of Shakespeare Orange County

John Walcutt takes over as the new Producing Artistic Director of Shakespeare Orange County (formerly The Grove Shakespeare Festival), succeeding his Thomas F. Bradac, who has led it for 34 years. The festival, now called simply SOC, performs summers in the beautiful outdoor 540 seat Garden Grove Amphitheater in Garden Grove.

Walcutt has had a wonderful career as a professional actor: nearly 200 on screen speaking roles including such classics as TITANIC, MULAN, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, SEABISCUIT, THE NEWSROOM, LOST, CRIMINAL MINDS, JAG, SLIDERS, HILL STREET BLUES, SILVER SPOONS and NEWHART. He began his professional career on this very stage as a member of The Grove Shakespeare Festival in 1982. . Walcutt got his Actors Equity Card in the critically lauded South Coast Repertory production of THE DIVINERS, and has appeared in many plays throughout the country including several at SCR, The Old Globe, The La Jolla Playhouse, Mark Taper Forum, and dozens of small theatres in LA. A founding member of both The Antaeus Company and The Matrix Theater Companies, he starred this summer in the title role of SOC's MACBETH, of which The Orange County Register raved "This is not good Shakespeare... This is great Shakespeare!"

He has big plans for the company, all designed to make SOC more vital and involved in the Orange County Community. These plans include:

- Extending the season in the Amphitheater to run May through September.

- Extending the performance menu to include not only award-winning Shakespeare, but also family plays, music, cultural events, and diverse multi-cultural approaches to everything.

- A summer performing arts camp for kids 5-19 from the community.

- Diversifying the company and audience to more accurately reflect the community, which speaks a reported 76 languages and has changed drastically over the years.

- Cut ticket prices and make the theatre affordable and welcoming to everyone.

"We want to get people in here, and get them to come back."

His wife, Duck Soon, points out that South Korean President Park says in her recent autobiography "I fell in love with the English language through the plays of William Shakespeare." That's a great place to start, and Walcutt sites the huge Korean Garden Grove Community, second only to LA in the size of its Koreatown, just blocks from the theatre. The area also has large populations of Americans of Vietnamese, Latin, Chinese, Samoan, and Filipino heritage. "We need to invite them, every cultural group, connect with them, and make them feel welcome. 'One big family under the stars' will be our motto."

Walcutt is actively seeking major donors and sponsors (which SOC has never had, aside from The City Of Garden Grove), and diverse Board members, to help realize that dream of making this truly, in the best sense of the words, a theatre of the community, and to give back to the OC.

"My dream is to make the kids' camp totally free, and to be able to give out free tickets or super-discounted tickets to anyone who wants to come. Theatre is too expensive for most people. I'd like them to know that it's a fun, uplifting, wonderful place to spend an evening. My life was changed and enriched by the arts. I want to pass on that inspiration and opportunity to generations to come in this gorgeous setting. Then, they'll go to South Coast Rep, they'll go to the symphony. They'll realize that the arts matter, and this is a better place to spend time with the family than the mall."

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