Great news for devotees of theater, and ditto for nature lovers: Theater in the Woods returns to the wilds of the Woodside hills this summer.
The troupe will perform Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” for its fifth season, staged in a privately owned wood off Bear Gulch Road.
Performances are set for Saturdays and Sundays, July 22 through August 13, beginning at 1 p.m. Reservations are being taken now.
The play bears the names of two minor characters in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” — two friends of Prince Hamlet who end up dying in his place.
In his acclaimed, existentialist play, Stoppard turns those minor characters into the key players and adds a brilliant and witty new dimension to the Shakespearean tragedy.
Theatre in the Woods is a small company formed by five former ACT acting students who couldn’t stay apart once their class ended. That was about four years ago, and since then they’ve staged various plays under the redwoods and summertime sky, including Sartre’s “No Exit” and David Mamet’s “The Woods.”
Late last year, the troupe expanded, inviting more people in and laying the groundwork for another yearly production, to be performed later this year “in the cityscape of San Francisco,” according to Gina Baleria, an actress and co-founder of the group.
With that expansion, the group took on a new name, AtmosTheatre. Theatre in the Woods is now a division of AtmosTheatre.
“Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” will be directed by Dave Sikula. Staged outdoors, the play will begin on a stage newly built on the forest property, which is graced with running creeks and towering redwoods.
The audience will be led on an “invigorating hike” for subsequent scenes, Ms. Baleria said. She advised audience members to dress comfortably.
Playgoers are also invited to bring a picnic lunch to eat in the woods at noon before embarking on the moveable feast cooked up by Theatre in the Woods.
Tickets are up to $20, on a sliding scale. Student and senior admission is $10. Theatre in the Woods performs at 2170 Bear Gulch Road. Reservations can be made at 415-668-2879; or e-mail reservations@atmostheatre.com. For more information, log on at atmostheatre.com.
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