For 35 years, the great generosity and loyalty of Cal Shakes’ donors has sustained our vision, supporting us as we’ve removed barriers and made the classics relevant for everyone, regardless of age, circumstance, or background. Today, we ask you to support this visionary campaign.

Cal Shakes is pleased to name its new facility for Bay Area philanthropist, long-time member of the Cal Shakes Board of Directors, and Building for the Future co-chair Sharon Simpson; The Sharon Simpson Center is scheduled to open in June with the start of Cal Shakes’ 2010 season.

Theater is a vital means for people to connect, be inspired, and to benefit from the value of timeless works of art. This campaign ensures a permanent theatrical home for our children and theirs—a physical home at the Bruns, as well as a metaphoric, spiritual one—a home for the imagination, a home for beauty, a home for learning and growth. Generous donors have already contributed $8.1 million toward Phase One’s $8.5 million goal. We invite you to join them, and help us build for the future. Imagine the theater we can make.

Project Details

Your contribution to Phase One of our Campaign—with substantial completion expected in summer 2010—will allow Cal Shakes to:

• Construct the 7,850-square-foot Sharon Simpson Center, including:
  
  
  • 31 restrooms for patrons
  • Energy-efficient dressing rooms, wardrobe, and green room for actors
  • A modern café and theater store
  • Offices for volunteers, house staff, and management
    
    
• Regrade the Bruns site to create a spacious central plaza for people to gather and picnic.

• Enlarge the access road behind the theater to create crucial space for loading and unloading of scenery.

• Build a working capital reserve fund of $700,000 to ensure financial stability.

• Install new infrastructure to improve mechanical, electrical, water, and sewage systems.
  

Phase Two (timeline to be determined) will focus on the amphitheater: replacing our stage, upgrading lighting and sound equipment and increasing patron comfort.

Green Elements

Great theater, exquisite natural environment; without both, it wouldn’t be Cal Shakes. We’ve partnered with LMS Architects to honor the stunning landscape of our home by incorporating as many ecologically responsible and green elements as possible.

• A “living roof” atop the Sharon Simpson Center will provide insulation, habitat for plants and animals, and a visual link between the building and the hills behind.
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures will reduce water consumption.
• Nontoxic materials with a high recycled content will be incorporated into construction.
• Porous paving in the new plaza will reduce storm runoff to a nearby creek.
• Buildings will be oriented to take maximum advantage of solar energy and prevailing winds.
• The project has been designed to LEED certification standards

Architects

We have hired San Francisco-based Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects (LMS), who are renowned for creating buildings that are sensitive to place and sustainable in the dual sense of being enduring as well as ecologically responsible.

LMS’s projects include the Thoreau Center for Sustainability in the Presidio, the Nueva School in Hillsborough and the education center at SFMOMA. These diverse creations share a common ethos, as Marsha Maytum, lead architect for the Building for the Future project, says: “We take a consistent approach that is centered on specific responses to the physical and geographic space and the community that a project serves.”

Maytum characterizes LMS’s design for the Bruns as having “two overarching design goals: to preserve what’s incredible about the place while simultaneously transforming the way people experience it.”

Cal Shakes Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone is enthusiastic about LMS’s ability to understand and act on our needs and goals. “In order for Cal Shakes to be a cultural leader,” he says, “we need a literal and spiritual home where everyone in our communities can engage and participate. LMS gets that. They understand the value of designing in a way that will make our theater accessible, clear, and dynamic, without sacrificing the attributes that make it unique.”


Frequently Asked Questions about Building for the Future: The Cal Shakes Campaign

Our project is designed to enhance the experience of artists and audiences, while preserving the unique experience of seeing a performance at the Bruns. But we know theatergoers may have questions about the changes that are happening. In the section below, we tackle some common concerns about the Building for the Future project.
 
We love the feeling of the open-air space at the Bruns.  Will that change?
 
Not at all. If anything, the site will be more open, with the views of the hills less obstructed than before.  Our architects have taken great care to design a new building that will be integrated with the landscape. The building will house amenities for patrons and actors and is sited adjacent to the theater where the café and restrooms have been located. 
 
What’s included in each of the two phases?
 
Phase I, which is currently under way, includes construction of the new Simpson Center, re-grading of the site for improved access, upgraded infrastructure for water, sewage, and electricity, and a working capital reserve fund of $700,000 for fiscal stability. Phase II, to be completed at a future date, will include improvements to the amphitheater such as new lighting and sound systems, permanent seats in the lower section, and a new windscreen and sunscreen. 
 
How much space are we actually gaining from this new building?
 
The space in our trailers—dressing rooms, restrooms, café, and office space—is 2,047 square feet. The new two-story Simpson Center will comprise 7,900 square feet and include expanded dressing rooms, production workspace, dedicated offices for stage management and facilities staff, restrooms, and a new café and theater store.
 
How many restrooms are in the Simpson Center?
 
Replacing the eight unisex stalls in the trailer, the Simpson Center includes 17 stalls for the public (nine for women; eight for men) and houses an additional six restrooms for artists and staff. More restrooms will be located in the Upper Grove area.
 
Will I still be able to picnic in the groves?
 
The groves will remain as pre-performance picnic locations. The regraded site will expand the picnic area to include the hillside above the current Umbrella Grove.
 
What’s happening to the tiles?
 
Some of the tiles have had to be removed for the new construction. We have made a careful effort to ensure that all text and quotes from the existing tiles have been recorded. We will acknowledge the donors of those tiles in another location on the site. The tiles that are currently inside the amphitheater will remain unchanged. 
 
I have mobility issues. How will the renovations address my concerns?
 
The regrading will make it easier for all patrons to enjoy the entire site. Cars can still drive to the top of the hill and drop off patrons in the lobby.  Pathways from the hilltop to the lobby will continue to be ADA accessible, with a gentler slope.
 
Will there be a theater store again?
 
The new Simpson Center features dedicated space for a new theater store. We’re excited to bring the store back in 2011.
 
Is the theater going indoors?
 
No. That’s not a roof you see hovering over the seating area, but a new extended sunscreen that will add to patron and artist comfort during afternoon matinees. We’ll continue to raise the sunscreen for those daytime performances, and leave the theater open to the sky at night. The new walls will still be made of fabric, but we hope that their redesigned shape will moderate drafts. These improvements are part of Phase II.
 
I like to bring my own chair. Will there still be a Terrace section?
 
We wanted to maintain the unique experience of an evening at the Bruns, including the casual ambiance of the Terrace. The renovated amphitheater will retain a central section where you are welcome to bring your own chairs. And of course, food and drink will still be permitted at your seat.
 
Will the amphitheater be bigger?
 
The outside walls of the amphitheater will be stay in the same place; the footprint of the building is not changing. Even with the addition of permanent seating, the capacity of our theater will not change appreciably, preserving the intimacy of seeing a performance in our venue—no seat more than 14 rows from the stage.

Campaign Leadership

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

JIM ROETHE, Campaign Co-Chair
SHARON SIMPSON, Campaign Co-Chair
ELLEN DALE, Major Gifts Chair
EDWARD F. DEL BECCARO
SUSIE FALK
DAVID GOLDSMITH
ANNE GRODIN
JONATHAN MOSCONE
JOHN SEARS

HONORARY COMMITTEE

CARL ANDURI, VICE MAYOR OF LAFAYETTE
DAVID & NINA BOND
GEORGE & SUE BRUNS
LORNE BUCHMAN & ROCHELLE SHAPELL
WAYNE & JO ALICE CANTERBURY
JOHN & LONNA COLEMAN
JOFFA & ELLEN DALE
JAN DEMING & JEFF GOODBY
MARK DESAULNIER, STATE SENATOR 7TH DISTRICT
BOB EPSTEIN & AMY ROTH
CAROL FEDERIGHI, LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL
STEVE GLAZER, ORINDA CITY COUNCIL
JEFF & JANIE GREEN
JOYCE HAWKINS
BEA & DICK HEGGIE
DON & LINDA JENKINS
BILL & JOEY JUDGE
THOMAS T. MCCORMICK, MAYOR OF ORINDA
LESA MCINTOSH
JOHN & HELEN MEYER
TAPAN & ASTRID MUNROE
NORM & JANET PEASE
PETER READ
BARBARA & JERRY SCHAUFFLER
SUE SEVERSON, ORINDA CITY COUNCIL
BARCLAY SIMPSON
ELLEN O. TAUSCHER, U.S. UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE
GAYLE B. UILKEMA, SUPERVISOR, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
CAROL UPSHAW
FRANCESCA VIETOR & MARK HERTSGAARD
PAUL & JODI WARNER
AMY WORTH, ORINDA CITY COUNCIL
MIDGE & PETER ZISCHKE