Performers, Campus Gear Up for ‘Shakespeare’ Event

Enthusiasm continues to build for next weekend’s “Shakespeare in Yosemite” event.

Filled with scenes about forests, animals and the environment and featuring live music and the writings of John Muir, “Shakespeare in Yosemite” is an original hour-long play written especially for Earth Day (April 22) and William Shakespeare’s birthday (April 23).

The show will be performed on those days at 2 p.m. in the Lower River Amphitheater and at 5:30 p.m. in the Half Dome Village Amphitheater. Performances are free, interactive and fun for all ages.

For the April 23 event, more than 150 UC Merced faculty and staff members — along with their families — and students will fill three chartered buses, provided by Chancellor Dorothy Leland. The buses will depart from campus at 8 a.m. and are expected to arrive at Yosemite before 11 a.m. Attendees will have a couple hours of free time to explore the park before the buses take them to the performance venue for the 2 p.m. show.

“Shakespeare in Yosemite” brings to life the imaginative worlds of two of the best nature writers in the English language — Shakespeare and John Muir.

“Shakespeare in Yosemite” was written by School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Professor Katherine Steele Brokaw and Paul Prescott from the University of Warwick, and stars Ranger Shelton Johnson, Lee Stetson as John Muir, and 11 more actors and musicians who will bring Shakespearean characters and songs to life in the heart of Yosemite Valley.

“Bringing the great American tradition of Shakespeare in the Park to Yosemite is the perfect way to celebrate both the vitality of the arts and the beauty of our National Parks,” Brokaw said.

Yosemite Performance a 'Dream Come True'

Several of the performers are UC Merced campus community members, including Brokaw, lecturer Taryn Hakala, graduate student Soheil Fatehi and undergraduate students TaNayiah Bryels and Emily Fishburn.

For Bryels, a third-year English major who has been an aficionado of the Bard since middle school, participating in the production is a dream come true. The experience combines three of her passions: acting, Shakespeare and nature. Another bonus, she added: The performances mark her first visit to majestic Yosemite.

When Brokaw asked if Bryels, a Santa Clara native, was interested in joining the show, she leapt at the chance.

“I love Shakespeare, and I love the woods and nature,” she said.

Fatehi, a musician and mechanical engineering graduate student, will play the lute, a stringed instrument popular during Shakespeare’s era. His pre-show musical interludes will kickstart the performances and will play during scenes and accompany the actors.

“During Shakespeare’s time, it was a common practice to play music before and during performances, and the lute was one of the most popular instruments,” Fatehi said. “It was known as an instrument of romance.”

Fatehi, who learned to play the acoustic guitar as a teen, started playing the lute two years ago as a hobby. In 2014, after he saw an ad that sought musicians for Merced’s local Shakespeare in the Park festival, he decided to audition and was selected. The following year, he participated in Brokaw’s 2015 production of “A Winter’s Tale.” His experiences have introduced him to an “amazing creative community.”

Like Bryels, Fatehi is excited to for the opportunity to play and perform for audiences with Yosemite as the backdrop.

“Shakespeare is a master at representing human feelings in words, and the audience gets to experience that while seeing the grandeur of nature,” he said.

“Shakespeare in Yosemite” is sponsored by UC Merced, the University of Warwick and Misfit Press, in partnership with the National Parks Service and the Yosemite Conservancy.

Visit UC Merced’s “Shakespeare in Yosemite” web page for more detailed information.