Pacific Repertory Theatre
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[edit] Pacific Repertory Theatre, Carmel, California
Pacific Repertory Theatre is the only professional (Equity) theatre in Carmel and Monterey County. It is one of the six major arts institutions in Monterey County, as designated by the Community Foundation of Monterey County, and is a regular grantee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Berkshire Foundation and the AT&T/Pebble Beach Foundation. Founded in 1982 as GroveMont Theatre by Carmel resident Stephen Moorer. Name changed to Pacific Repertory Theatre in 1994 when the company acquired the historic site of the Golden Bough Playhouse in downtown Carmel. Presents a year-round season of 10-12 plays and musicals in three Carmel theatres: The 330-seat Golden Bough Theatre, the 99-seat Circle Theatre and the 540-seat outdoor Forest Theater. Annual outreach programs include PacRep's School of Dramatic Arts (SoDA), and the Tix4Kids program that distributes subsidized theatre tickets to underserved youth.
[edit] History of the Golden Bough site
To foster the arts in Carmel, the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club was formed in 1905. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea received an influx of artists and other creative types escaping the disaster area. Jack London describes the artists' colony in a portion of his novel, The Valley of the Moon; Among the noted writers and poets who thrived here were Mary Austin, George Sterling, Robinson Jeffers and Sinclair Lewis. In 1906-07 the club built the town's first cultural center and theatre, The Carmel Arts & Crafts Clubhouse. Poets Austin and Sterling often performed their works there. The site continues today as the historic Golden Bough Playhouse, with the current facility built in 1951. It is owned and operated by Carmel's only professional theatre, Pacific Repertory Theatre. The facility includes the 330-seat Golden Bough and 99-seat Circle Theatre, presenting over 175 performances in Carmel every year.
