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Founded in 1910, the Forest Theater, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, was one of the earliest outdoor amphitheatres west of the Rockies.〔Carmel at Work and Play, Bostick, 1977〕 Actor/director Herbert Heron is generally cited as the founder and driving force, and poet/novelist Mary Austin is often credited with suggesting the idea.〔Carmel's Forest Theater, by Michael Williams, Pacific Monthly, 1912〕 Numerous groups presented plays and pageants. Original works by California authors, children's theatre, and the plays of Shakespeare were the primary focus.〔Carmel Today and Yesterday, Bostick, 1945〕 The property was deeded to the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea in order to qualify for federal funding and, in 1939, the site became a WPA project. After several years, the site re-opened as ''The Carmel Shakespeare Festival'', with Herbert Heron as its Director, and, with the exception of the WWII years of 1943-44, the festival continued through the 1940s. In 1949, Heron, and others, created the Forest Theatre Guild and, while under the leadership of Cole Weston, the 60-seat Indoor Forest Theater was created. The guild remained active until 1961. With the closing of the original Forest Theater Guild, the outdoor theatre lay unused and neglected for most of the 1960s. From 1968-2010, Marcia Hovick's Children's Experimental Theater leased the indoor theatre, which is now operated by Pacific Repertory Theatre's School of Dramatic Arts (SoDA).〔 In 1972,〔http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/23-7227328/forest-theatre-guild.aspx#〕 a new Forest Theater Guild was created, producing musicals and adding a film series in 1997. In 1984, Pacific Repertory Theatre (PacRep) began producing on the outdoor stage, reactivating Herbert Heron's ''Carmel Shakespeare Festival'' in 1990.〔Shakespeare Companies and Festivals: An International Guide By Ron Engle, Felicia Hardison Londré, Daniel J. Watermeier. Entry on Carmel Shakespeare Festival by Philip Clarkson〕 In 2005, PacRep presented the theater's highest-attended production, Disney's ''Beauty and the Beast'', to a combined audience of over 10,000 ticket holders.〔http://www.montereybayadventures.com/carmelbythesea/ci_12890610〕 On Wednesday, April 23, 2014, the facility was shuttered due to health and safety issues caused by years of deferred maintenance. In a special workshop on May 5, the community and city council declared a "cultural community emergency"〔http://www.ksbw.com/news/plans-underway-to-reopen-carmels-forest-theatre/25843110〕 developing a quick consensus that the historic facility should be reopened as soon as possible. ==Herbert Heron== Herbert Heron came to Carmel in 1908. He had worked extensively on the stage in Los Angeles and came from a background of writers and dramatists. On a visit from Los Angeles, Heron fell in love with the village by the sea. He soon settled in Carmel, bringing with him his young bride Opal Heron, the daughter of a Polish Count. In 1910, the Herons found a concave hillside looking out, surrounded by oaks and pines, and thought it would be an ideal space for an outdoor theater. Heron’s idea was to stage plays by Carmel authors starring local residents – a true community theater. He approached Frank Devendorf, co-founder of the Carmel Development Company, and asked about purchasing the plot for such a purpose. Devendorf, wanting to attract artistic spirits and "brain workers" to the nascent village, i.e. teachers, librarians, etc., agreed and let Heron have the space rent-free. By February 1910, construction began on the theater. It was a simple plan: a wooden proscenium stage with a scrim of pines and plain wooden benches. Meanwhile, Heron was busying organizing the first production with the help of the newly minted Forest Theater Society. The first theatrical production, ''David'', a biblical drama by Constance Lindsay Skinner, inaugurated the Forest Theater on July 9, 1910. Reviewed in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, it was reported that over 1,000 theatergoers attended the production〔Barman, Jean. Constance Lindsay Skinner. University of Toronto Press, 2002.〕 There was no electricity at the theater – calcium floodlights were brought by covered wagon from Monterey to light the stage.〔Letter to Richard N. Palmer from Herbert Heron, June 12, 1963. Harrison Memorial Library, Herbert Heron Collected Papers. 〕 Two bonfires were also lit on opposite ends of the proscenium, a tradition which continues today. By all accounts, the performance was considered a success and the packed house helped to solidify the role of theater in Carmel. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Forest Theater」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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