Twenty-five years ago the Kern Shakespeare Festival was created in order to provide an opportunity for student actors and technicians to work together and receive a valuable learning and educational experience. Due to budget cuts, the Kern Shakespeare Festival celebrates their final year at Bakersfield College’s indoor theater this year.
Randall Messick is the creator of the Kern Shakespeare Festival, professor at BC, and director of one of the plays performed at the festival. Messick has been a professor at BC since 1983 and has been directing at least one play performed each year. He received a bachelor of arts from Cal State Fresno and received a master’s from UC Davis.
The Kern Shakespeare Festival produces two plays per year, choosing a comedy and a tragedy. This year’s chosen Shakespearean plays were “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” directed by Bob Kempf and “King Lear” directed by Messick. All performances are held in the theater for two weeks. The plays have been showing from Sept. 15 and will continue to show until Sept. 27 beginning at 8 p.m.
Kempf is a current professor at BC and director of “A Mid Summer Night’s Dream”. He has been part of the Kern Shakespeare Festival for 16 years. He received a bachelor of arts from Cal State Fresno and a master’s from UC Davis.
According to both Messick and Kempf, actors in both plays consist of community actors, guest actors and students. Auditions are usually held during the summer and the whole process begins about six weeks before the plays are performed. “Everyone is invited,” said Messick.
The plays alternate each night and that is the challenge and benefit that both actors and directors undergo.
“Getting to know somebody that is not you and trying to make them true to other people’s eyes is the challenge actors face,” said Heidi Kendrick, 23, French and theater major.
BC student actor Mathew Borton, 25, Culinary Arts major, became a part of the Kern Shakespeare Festival because he finds it interesting, fun, and sees it as a hobby. He has participated in the festival for three years.
Guest actor Bob Warren, 29, has performed for the festival for the last three years and said that acting is a big time commitment and budgeting your time and figuring out what your priorities are is critical.
“There is not enough money for us to do what we want to do the way we want to do it,” said Messick. Budget cuts affected the process of hiring guest artist and ultimately affecting the purpose of why the Kern Shakespeare Festival first began. “And you know, all good things must come to an end,” said Messick.