9 hours Ago By Ashley Mackey
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Griffith Park is getting a new permanent stage! It will be for the free summer shows put on by the Independent Shakespeare Company. The official ground breaking ceremony was held this week for the performance center, which has been nearly a decade in the making. Every summer for the last 14 years the Independent Shakespeare Company has held its free Shakespeare in the Park performances at Griffith Park.
"So, we've been performing here for 14 years and every year we have to put up a temporary stage and we can only go so high and do limited lighting and stuff. But now, it's going to be a permanent platform with an overhead grid, so we can build really impressive sets and lighting and also it's improving things for the audience as well," said David Melville, managing director of the Independent Shakespeare Company. Every summer, Shakespeare in the Park brings thousands to Griffith Park.
And for many attendees, like Councilmember Nithya Raman's two children, it's their first introduction to Shakespeare. "And now we read Shakespeare at night together. They love the poetry, but they would've never heard the words had it not been for this space.
And I am so excited to bequeath that to future generations here in L.A.," Raman said.
Melville says the stage will be about 50 feet deep and 50 feet wide with an overhead grid for lighting and other accessories. He says the city is also building a wheelchair accessible pathway from the parking lot. "The city building the stage feels like it really cares about the art.
It cares about the community because this is for free Shakespeare. We don't make money off of this. So, the fact that the city wants to put funding into the arts, means that it's important," said Bukola Ogunmola, an actor.
The Shakespeare Festival organizers say the plan is to have the Stage ready for their June 2026 season..
