Point Reyes Light - December 14, 2000

Shakespeare at Stinson eyes more johns & tai chi

By Gregory Foley

With its current permit about to expire, Shakespeare at Stinson, the non-profit theater troupe based in Stinson Beach, has applied to the county for a long-term permit to continue putting on seasonal weekend performances while adding a variety of mid-week programs.

The proposal to expand use at the outdoor theater adjacent to the town library has come under scrutiny from members of the Stinson Beach Village Association, with some members still questioning the logistics of the expansion.

Marin planning staffer Carey Tate said this week that the application, which was filed in November, on Monday began a mandatory 30-day public review period.

Kent Goodwin, a member of the Village Association’s ad-hoc committee convened to evaluate the proposal, told The Light this week that amid general support for the production company, he and several other members remain concerned about parking, noise, and the reconfiguration of structures on the property.

List of changes

"The committee was designed to develop a dialogue with [Shakespeare at Stinson’s] board of directors," Goodwin said. "And although we’ve had some sharing of information, I feel that we have not always had their full cooperation... In some people’s minds this is appearing as more of a commercial operation than a non-profit."

Shakespeare at Stinson – formerly Shakespeare at the Beach – operated this year under a one-year use permit which allowed the company to stage performances from mid-May until mid-October on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings.

In the application, producing director Jeffrey Trotter has asked for a seven-year renewal with two seven-year administrative extensions, along with other changes:

• Increasing the seating at some performances from 155 to 255. The theater now is permitted to host 255-seat performances on Saturdays and Sundays and 155-seat performances on Fridays. The application simply refers to a "255-seat outdoor theater."

• Adding two Thursday evening performances during the summer season on a one-year trial basis. The performances would be extended through the seven years unless noise complaints were filed.

• Starting a four- to six-week apprentice program, also on a trial basis, to run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in either June, July, or August. The program would accommodate a maximum of 30 students to be instructed by four to six staff members in movement, scene study, music history, voice, and diction.

• Open the theater to community use roughly six days per month during summer-season weekdays for activities such as yoga, tai chi, children’s storytelling, plus painting and crafts classes. The program would last one year on a trial basis, assuming there were no problems with noise.

• Conducting Alcohol Anonymous meetings at the theater seven days per week in either the early afternoon or evening. The roughly one-hour meetings would be restricted to a maximum of 30 individuals.

• Installing in 2002 six to eight permanent bathrooms for audiences. During the season the theater is now equipped with portable toilets.

• Relocating the stage to face the ocean or erecting a solid plywood sound barrier to dampen noise. The location of the lighting booth and the ticket office would be changed if the stage were moved.

In the application, Trotter notes that he has "worked very hard to resolve all parking and traffic issues in accordance with county regulations," and will continue to work with the community to "resolve the sound problem." He also cites the results of two sound studies conducted at the theater in 1999 and 2000 as evidence that the performances have stayed within county guidelines for noise.

Septic system

On Tuesday, Trotter reiterated that he has worked diligently with the ad-hoc committee to address the concerns of townspeople. "Everything was approved by the committee," he said. "And we’ve done everything that the county and the planning commission has asked us to do. We’re just looking forward to making some of these changes and starting to prepare for next year."

Planner Tate explained that one key element of the plan is the pending approval by the Stinson Beach Water District for an upgraded septic system. The upgrade would include two 1500-gallon holding tanks to accommodate the audience bathrooms. District directors are scheduled to decide on the matter on Saturday, Dec. 16, she said.

Goodwin noted that his primary concern is parking, despite assurances by Trotter that the National Park Service has allowed the company limited use of its nearby beach parking lot.

"The ad-hoc committee will be meeting on this again later in the month," Goodwin said. "And then we will report back to the Village Association before any comment is made."

$35,000 already spent

Trotter said the company has already spent $35,000 on moving the project forward, and to this point has raised roughly one-third of the funds necessary to make the proposed changes.

Overall, he said, he believes that more use of the theater will pose little threat to the sometimes but not always quiet community.

"The community plan developed in 1985 clearly states that on any given Saturday or Sunday we can see up to 10,000 visitors in Stinson Beach," he said. "Our numbers are such a small fraction of that."

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