By Melonie Magruder
Lookout Staff

July 14, 2011 – Santa Monica has lots of great theatre options. But the freshly launched Santa Monica Rep might be the first to create a local theatre company that is truly of the community, by the community and for the community.

With their debut of “The Tempest,” Shakespeare’s classic tale of magic, romance and revenge, SM Rep is bringing a full production free of charge to residents at the Annenberg Community Beach House, as part of its Beach=Culture Series. The creative staging, as told by seven actors, two puppeteers, two musicians and three-story-tall puppets, opens August 10.

Founded by Eric and Jen Bloom, SM Rep first staged a reading series last September at the city’s main library in order to “take the pulse of the community,” as Eric said.

The series included David Auburn’s “Proof,” Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee’s “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail,” and Elmer Rice’s “The Adding Machine.”

Selected as “large idea” pieces, the idea was to present theatre that, Eric said, “questions our place in our immediate environment, whether it’s self-enslavement, or idealism, or reliance on technology.” The challenge is to present these ideas in such fun and entertaining ways that the whole community “gets it.”

Eric grew up in New York and spent several years on the east coast, launching a sketch comedy group (still going strong after 15 years) and touring regional theatre.

Jen is from Rhode Island, has an MFA in acting and directing from Trinity Repertory Conservatory, worked with Sam Shepard’s theatre group in New York, is a master of street theatre and spent the past year developing a life-sized saber tooth cat puppet for a new program at the L.A. Natural History Museum.

Along with producing colleague Sarah Gurfield, the Blooms are taking their west coast theatre project directly to the people.

“We’d like to establish a resident theatre company on a par with South Coast Repertory (in Costa Mesa) or Berkeley Rep where there’s a certain standard of professional production values,” Eric said. “Ultimately, that will rely on funding and structural support from the city and donor angels. But we want the community to be involved every step of the way.”

To underscore that philosophy, SM Rep has solicited community engagement in unusual ways. They’ve held open-air rehearsals and accepted suggestions from the audience. They held “Community Build Days” at Clover Park and at the Annenberg, seeking crafts persons and seamstresses to help build the costumes and puppets for the current production. Residents from seven to 70 years old showed up to participate.

Perhaps their most resourceful efforts have been in that bane of regional theatre - fundraising. SM Rep launched an aggressive online campaign, with a lively Facebook and Twitter presence and a signature crusade with Indie Gogo – an organization that builds powerful web pages for nonprofit groups seeking donations and keeps running tabs on the campaign’s success.

SM Rep’s campaign has hit nearly 25 percent of its goal for “The Tempest” (with another 20 days left to participate), in small to mid-size donations that offer “perks” for your tax-deductible contributions.

“I’ve been involved in theatre for 15 years and fundraising has changed dramatically,” Jen said. “It’s no longer for just rich philanthropists. The online opportunities are amazing. With ten and twenty-dollar contributions, you don’t have to clear out your savings to support your local theatre. Everyone can participate and everyone can enjoy the results.”

Declaring, “so far, the biggest challenge in this production is fighting beach traffic to get to the venue,” Jen is looking to fully utilize the elaborate opportunities offered by the Annenberg Beach House as a stage setting. Facing the ocean and performance-timed Pacific sunsets, the show’s director said she cannot imagine a more perfect venue for Shakespeare’s play wherein the raging seas play such a large part.

“We are incorporating a lot of different styles of acting in this production,” Jen said. “There’s the puppetry, of course. But we also have clowning, dance, Commedia Dell’Arte-type masks and one-on-one conversations. All of my actors have classical training and they are plunging body and soul into this production.”

Meanwhile, Eric hopes this first production will encourage a lot of residents to get involved.

“Come watch rehearsals,” Eric said. “Become board members (they are still in the midst of applying for 501(c)3 status). We’ll talk to anybody about anything, artistically and organizationally.”

“And the Annenberg Beach House is a great place to spend the afternoon,” Jen said. “But Shakespeare makes it that much better.”

Santa Monica Rep: Substance. Style. Story.

“The Tempest” plays August 10-12 at 4:30 pm and August 13-14 at 2:00 and 4:30 pm. Entrance is free, but reservations must be made through the website www.annenbergbeachhouse.com.

More information on SM Rep’s Indie Gogo fundraising campaign may be found at the website www.indiegogo.com/Santa-Monica-Rep.