Silicon Valley Shakespeare’s summer season explores identity, duality

For its 23rd season in Saratoga’s Sanborn County Park, Silicon Valley Shakespeare has chosen two plays that explore identity and duality.

The company’s summer season features Jeffrey Hatcher’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors.”  The former follows a man with a distinctively split personality, while the latter is about two sets of twins trying to find their other halves.

Director Melissa Jones set this production of “The Comedy of Errors” against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first legislation in the U.S. to ban immigration based on nationality.

Jones, who is also Cantonese-American, said she was inspired to do so after she noticed a recent resurgence in demand for media and entertainment that depicts the Asian-American experience.

At its core, she added, “The Comedy of Errors,” is essentially a story about a family that has been kept apart due to immigration laws – an old story that still has modern relevance.

“I hope people come away having learned something new if they weren’t familiar with the Chinese Exclusion Act, and I also really hope that our AAPI audiences, or anybody who has grown up in an AAPI majority community, recognizes the culture and recognizes themselves in it,” Jones said.

The Aug. 4 performance of “Errors” will feature an AAPI heritage festival, complete with local businesses, artists and vendors who will be selling handmade goods and food.

“We’re just hoping to really celebrate the incredible diversity within the AAPI community,” Jones said.

Both productions continue the company’s longstanding efforts to bring Shakespeare and other classic stories to broad audiences. One performance of each play will be translated by an American Sign Language interpreter.

Annalisa Tkacheff, executive director of Silicon Valley Shakespeare, said the company has made an effort to reach as many people as possible, offering discounted tickets to their shows for members of the military, healthcare workers, educators, students and others.

“When we get donations, when we’re creating these new programs, we want to make sure that that money is going to the people who need it most, and providing access to them,” Tkacheff said.

Silicon Valley Shakespeare hosts productions at public venues all around the South Bay, but Tkacheff said Sanborn County Park is “truly magical.”

“As the sun goes down, the lights come up, and you can see the stars start to twinkle around the trees. It’s just a really unique theater experience that I don’t think people know is necessarily readily available,” she added.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” runs July 26-Aug. 30, and “The Comedy of Errors” runs Aug. 2-Sept. 1. For tickets , visit svshakespeare.org/tickets.