Shakespeare was very prescient when he wrote, “More light and light; more dark and dark our woes!” For overnight, a lightboard and soundboard were stolen from the Kentucky Shakespeare Company tech booth behind the pavilion in Central Park, jeopardizing future performances, particularly those in the evening as night falls.
According to Bethany Sparks, KSC’s marketing and P.R. representative, the break-in took place sometime last night between midnight at 10 a.m. “It’s worth about $10,000, so it’s a crippling loss for a nonprofit organization,” she says. “As you know, we don’t charge admission, so you don’t know why people would do this.”
The ETC Express 125 lightboard and Mackie Onyx 32.4 soundboard were locked in the tech booth, a locked trailer from which KSC staff run the lights and sound for each of their shows—including this year’s
The Tempest
,
Richard III
and
Twelfth Night
. “Someone had the right equipment to break in and break the locks,” Sparks says. She adds that in the 50 years of the festival there has never been such an event: “We have a good rapport with the community and other organizations in town, so it’s not something we’d expect to happen.”
Fortunately, however, the show will go on, as Actors Theatre is lending the company the necessary equipment for tonight’s production of
The Tempest
. “We do the best that we can in theatre to make the best of a bad situation, and we support of the theatre community in town,” says Sparks. “We’re really grateful for that, but at the same time we’re really hoping to get our equipment back as well."
In the meantime,
The Tempest
is scheduled to run through Sunday, with Twelvth Night starting Saturday and Richard III opening next Wednesdsay for a two-week run. For a full calendar, see http://www.kyshakes.org/SICP/Calendar.htm.
Anyone with a tip is encouraged to call Metro Police or Kentucky Shakespeare at 637-4933.
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Illustration: Courtesy Kentucky Shakespeare Festival
