Stage builders find new home after longtime Bay Area theater company closes

The smell of sawdust and welded metal was omnipresent in an East Bay garage as workers on set assembled the final pieces for a show soon to open in the San Francisco Bay Area. “We use these little inserts so that the cable doesn’t get caught on the sharp edge of the film when it’s in the air,” said Laura DeVeber, one of the set designers. These workers recently lost their jobs. They worked for the California Shakespeare Theater, building sets not only for their shows, but for shows throughout the Bay Area. “The companies we have worked with have been a larger part of our work than the Cal Shakes shows for several years,” said Steven Schmidt, who leads the team of set designers. After 50 years, Cal-Shakes closed, leaving those set builders out of work and leaving Bay Area theater companies with no one to build their sets. Schmidt saw an opportunity. He didn’t want to allow the passion he and others had for local theater to die after a theater company closed. He recently opened Cal-Scenic and hired the set builders who once worked at Cal-Shakes. “It really is a miracle that the cinemas are continuing,” says Schmidt. “I think our operations and other cross-company collaboration efforts are one of the reasons companies survive and thrive.” He feels he’s honoring the long legacy of Cal Shakes, which helped develop young actors like Zendaya has. He and his staff want to ensure that the local theater can continue to be a place where people not only see a performance but are invited into another world. “Seeing the actors and audience talk about the play I helped create,” DeVeber said. “It’s really special.” For more coverage of top California stories, click here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter