"The Siesta Valley Bowl will host 40 to 60 ticketed concerts per year, Foster said. He hopes its remote location, off of Highway 24, will shield it from noise complaints. That's part of its mission as a "mixed-use performing arts space." Other nonprofit arts groups from the surrounding East Bay towns will be able to book the bowl at a low rate, although Foster said the exact figure hadn't been determined yet."
"And, in keeping with the amphitheater's history, the bowl will host theatrical performances. The Siesta Valley Foundation has spoken with several of the former Cal Shakes board members, Foster said, and plans to bring Shakespeare back to the theater. 'We know that Shakespeare is part of the DNA of the theater, and we're not turning our back on that,' he said. 'So we're talking to a handful of Shakespeare companies right now about doing performances next year.'"
"For 50 years, the amphitheater was operated by California Shakespeare Theater, or Cal Shakes. Zendaya got her start there as an actor; her mother, Claire Stoermer, worked as the theater's house manager. When the theater company's debts threatened to force it to fold, Zendaya donated $100,000 to keep it afloat. Nonetheless, Cal Shakes dissolved last year, as the result of what executive director Clive Worsley called 'an insurmountable financial impasse,'"
On Nov. 12, a newly formed nonprofit signed a 15-year lease with the East Bay Municipal Utility District for the 9-acre amphitheater property in Orinda. The venue, renamed the Siesta Valley Bowl, is slated to reopen in April 2026 as a mixed-use performing arts space hosting 40 to 60 ticketed concerts annually and offering low-rate bookings to regional nonprofit arts groups. The remote location off Highway 24 aims to reduce noise complaints. The bowl will also host theatrical performances and plans include bringing Shakespeare productions back. The previous operator, California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes), dissolved last year after an insurmountable financial impasse despite a $100,000 donation by Zendaya.
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