Story time

Suzie Harrison

Started 71 years ago as a week-long festival to attract more people

to buy art during the depression, the Festival of Arts has become a

world-renowned cultural institution. With a juried fine art

exhibition, the Pageant of the Masters and expanding art programs

throughout the summer, the festival continues to grow, adding events

to its menu for those with an appetite for art.

On Sunday, the festival will kick-off its new series at the Forum

Theatre from 2 to 4 p.m. called Books Live! with actors Jane Seymour

and James Keach performing the readings.

Karin delaPena is the director and brought the concept with her

from New York City to Santa Barbara, where she was artistic director

of the program called “Speaking of Stories” from 1995 to 2003.

“Originally I saw it in New York City, it was going on for 20 to

25 years,” delaPena said. “I used to live in New York City and the

live show theaters used this format -- professional actors and

celebrities to read well prepared fiction, the real literary version.

It was very dynamic I loved it, and it didn’t exist here [Santa

Barbara].”

So she brought the idea to Santa Barbara, which she thought had

the perfect demographics because she said it is a very sophisticated

small town.

“People came from all over the country and world,” delaPena said.

“They have an appetite for a more sophisticated form of

entertainment. It took off very quickly.”

“Speaking of Stories” had to move venues after the first two years

needing more audience space and the following two years it grew even

more, taking it to its current home, a 680 seat theater.

The idea to bring it to Laguna Beach is the festival’s executive

director Steve Brezzo.

“He owns a house in Santa Barbara,” delaPena said. “I was involved

with ‘Speaking of Stories’ for nine years, at the end of last year I

decided to move on. It was a lovely coincidence, literally a day

after, I ran into [Festival of Arts Executive Director Steve] Brezzo

at a party in Santa Barbara and it unfolded from there.”

Brezzo told delaPena that he wanted to extend the art offerings of

the festival beyond the summer show and thought this would work well

in Laguna Beach, having the ideal elements.

“It’s an extraordinary opportunity for Laguna Beach to hear the

best of spoken literature by Hollywood’s and Broadway’s most renowned

stars,” Brezzo said. “It’s a really great opportunity to participate

in fine theater and great literature.”

“Jane immediately came to mind,” delaPena said. “She’s also a well

respected visual artist.”

Seymour agreed to be a guest-exhibiting artist at the festival

this summer, and serve as the celebrity host of the annual

fund-raiser to kick-off the Books Live! series.

“Nothing is in it for her except giving back to the community,”

delaPena said. “A lot of celebrities are a lot less generous with

time.”

The program essentially combines good entertainment with high

quality literature and writing. In any given program there will be

some readings from classics, some contemporary and multi-cultural

stories.

“This show will have a number of classics,” delaPena said. “This

week there are going to be seven pieces, four of which are tiny, two

of which are 15 minutes and one is 25 minutes.”

She said it will take the audience on a journey from the sublime

to contemporary to the more classical.

The audience in Santa Barbara has been across the board, all

different ages, cultures and gender attended the show and she hopes

it will be the same here.

“It’s a completely enraptured all-absorbing experience, time

disappears,” delaPena said.

delaPena said that Brezzo decided to start the program during the

summer time period because of all the publicity associated with the

pageant and festival.

The four-month reading series will continue throughout the year

with scheduled dates on Nov. 8, Dec. 6, Jan. 10 and Feb. 14.

delaPena who is also an actor will join Seymour and Keach on

Sunday, as will actors Caitlin Ferrara and Rashad El Amin.

Tickets for the series are $25 each or $20 each if a subscription

to all four readings is purchased. Festival of Arts is at 650 Laguna

Canyon Road. For information, call 1-800-487-3378 or 494-1145.