If 2020 had been normal, my plan was to talk about Frankenstein, which the Davis Shakespeare Festival was going to present this fall until the pandemic killed off in-person performances. Rob Salas, co-artistic director and co-founder of the festival, is my guest today, and we still talk about the play by Nick Dear, which is based on the book by Mary Shelley and presents a creature very different than the “green skin and neckbolts” image of the monster in the 1930s movie. We also talk about how the 10-year-old festival is holding up during the pandemic, how they’ve spent 2020, their thoughts about next year (which might still include Frankenstein), how Black Lives Matter has changed their mission, and why they chose Davis as a place to create a professional Equity theater company.

This week's guests include Michael Bisch, executive director of the Yolo Food Bank and Natalie Nelson, executive director of the Pence Gallery in downtown Davis.

Tasked with the mission of reducing food insecurity in our county, the Yolo Food Bank has been distributing 60,000 meals per month. Michael talks about bringing food security to Davis during the pandemic, including partnerships with local college campuses and the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter.  When asked what he is most grateful for he replied  "The 181 volunteer residents of Davis that are assisting their neighbors countywide, and the many food donors including local farmers, grocers and more".  There are still openings for volunteering to sort, pack, deliver and hand-out meal kits. Link to their website for additional information to volunteer.  

Alex Jordan was born to music, playing first trumpet, then bass, then guitar—and always singing.  His musical influences ranged from jazz to musical theatre.  He studied his father’s extensive CD collection, in particular the Grateful Dead section, which considerably expanded his perception of what was music.  Listening to a live album, he had a revelation when he heard a passage in which silence was clearly part of the music. “It was quantifiably, certifiably, distinctly music, and it was dead silence. I’d never heard anything like that.  I don’t know that I became a Deadhead at that moment, but I sure got it.”