Play's the Tahoe thing

What do you do when you're up at Lake Tahoe?

Well, there's gaming (that's gambling to those of us who know the odds aren't in our favor) and there's the beautiful outdoors. Whether you're skiing in the winter or hiking or boating the rest of the year, the spectacular blue lake is solidly in the background or foreground.

Since Lake Tahoe is a popular destination for many Valley residents, it would seem that there's little unknown about it. However, there are some new things that speak to both the region's history and its future.

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is an audience-friendly venue, with its stage perched dramatically on the lake's shore. For years, the festival hired an outside organization, Nevada City's Foothill Theatre Company, to come up in the summer and put on the plays.

Not anymore. The festival's doing it for itself and has hired its own staff to make that happen.

Leading the charge is new artistic director Jan Powell, who said she's in love with her new home.

"I was lured by the opportunity to work in an incomparably spectacular setting," Powell said just before opening night of her first festival.

"We all know Shakespeare is marvelous in outdoor venues. It was written and played in an open-air theater, but there is something really special about this place."

Powell wants to build the festival artistically, presenting dramas and history plays as well as the popular comedies. She also feels that having a locally based arts group producing the plays gives the festival a stronger identity and deeper roots.

"I like to do theater that is of a place and for aplace," she said.

"The conversation with the community is very important to me."

Tahoe's floating legacy

Nicole Cheslock, director of education and outreach for the Tahoe Maritime Museum, believes her organization represents some of what's new at the lake.

The museum on West Lake Boulevard in Homewood opened its brand-new building in May. The $4 million, 5,800-square-foot space is modeled after a historic wooden boathouse, and it's open to tourists as well as serving local schools.

"Tahoe certainly is for nature lovers and people who enjoy outdoor sports, but there are other elements once you start peeling the layers back, and our museum is one of them," Cheslock said.

The museum holds nine boats, eight of them beautifully restored examples of boats used on the lake through the 20th century. The only boat not restored is the 1890s launch Shanghai, which the museum raised from the lake bottom and was the first boat in their collection.

The museum also houses one of the largest collections of outboard motors in the country and stores an additional 20 boats in a Truckee warehouse.

Inside the two-story museum building, the first floor resembles a pier.

"The really cool thing about the pier is that it's this walk through Tahoe time," Cheslock said.

Each section and boat represent a different decade, starting with Godfather, a 1922 Chris-Craft. This boat was first owned by American boat racing and designing legend Gar Wood. Godfather is believed to be the oldest working Chris-Craft in existence.

"Adults are really wowed by the building and just want to see the architecture and the structure," Cheslock said.

"For kids, we always have something fun. A lot of young families are enjoying coming here because there's something hands-on for kids to do."

Research – and fun

The Tahoe Enviromental Research Center is dedicated to preserving the region's legacy in a somewhat different way. The beautifully designed multidisciplinary facility provides objective scientific information for the restoration and sustainable use of the Lake Tahoe basin.

Opened in 2006, the facility recently achieved a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, the highest grade possible.

The University of California, Davis, operates the third-floor laboratory. The first-floor education center is open to visitors.

About the writer:

• Call Bee theater critic Marcus Crowder, (916) 321-1120.