Shakespeare By The Sea and Little Fish Theatre Founder Announces Retirement

She will be transitioning into an Emeritus position where she can continue to be involved, but in a different capacity.

Shakespeare by the Sea/Little Fish Theatre founder Lisa Coffi has announced her retirement following the end of the 25th Anniversary season this summer. She will be transitioning into an Emeritus position where she can continue to be involved, but in a different capacity.

Lisa founded SBTS when needing a strong, meaty thesis project for her MFA in Theatre Management from Cal State Long Beach. She came up with the idea of an outdoor Shakespeare festival in San Pedro. She produced three performances of one play, and approximately 3000 people attended. After completing her master's, she continued producing the festival, which grew significantly each year. When asked why she decided to continue the festival, she commented, "It was great fun! I got to work with people I wanted to work with. There was sort of a momentum that built up after year two, where I really began to get integrated into the community."

When a vacant tow yard building was offered Lisa in 2002, she jumped at the opportunity to produce theatre year-round and co-founded with Suzanne Dean and some key SBTS artists the 65-seat Little Fish Theatre in downtown San Pedro.

Lisa has annually renewed her commitment to bringing the sights and sounds of Shakespeare to communities all over Southern California. We estimate that over 350,000 guests have experienced the joy of an admission-free summer Shakespeare performance since its inception.

Twenty-Five Years of Memories and a Commitment to the SBTS Mission

Lisa moved out of the area many years ago, but her commitment to a festival based in San Pedro that tours to many cities remained firm. "The people keep me coming back- both the people I get to work with, as well as patrons who have become a second family." For twenty-five years, the festival has continued to foster its mission to bring admission-free plays into Southern California communities. Shakespeare by the Sea has created an artistic home for Lisa, and for all of the artists that work with her every summer. "It's been satisfying to be part of a living, breathing, ever-changing organization."

Producing an outdoor, admission-free festival comes with challenges, and sometimes funny moments. Lisa recalls driving the tour truck into an archway that fell and blocked the entrance to the parking lot. Cal Trans had to be called; one performance where costumes didn't make it back from the cleaners in time for the show and the cast put together a combination of their own clothes and what was left on the racks; an evening where an actor was stuck in traffic, and so the show started with a different actor on book playing their own role, as well as that of the missing actor.

But the memories that stick out the most are the evidence that SBTS changes lives. A couple whose first date was attending SBTS, helping orchestrate a surprise proposal from the stage, the generations that attend together- mothers who brought their children and now those children bring their children, the patrons who donate year after year, the cast members who have become life-long friends, the letters received from someone who may not have attended a play without an admission-free festival in their neighborhood. "Those are the best memories, and there are too many of them to count," comments Lisa.

Yes, there have been times where there was a fear that the festival couldn't continue. There was a year where the City wanted to charge rent and usage fees that were well beyond the capacity of fundraising capabilities, and other moments like that. "During Covid, there was a temptation to stop producing the festival, but as always with Shakespeare by the Sea, it seemed right to push through the dark times and back into the light. SBTS means so much to so many people- we had to find a way to keep it alive through the pandemic. And we did. But now that the festival is back, and we are celebrating a silver anniversary, it's time for me to retire. It's both sweet and bitter. I'm looking forward to focusing on other things that I haven't had time to explore- painting, ceramics, taking that metal sculpture class I just couldn't fit into my packed schedules in college. I'll be spending some time traveling with my husband. He's thrilled that I will have my summers back- I've spent every summer in San Pedro for the last 25 years. We have some places to visit on our respective bucket lists, and we'll be working on checking them off."

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