Venue: Theatricum Botanicum
Town: Topanga, US

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is an open-air theater in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles County, California. It was founded in 1973 by American actor Will Geer (who had a master's degree in botany), and is still owned and operated by his family. It is named after the English botanist John Parkinson's 1640 herbal, Theatrum Botanicum. Set in the natural amphitheater of a mountain canyon, the Theatricum Botanicum is traditionally used for performances of William Shakespeare's plays, as well as modern plays and music concerts. The ashes of Geer and his former wife Herta Ware are at the site, along with a bust in Geer's likeness. The Theatricum Botanicum originated in the early 1950s, when Will Geer was blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Unable to find work in Hollywood, he sold his house in Santa Monica and moved to Topanga Canyon, where he began selling produce and opened a theatre for blacklisted actors and folk singers. Geer's friend Woody Guthrie had a small shack on the property. When Geer returned to popularity in the 1970s from his role as Grandpa in The Waltons, in 1973 he re-gathered his family (who were now working actors at theatres across the country) and together they formed the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, a non-profit hosting free workshop performances of Shakespeare, folk plays, and concerts featuring artists as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Della Reese, and Burl Ives. Geer combined his acting and botanical careers at the Theatricum, by making sure that every plant mentioned in Shakespeare was grown there. Geer's former wife Herta Ware helped develop the outdoor summer theatre. After Geer's death in 1978, the family and a small band of players decided to work towards becoming a professional repertory theatre, incorporating educational programs and musical events. The local community and surrounding environs encouraged the theatre's artistic goals and proved their support by donating the labor and mat