Independent Shakespeare Co. is staging an accessible theater.

On Friday, ISC held a production of William Shakespeare’s disreputable pastoral comedy, “As You Like It” for its annual Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival. Free of charge to the public, the event served as a formulaic approach in bringing theatrical arts and drama to all members of the Los Angeles community. Held at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park, the event intertwined the intimacy of traditional theater and the modernity of sustainable resourcing. The production, which will run until Sept. 1, is a concoction that boils together community, performing arts and fundraising for the company.

Beginning at 6 p.m., attendees were given the opportunity to enjoy a chummy interaction with actors of the play, who had exchanges with arriving audience members while in character. Hiwa Chow Elms, who plays the role of Phebe in the show, said she finds the production to be a valuable opportunity for those in the greater Los Angeles area searching for engagement with the arts.

“It’s just a really great way to have community, to form community and to check out these works in a new way…in a new angle,” Elms said. “We live in this world today, but a lot of the stories are the same that are happening so our humanity remains the same.”

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As more guests bundled around the center stage, laughter consumed the forest theater, highlighted by a group of young students visiting the production on a school trip. Thirty minutes before the scheduled show, the platform, now decorated as a boxing ring, hosted a match between a few of the actors. The performers, dressed in colorful costumes, invited those sitting in the crowd, putting on a comedic routine which resulted in not letting any of the participants win against them.

After the sun set, the first couple of acts swarmed through the hour. With only occasional giggles coming from the crowd sitting below the stage, the park was transformed into a Shakespearean landscape. Throughout the event, volunteers who were not in costume playfully painted an immersive experience by blowing whistles at people and holding up signs that read, “Do not feed the prisoners.”

Soon thereafter, a transition from the play to a 15-minute intermission occurred, led by an actor approaching the stage wearing the company’s merchandise. After giving directions to the bathroom and snack table, the actor went on to explain more about the goal of ISC, providing the audience with a number they could text to make donations to their cause of keeping theater free for everyone. Marisa Tecson Johnston, Development & Communications Director for the production, said Independent Shakespeare Co. aims to connect people through the arts and the luxury of affordability.

“The performing arts and theater should just not be for people who can afford tickets,” Johnston said. “It really is what makes us human, it’s what makes us Angelenos. It’s just a beautiful thing that connects us all to each other.”

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As viewers made their way back to their picnic blankets sporting freshly-plucked merch and finishing Shakespeare-shaped gingersnaps, the comedy resumed uniformly. Approaching the stage from all directions of the park, those working the scene spent no time shifting back into character. Consequently, the echoing chatter that stretched the lawn dimmed to a laughter pronounced by both the dedication of the audience and actors.

This year, the company took a different approach to their production style. Typically held directly on the lawn, this summer’s “Shakespeare in the Park” was placed in the much more intimate setting of “The Dell,” a small knoll a few feet away. Likewise, straying from previous tradition, ISC will only be putting on one show this summer instead of the usual two. Communicating the importance of keeping the production alive, Johnston said she finds a longevity in the literary works of Shakespeare.

“We believe that there’s a conversation that started 400 years ago when Shakespeare performed these plays and wrote these plays, and it connects to us today, and it’ll connect to us 400 years in the future,” Johnston said.

With the sounds of hooting owls and rhythmic crickets thickening the surrounding area, the show and its cast began to take their bows. Accompanied by a protracted applause, guests remained in their spots, some standing to amplify their content with the show. Once more, the crew thanked the members of the audience for their time and company, followed by a reiteration of the significance of making theater productions free. Isaac Ybarra, an actor in the play, said he sees a crossover between thematic elements in Shakespeare’s work and having productions such as “As You Like It” be accessible.

“We really believe in the words of Shakespeare, we believe that so many of the themes are current and can be applied to everything that’s going on now, tomorrow and even past then too,” Ybarra said. “We actually really believe in the messages that are in the play too, we really believe in Shakespeare’s themes, and we believe that as much as we can spread that out into the community as possible, the better.”