shakespeare santa cruz was founded in 1981 and performed annually on the campus of the university of california, santa cruz. plays by shakespeare and other great dramatists were performed indoors on the ucsc theater arts mainstage and outdoors in the sinsheimer-stanley festival glen. bringing in professional actors, directors and designers from throughout the country, the company's season ran from july to early september and presented three or four plays that ran concurrently in repertory six days a week (no performance on mondays). with a mission to “cultivate the imagination, wit, daring, and vision that the greatest playwrights demand of artists and audiences alike," ssc sought to present a festival of theatre which showcased contemporary approaches to directing, designing and acting. attendance grew from 7,716 people in 1982 to 31,013 in 1992. since its founding, the company's artistic directors have been audrey stanley (1982–86), michael edwards (1987–92), danny scheie (1993–95), risa brainin, paul whitworth (1996–2007), and marco barricelli (2008–2013). some of the rising theatre stars who have worked at ssc are: david aaron baker, bryan cranston, maria dizzia, dan donohue, caitlin fitzgerald, richard gunn, peter jacobson, carrie preston, reg rogers, and michael stuhlbarg.