It’s Just You and Your Shadow

Nightfall at the California Scenario in Costa Mesa transforms the 1.6-acre sculpture garden into a vast shadow puppet theatre. Two 30-foot floodlit walls set the stage for visitors to act out their fantasies. The shadows they cast grow, bend and lunge eerily, then shrink back when their subject moves closer.

Opened in 1982, the scenario is the work of sculptor Isamu Noguchi and was endowed by Costa Mesa developer Henry Segerstrom. Located amid office buildings that border Anton Boulevard, Avenue of the Arts and Park Center Drive, the scenario includes several separate sculptures that are Noguchi’s interpretation of California landscape. Deserts, forests, waterfalls and commentary on the use of these resources are implied. But the shadows are by far the most entertaining aspect to this living work of art.

Weekend nights seem the best time for shadow watching. Traffic from nearby restaurants and theaters gravitates to the cool serenity of the garden. Visitors quickly realize the potential of the towering walls of an adjacent parking structure. And the fun begins. The bright lights draw the bold, who try to create shadows more horrific than their friends’. The timid quietly walk up to the wall, which becomes a larger-than-life easel, and unobtrusively form the traditional bird, rabbit and dog faces they learned as a child.

But not all the action takes the form of monstrous shadows. Silhouetted figures can be just as intriguing. Emotions are evident in their simpliest forms: Couples cavorting, children walking tentatively and peering up at the rocks and towering sandstone; it is even a place for quiet reflection.

Noguchi may not have intended his work to be used in this manner. But for those who partake in this fantasy outlet, the real purpose of the garden is clearly defined. Having fun, even if it’s scary, is what it’s all about.