Globe of the Great Southwest facts for kids
The Globe of the Great Southwest is a special theater in Odessa, Texas. It looks like the famous Globe Theatre from England. This theater complex also has a copy of Anne Hathaway's cottage. Anne Hathaway was the wife of William Shakespeare. Both buildings are on the campus of Odessa College.
The Globe Theatre is a non-profit group. It puts on classic and modern plays. These shows are performed on a stage that looks like those from the Elizabethan era. The theater also hosts local community plays. It has monthly country-western shows called The Brand New Opree. Many other community events happen here too.
The nearby Anne Hathaway Library is a copy of the cottage where Shakespeare's wife lived. It has displays about the life and works of William Shakespeare. Full-time theatre activities started at the Globe in the fall of 1968.
History of the Globe Theater
The idea for The Globe of the Great Southwest began in the late 1950s. It started in an English class at Odessa High School.
A student brought a model of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to class. The student told his teacher, Mrs. Marjorie Morris, that it would be amazing. He thought it would be exciting to have a real, full-size Globe Theatre in Odessa. This simple comment sparked Mrs. Morris's imagination. It gave her a strong desire to make this dream come true.
The Globe Theatre organization started in 1958. They also began raising money to build it. The theater was built as money was collected. In 1966, the building was not yet finished. Even so, director Paul Baker brought his play Julius Caesar from the Dallas Theater Center. Six shows were completely sold out at the Odessa Globe. The theater officially opened for its first season in 1968.
The theater was built mostly with wood and plaster. It is a simpler and more modern version of the original Elizabethan theater. Both theaters have an apron stage. This stage has a two-story fixed set behind it. This set forms one side of an eight-sided courtyard. Wooden balconies surround this courtyard.
The area right behind the stage is called the "inner above." Actors use this space. This term is still used in theater design today. The Odessa Globe Theater is eight-sided. It has a covered courtyard with fixed seats for 441 people. It also has one balcony. The original London Globe was a 20-sided building. It had an open-air courtyard where most people stood. It also had three balconies with more expensive seats. The original theater could hold up to 3,000 people.
As of 2025, the Globe of the Great Southwest is still active. It hosts the yearly Odessa Shakespeare Festival. It also presents the Odessa Brand New Opree and the Permian Basin Opera. The theater mostly stages classic Western plays. It also serves the local Latino student population in the area.
