Old Globe Theatre facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Old Globe

Address	1363 Old Globe Way
Location	San Diego, California, U.S.
Coordinates	32°43′56.1″N 117°9′8″W / 32.732250°N 117.15222°W / 32.732250; -117.15222
Type	Regional theater
Capacity	Old Globe Theatre: 580 Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre: 250 Lowell Davies Festival Theatre: 620
Construction
Opened	1935
Renovated	1982–1993
Architect	Thomas Wood Stevens (original); Liebhardt, Botton & Associates, A.I.A. (rebuilt)

The Old Globe is a famous professional theater company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It's like a special place where actors perform plays and musicals for audiences. Each year, the Old Globe puts on about 15 different shows during its summer and winter seasons.

These shows happen in three unique theaters, all part of a bigger area called the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts:

• The Old Globe Theatre is the main stage, with 580 seats. It's fully indoors and has the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage.
• The Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre is a smaller, cozy theater with 250 seats. It's a "theater in the round," meaning the audience sits all around the stage. It opened in 2009.
• The Lowell Davies Festival Theatre is an outdoor theater with 620 seats. Imagine watching a play under the stars!

The Old Globe Theatre and the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre are both part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. The White Theatre is also inside the Karen and Donald Cohn Education Center, which helps teach people about theater.

The Old Globe's Story

How the Theater Began: 1930s–1950s

The Old Globe Theatre was first built in 1935. It was designed by Richard Requa for a big event called the California Pacific International Exposition. The theater looked like a copy of the famous Globe Theatre in London, England. That original Globe Theatre is where many of William Shakespeare's plays were first performed hundreds of years ago!

Just like Shakespeare's Globe, the first Old Globe Theatre had an open area in the middle and a roof over the seats on the sides. During the exposition, it showed short versions of Shakespeare's plays. People loved it so much that a group called the San Diego Community Theatre was formed. They wanted to save the theater from being torn down.

This group leased the building and made it more permanent by adding a roof over the open part. They started putting on full-length plays. A man named Thomas Wood Stevens founded the Globe Players, who performed shorter Shakespeare plays to attract visitors.

The first director was Luther Kennett in 1937. On December 2, 1937, the newly improved Old Globe Theatre opened with a play called The Distaff Side. A young actor named Craig Noel was in that play. Craig Noel became a very important person for the Old Globe. He was an actor, a director, and a leader for over 50 years! He helped the theater grow and even win a special award called a Tony Award. He also started the San Diego National Shakespeare Festival.

In 1939, Craig Noel became the general director. During World War II, the U.S. Navy used all the buildings in Balboa Park, including the Globe. The theater group kept performing short plays in other places. When the Globe was returned in 1947, Noel came back as general director. He stayed in charge until he passed away in 2010.

In 1949, he started the Globe's summer Shakespeare Festival. This festival has happened almost every summer since then! It's a tradition to celebrate Shakespeare's amazing plays.

In 1951, the San Diego Junior Theater Wing started. It offered fun plays for children. Many young actors from this group, like Victor Buono, later became movie stars! By 1953, the Junior Theater had grown so much that it became part of the San Diego Park and Recreation Department.

Growth and Rebuilding: 1960s–1990s

In 1969, another theater was added, called the Cassius Carter Centre Stage. It was also a "theater in the round." This theater was later rebuilt in 2009 and is now the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre.

Sadly, in March 1978, the Globe Theatre was badly damaged in a fire. But the theater group didn't give up! They quickly built an outdoor stage so the summer season could still happen. This outdoor stage was just for the National Shakespeare Festival. The Globe Theatre was rebuilt and opened again in 1981.

Then, in 1984, the outdoor festival stage was also damaged in a fire. It was rebuilt too and is now called the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Today, all three theaters together are known as the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts.

In 1981, Jack O'Brien became the artistic director, while Craig Noel became the executive producer.

The Globe Today

In 2012, Barry Edelstein became the artistic director. The Old Globe has become a very important theater complex, known around the world. It's considered a powerful and influential theater among regional theaters. In 1984, it even won the Tony Award for best regional theater! This award is a huge honor in the theater world.

Famous Shows from the Old Globe

Many plays and musicals that started at the Old Globe have gone on to become big hits on Broadway in New York City. These shows have won many Tony Awards, which are like the Oscars for theater!