San Diego's The Old Globe Announces Free Interactive Online Programming

Beginning today, San Diego's Old Globe theater will offer a series of free interactive programs online.

The first of these will include Community Voices, a playwriting workshop that begins Thursday, March 26, 2020 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Behind the Curtain, a how-to-make-theatre workshop, starting Wednesday, April 1, 2020 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. They will both be available on The Old Globe Arts Engagement's Facebook page.

These public offerings are built upon the success of ongoing arts engagement programs, which were in the midst of classes in Community Partner venues. Immediately following the initial stay-at-home rulings, participants were offered the chance to continue their workshops through Zoom, utilizing their phones and computers. Globe Teaching Artists held its first Community Voices Zoom workshop for Lemon Grove Branch Library participants on Saturday, March 21-a resounding success.

The Old Globe's Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein will lead a special free online sonnets edition of Thinking Shakespeare Live!, a fast-paced, funny, and altogether fascinating guide to the language of the Bard. An ideal introduction to Shakespeare for families and young audiences, as well as an exciting new look at the playwright for Bardophiles,

Thinking Shakespeare Live: Sonnets! will take place on Tuesday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m. on The Old Globe's Facebook page. Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, each only 14 lines long, contain some of his most beautiful and moving poetry. This half-hour, "social-distance" version of Thinking Shakespeare Live! will introduce the sonnets and then delve into one masterpiece of the form, exploring its language and how it works, and how it relates to Shakespeare's work for the stage.

While the Globe's stages are dark, audiences are invited to explore Shakespeare's plays in On Book: The Old Globe's Shakespeare Reading Group.

Beginning with the two plays announced for the Globe's 2020 Summer Shakespeare Festival, The Taming of the Shrew and Henry V, the group will offer an online space to read and discuss Shakespeare's work with directors, actors, and other artists who have tackled these great masterworks for the Globe's stages.

The roster of artists is being assembled now and will be announced shortly. Beginning Thursday, April 2, meetings will take place every Monday and Thursday at 12:00 noon on The Old Globe's On Book Facebook group page. (Timeframe may shift as interest develops).

In addition to these initial offerings, conversations are taking place and plans are evolving for exciting additional online content from past Globe artists and upcoming productions. Check in for exciting new content on the company's social media platforms, and check the website and emails for future institutional news. All programs are first come, first served, subject to interactive class limits.

"Theatre endures, even in the most challenging circumstances," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "The Old Globe's 85-year history of providing exciting and entertaining programming for our community continues with these special initiatives. I'm so proud of our staff, whose hard work and endless creativity have developed ways for us to bring our work to San Diego and beyond, and I'm beyond thrilled to be able to fulfill our mission to serve and support our community in this unprecedented moment. Our arts engagement programs are nationally renowned, and I know that participating in them will be a balm. Our humanities programs keep us in conversation about how theatre keeps the world spinning forward. And personally: a great mentor of mine taught me that there's no problem in this world that can't be eased at least a little by having some Shakespeare thrown at it, so I'm raring to go. We all look forward to seeing you, at least virtually, very soon."

"In times of uncertainty, people crave not only information but community," added Director of Arts Engagement Freedome Bradley-Ballentine. "Since its inception, the Globe has been a vital gathering place to offer comfort, discuss big ideas, and entertain. Whether on Broadway, in prisons, or at senior centers, we are dedicated to the public good. It is our responsibility to be responsive to our community, to make theatre that matters, and to offer people who depend on the Globe a place to gather, connect, share their stories, and not feel alone."

The company's current productions of Little Women and Faceless have been postponed until further notice, and further season production dates are subject to change.

The Tony Award-winning The Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 85th year, the Globe is San Diego's flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good.

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