GLOBAL THINKING

San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre extends its outreach and renews its zeal for inclusiveness.

BY STEPHANIE THOMPSON

MUCH IS DIFFERENT at San Diego’s Old Globe, which would have presented its 85th summer season if not for the pandemic. ”One thing I’ve learned is that things that seem outrageous on Monday are common practice by Friday,” says director of arts engagement and new associate artistic director Freedome Bradley-Ballentine.

But much remains the same, he says: “I get up every morning thinking, ‘How can I make theater matter to more people?’ Last week, today, tomorrow—there’s been no change in that. The only question that has changed is: How?”

The shutdown of the performing arts isn’t the only thing on Bradley-Ballentine’s mind. The Black Lives Matter protests have energized efforts to increase equity and representation.

“The Old Globe must be anti-racist,” Bradley-Ballentine says. “We need to create space ... in our hiring, our commissioning, in the works we present. We have been and will be dismantling barriers that prevent people coming into the theater.”

Online programs have reached new audiences through talks by staff and artists; discussion groups; a book club; archival videos; and the world premiere of a commissioned 10-minute play.

Livestream workshops Living Room Play Workshop and Community Voices both center on creating and developing new plays, the latter ones inspired by personal experience.

“We want to take those stories—not only from San Diego, Los Angeles or New York, but from all over the world —and celebrate them in an online festival,” Bradley-Ballentine says. “That’s not derailed by a 100-year plague.”

An online presence also encourages working with organizations elsewhere, he says. “Art is collaborative. How are you handling change? What have you learned? How can I incorporate what you’re doing? These are the questions we’re asking.”

There’s no idea too crazy ... to keep people engaged, to bring the theater to them.

—Freedome BradleyBallentine, director of arts engagement and associate artistic director

THE OLD GLOBE’S LOWELL DAVIES FESTIVAL THEATRE

The Old Globe started modestly, presenting 12 abridged Shakespeare plays at the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.

Prior to the pandemic, a quarter of a million people annually attended Old Globe productions or participated in its engagement and outreach programs. More than 20 Old Globe productions have gone on to Broadway and off-Broadway, earning 13 Tony Awards.

Now, reflects Bradley-Ballentine, “there’s no idea too crazy ... to keep people engaged, to bring the theater to them.

“When we come out of this pandemic, there will be change. And it will be positive ... as we work with one another to create the more equitable world we want to live in.”

TOP, LOUISA JACOBSON IN LAST SEASON’S ROMEO AND JULIET