After our SiPC4 opening ceremony, we dove into a conversation with The Old Globe Theatre about their recently released "Social Justice Roadmap."
Barry Edelstein (The Old Globe Theatre's Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director) and Freedome Bradley-Ballentine (Director of Arts Engagement and Associate Artistic Director) have "embarked on a series of reforms to intensify and accelerate necessary change at all levels" of their institution. In codifying anti-racist practices and principals into their organizational processes, they've begun to answer the call for "long overdue change" made by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) theatremakers (https://www.weseeyouwat.com/). We'll hear from Barry and Freedome and then open up the floor for questions and dialogue with audience members. The conversation was moderated by Karen Ann Daniels (The Public Theater's Director of Mobile Unit and Co-Producer of the Shakespeare in Prisons Conference).
Barry Edelstein is the Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director of The Old Globe and is a stage director, producer, author, and educator. His Globe directing credits include The Winter’s Tale, Othello, The Twenty-Seventh Man, the world premiere musical Rain, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Hamlet, the world premiere of The Wanderers, the American premiere of the musical Life After, and Romeo and Juliet. He also directed All’s Well That Ends Well as the inaugural Globe for All Tour. During the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, he has overseen online programming that includes Bill Irwin’s In-Zoom, Edelstein’s Thinking Shakespeare Live: Sonnets!, and free programs presented by the Department of Arts Engagement. And in 2019 he oversaw the Globe’s inaugural Classical Directing Fellowship. As Director of the Shakespeare Initiative at The Public Theater (2008–2012), Edelstein oversaw the company’s Shakespearean productions and its educational, community outreach, and artist-training programs. He was also Associate Producer of The Public’s Broadway production of The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino. He earlier served as Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company (1998–2003). His book Thinking Shakespeare is the standard text on American Shakespearean acting. He is also the author of Bardisms: Shakespeare for All Occasions. He is a graduate of Tufts University and the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.
Freedome Bradley-Ballentine, Associate Artistic and The Old Globe’s first Director of Arts Engagement, has been in San Diego for five years, but his impact on the community has been dynamic. His work forges artistic creations and social connections with economically, geographically, and culturally diverse communities throughout the county. His work is instrumental in making the Globe truly accessible for all and facilitating its commitment of “making theatre matter to more people.” He is a key framer of the Globe’s Social Justice Roadmap and since joining the Globe, he has implemented dozens of new in-person and online programs, from Reflecting Shakespeare for people experiencing incarceration, to free Community Voices playwriting workshops, and art collaborations with artists and community called coLAB. Other innovative programs include Word Up!, Bard Basics, Behind the Curtain, Breaking Bread, and the Shakespeare in Prisons Conference 2018. He leads the free Globe for All Tour, which brings professional Shakespeare to underserved and diverse multigenerational audiences in neighborhoods throughout the region. It is now a national model for accessible theatre. On campus, he developed AXIS plaza programs, Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio for teens, and Globe Learning professional development opportunities; he transformed Behind-the-Scenes Tours, Free Student and Senior Matinees, Sensory-Friendly Initiatives, and School in the Park; and he helped start the Technical Center internships and professional development programs. Prior to his arrival in San Diego, Bradley-Ballentine led the theatrical program for SummerStage and the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park, both part of CityParks Foundation. He was also Creative Director of Creative Stages Entertainment, developing and producing Off Broadway theatre. He holds an M.F.A. in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College, a B.A. in Education from New York University, and he served in the United States Peace Corps in Ethiopia.