American Globe Center
By Tom Evans and Jim Warren
We’ve presented a lot of information over the last several weeks, and want to leave with a few more “Whys”:
Legacy:
Stratford, Connecticut has been an American home for Shakespeare since 1955, first housing the renowned American Shakespeare Festival for more than thirty years. From the ashes of that original vision, comes a new focus with a stronger mission – a mission dedicated to economic stability and development, educational excellence, artistic inclusion, and the world’s only timber-framed re-creation of Shakespeare’s 1614 Globe.
Innovation:
The American Globe Center (AGC) will be a profoundly new fusion of the old and new: a theatre campus that features a re-creation of Shakespeare’s 1614 Globe theatre for Shakespeare’s Staging Conditions (the 1599 Globe was destroyed by fire), alongside the indoor, modern, state-of-the-art theatres in the Stratford Performing Arts & Education Center, specifically constructed for “everything-under-the-sun” staging and a comprehensive menu of education programming.
Uniqueness:
The AGC structures will sit in Shakespeare Park along the Housatonic River on the grounds of the old American Shakespeare Festival Theatre. Many Shakespeare festival’s boast some faux Tudor half- timber façade showing up somewhere on or near the back wall of an amphitheater or on a gift shop, but part of the allure for AGC patrons and Stratford residents will be getting to visit a one-of-a-kind tourist destination: the world’s only timber-frame re-creation of Shakespeare’s 1614 Globe theatre.
Great Art = Great Business:
In addition to the serious fun and raucous drama of outdoor Globe performances, AGC visitors will also feast on a cornucopia of classic plays, modern musicals, and brand-new works indoors at the Arts & Education Center. Investment entrepreneurs and local businesses will partner with the AGC, building and running more restaurants, shops, and hotels near the campus while the AGC focuses on creating a destination theatre experience that incorporates art, tourism, education, and sustainable economic growth for the Stratford community.
Partnership to the Town:
The site planning for the AGC – still in its infancy – will include public park space, public restrooms, and space for the Shakespeare Market. The AGC aims not to replace, but to resurrect and enhance all that’s great about Shakespeare Park while going Back to the Future to return Shakespeare to Stratford.
Thank you for spending this time with us – please check out www.americanglobecenter.org for more information or reach out to us on Facebook. We’ll be talking again soon!
We just got our increased tax bills. Where is the money coming for this dream which I wonder will really come to fruition and bring money into the town? We’ve heard all these grand proposals before,while the wooden bldg languish,crumbling for over 20 yrs. until 2 young criminals burned it down. Its hard to get excited after the decades of wasted millions and no product.