Photo Flash: First Look at Monique Gaffney, Christopher Salazar and More in Globe for All's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

The Old Globe's GLOBE FOR ALL returns to bring free professional Shakespeare directly to diverse, multigenerational audiences in underserved communities around San Diego County. This second year of GLOBE FOR ALL follows a highly successful inaugural production in 2014. One of the Bard's most charming comedies, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, is directed by renowned Shakespearean Rob Melrose, Artistic Director of San Francisco's Cutting Ball Theater, who makes his Globe debut. He directs a cast of local professional actors, including recent graduates of the Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The GLOBE FOR ALL free Shakespeare tour began November 10 and will culminate in four low-cost performances on November 21 and 22 in the Globe's rehearsal halls, part of Balboa Park's historic House of Charm.

GLOBE FOR ALL helps make theatre matter to audiences who, for whatever reason, do not enjoy regular access to the professional performing arts. The tour visits locations as varied as military bases, recreation centers, libraries, centers for the elderly, homeless shelters, and correctional facilities. With production values scaled to non-theatrical venues such as gymnasiums, cafeterias, and multipurpose rooms, the tour gives audiences an intimate, up-close, and visceral experience of live performance and fosters a shared sense of community between performer and spectator. For some, the GLOBE FOR ALL tour is their first experience seeing a piece of live theatre, and for others, it is an exciting return to the art form. In addition to providing the community with free access to professional performances of Shakespeare, GLOBE FOR ALL enriches the theatre experience by offering free workshops and other activities. Many of our community performances will feature a mask-making workshop at the venue one hour prior to the performance; these masks will be incorporated into the show, making audiences a part of the action.

Venues for the 2015 tour include South Bay Community Services at Castle Park Elementary School; Chaldean and Middle-Eastern Social Services at St. Michael Chaldean Catholic Church; Veteran's Village of San Diego; Fourth District Seniors Resource Center at the George L. Stevens Senior Center; Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library; San Diego Central Library; Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation; Las Colinas Detention Facility; Naval Base San Diego; California State Prison, Centinela; and Father Joe's Villages.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is one of Shakespeare's most popular and charming comedies. Soldiers return victorious from battle, their sights now set on the peacetime pleasures of love and merrymaking. But for Shakespeare's wittiest couple, Beatrice and Benedick, romance is a "merry war" all its own, and their clever barbs protect their wary hearts.

The cast includes local actors and GLOBE FOR ALL returnees Monique Gaffney (Beatrice, Sexton) and Christopher Salazar (Benedick, 1st Watchman), also a graduate of the Old Globe/University of San Diego Graduate Theatre Program; recent Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program graduates Lindsay Brill (Margaret, Verges, Friar Francis), Charlotte Bydwell (Hero), Lowell Byers (Don John, Dogberry, Antonio, Messenger), Jamal Douglas (Claudio, 2nd Watchman),Tyler Kent (Don Pedro, Conrade), and Patrick Zeller (Leonato, Borachio, Balthazar); and two local musicians, Mark Danisovszky and Clinton Davis.

The creative staff includes Robin Sanford Roberts (Scenic Design), Charlotte Devaux (Costume Design), Clinton Davis (Original Music, Music Director), and Diana Moser (Production Stage Manager).

Photo Credit: Ken Jacques

Cast members of Globe for All's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING performing for the audience from South Bay Community Services at Castle Park Elementary School.

Christopher Salazar as Benedick

Lindsay Brill as Verges and Lowell Byers as Dogberry

Monique Gaffney as Beatrice and Christopher Salazar as Benedick

Tyler Kent as Conrade and Lowell Byers as Don John

Charlotte Bydwell as Hero, Monique Gaffney as Beatrice, and Lindsay Brill as Margaret

Young audience members discuss the show with cast member Monique Gaffney after a performance for South Bay Community Services at Castle Park Elementary School

Audience members from South Bay Community Services enjoy the Globe for All performance at Castle Park Elementary School

Young audience members take part in a mask-making workshop before a performance for South Bay Community Services at Castle Park Elementary School

Director of Arts Engagement Freedome Bradley-Ballentine and Artistic Director Barry Edelstein