Cast, Creatives Announced for The Old Globe's 'Globe for All' Tour of TWELFTH NIGHT

The Old Globe's Globe for All celebrates four years of making theatre matter to more people! This talented company of professional actors will tour Shakespeare's beloved comedy Twelfth Night throughout San Diego County to a wide variety of economically, geographically, and culturally diverse communities.

The free Globe for All Tour begins Tuesday, October 31 and will visit 17 community partner venues new and old, from Oceanside to the South Bay, from Linda Vista to the Imperial Valley.

Director Jerry Ruiz - who has directed premieres at Second Stage, Primary Stages, Rattlestick, Denver Center, Clubbed Thumb, and TheaterWorks - brings a twist: the production integrates words and phrases in Spanish into this complex tale of mistaken identity and true love.

Twelfth Night reimagines Illyria as a sunny, modern-day Southern California getaway for the rich and fabulous and their entourages. Crashing onto this luxurious scene is Viola, a Mexican immigrant who comes into the U.S. via the Pacific, but who is tragically separated from her twin brother Sebastian in the process. Determined to start a new life, she disguises herself as a young man and goes to work for Orsino-who is hopelessly in love with the wealthy heiress Olivia-and quickly falls in love with him herself. As Viola unintentionally gets herself and everyone around her twisted into knots, she addresses the audience in asides and soliloquies in her native tongue, adding a bicultural twist to Shakespeare's great romantic comedy about people divided from their true selves, in one form or another.

The cast features Amara James Aja* (Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Orsino), Amanda Arbues (Olivia), Lorenzo Landini* (Sebastian, Curio), and Jennifer Paredes (Viola) as the young misguided lovers; as well as Ajinkya Desai* (Malvolio, Officer), Kevin Hafso Koppman* (Feste, Captain), Christina Okolo* (Antonia, Valentine), Suzelle Palacios* (Maria, Priest), and Mike Sears (Sir Toby Belch). *Indicates a graduate of The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program.

The creative staff includes Kristen Flores (Scenic Design), Jaymee Ngernwichit (Costume Design), Ariel Levine (Original Music), and Jess Slocum (Production Stage Manager).

"That Globe for All is in its fourth year is a cause for real celebration," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "This wonderful program shares the glories of The Old Globe, free of charge, with our neighbors throughout the county who may not regularly participate in our programming in Balboa Park, and it helps make theatre matter to their communities. We mark this year with a production of Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare's most perfect plays. It has everything: gorgeous poetry, romance, great characters, and comedy that's fall-down funny. A superb professional cast under the direction of the gifted Jerry Ruiz will charm and delight audiences and continue a conversation between the Globe and San Diego that is enriching, exciting, and fun."

Community partners new and old will delight at the up-close and personal production. It will be seen at A Reason to Survive; California State Prison, Centinela; Chaldean Middle-Eastern Social Services/San Diego County Library - El Cajon Branch Library; El Corazon Senior Center°; Father Joe's Villages; Fourth District Senior Resource Center; Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility; Naval Base San Diego; San Diego Military Family Collaborative°/SAY San Diego Serra Real Connections Healthy Start Program; San Diego Rescue Mission; South Bay Community Services/Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood; Veterans Village of San Diego; Lemon Grove Academy/Lemon Grove Historical Society/Lemon Grove Branch Library; and San Diego Public Library branches including the Central Library, City Heights/Weingart Branch Library & Performance Annex, and Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch Library°. The tour will culminate in two low-cost public performances on Sunday, November 19 in the Globe's Festival Rehearsal Room, part of Balboa Park's historic House of Charm. °Indicates new community partner and venue for the 2017 tour.

Each community partner organization is offered a Bard Basics workshop to become familiarized with Twelfth Night. These workshops are designed to enhance the understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare's work. Taught by professional Globe Teaching Artists, participants are introduced to Shakespeare, his work, and the common themes and ideas of the play. Each Globe for All Tour performance also begins with an introductory pre-show warmup led by Teaching Artists Damon Shearer, Tara Ricasa, Blake McCarty, and James Pillar, and ends with a casual talk-back.

Globe for All presents free professional theatre to diverse, multigenerational audiences in locations around San Diego County, with a cast of nine professional actors and five production staff members. Over the past three years, Globe for All has continued to extend its reach, performing in military bases, homeless shelters, senior and correctional facilities, recreation centers, libraries, and other community venues. It has made theatre matter to more than 4,800 audience members, many of whom, for whatever reason, do not enjoy regular access to the professional performing arts. 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.

Globe for All will be presented with free public performances at:

- OPENING NIGHT: San Diego Military Family Collaborative/Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) San Diego's Serra Real Connections Healthy Start Program (Junipero Serra High School, 5156 Santo Rd., San Diego, 92124) on Thursday, November 2 at 5:45 p.m.

- Fourth District Senior Resource Center (The George L. Stevens Senior Center, 570 S. 65th St., San Diego, 92114) on Friday, November 3 at 1:30 p.m.

- San Diego Public Library - City Heights/Weingart Branch Library & Performance Annex (3795 Fairmount Ave., San Diego, 92105) on Saturday, November 4 at 1:00 p.m.

- San Diego Public Library - Otay Mesa-Nestor Branch Library (3003 Coronado Ave., San Diego, 92154) on Sunday, November 5 at 1:30 p.m.

- Chaldean Middle-Eastern Social Services/San Diego County Library - El Cajon Branch Library (St. Michael Chaldean Catholic Church, 799 E. Washington Ave., El Cajon, 92020) on Tuesday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m.

- Lemon Grove Academy/Lemon Grove Historical Society/San Diego County Library - Lemon Grove Branch Library (Lemon Grove Academy, Roberto Alvarez Auditorium, 3171 School Ln., Lemon Grove, 91945) on Wednesday, November 8 at 6:30 p.m.

- (location TBA) on, Saturday, November 11, time TBA

- San Diego Public Library - Central Library (Joan ? Irwin Jacobs Common, Shiley Special Events Suite, 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, 92101) on Sunday, November 12 at 1:00 p.m.

- Naval Base San Diego (Navy Region Southwest, Anchors Catering & Conference Center, Main at Yama St., 2375 Recreation Way, Building 3210, San Diego, 92136) on Wednesday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. (open to Navy personnel and family members)

- A Reason to Survive (Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 140 E. 12th St., Suite B, National City, 91950) on Friday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m.

- El Corazon Senior Center (3302 Senior Center Dr., Oceanside, 92056) on Saturday, November 18 at 6:30 p.m.

Contact Alejandra Enciso to join The Old Globe at one of its public Community Partner venues and see for yourself exactly what happens as the tour reaches out into the San Diego community!

The tour culminates with two low-cost public performances offered in The Old Globe's Festival Rehearsal Room, part of the historic House of Charm, on Sunday, November 19 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and are $15 for the general public and $10 for subscribers.

Organizations interested in partnering with Globe for All in the future should contact Karen Ann Daniels, Arts Engagement Programs Manager, at kdaniels@TheOldGlobe.org or (619) 231-1941 x2105.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theaters and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdooR Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's artistic and arts engagement programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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