The Old Globe renames tech center after beloved local community leader

One of southeastern San Diego’s most beloved community leaders, Rosemary Pope, was honored this week when The Old Globe announced it has renamed in her honor its 17-year-old theatrical technical center in that community.

At a ceremony Monday, Old Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein said the renaming effort was a testament to Pope’s longtime contributions to southeastern San Diego’s cultural life through her work, both as executive director of the George L. Stevens Fourth District Seniors Resource Center, and as a longtime community partner and friend of the Globe.

Someone San Diego Should Know: Rosemary Pope

“By naming our technical center after one of the pillars of southeastern San Diego and a beloved icon of our city, we reaffirm our commitment to this vibrant neighborhood,” Edelstein told attendees at the ceremony. “Ms. Rosemary Pope was one of the first supporters of our community-based programming, and over the years she’s remained a passionate advocate for the power of art forsdut the seniors at her center, and for everyone who calls that neighborhood home. She is a bright light and an inspiration, and we are honored to link her name to our theater in this powerful way.”

Opened in 2008 at Market and 54th streets, the Ms. Rosemary Pope Old Globe Technical Center is a 30,000-square-foot industrial building where Globe staff build scenery for all the shows that appear on the Balboa Park theater’s three stages. It also houses an engineering center where specialized machinery is built to move scenery and create special effects, a scenery- and prop-painting room and storage areas for scenery, props and costumes.

In addition to renaming the center after Pope, the Globe will expand its community outreach at the center with tours, workshops and career-training programs.

The Old Globe’s Arts Engagement program will offer Behind the Curtain workshops taught by Globe technical designers. Tech center tours will be offered to middle and high school students. And a new technical apprenticeship program, offered in partnership with local service organizations, will provide recent high school graduates with training, mentorship and hands-on experience in technical theater jobs.

In a speech at the ceremony, Pope spoke about her 10-year collaboration with the Globe, which has included hosting theater performances at the Stevens center and distributing tickets to community members to attend productions at The Old Globe Theatre.

It also included having community members take part in hands-on workshops with Globe artists and designers for its summer 2024 production of William Shakespeare’s “Henry 6.” And Globe-hosted play-writing classes at the center have resulted in a few community members’ plays being performed onstage at the Globe.

“What began as a shared vision has blossomed into a decade-long journey of inspiring creativity, deepening community ties and elevating the role of theater and of arts in all of our lives,” Pope said. “We’ve created spaces for voices to be heard, stories to be shared and imaginations to take flight. We’ve sparked conversation, we’ve challenged perspectives and we’ve cultivated a deeper appreciation for the power of the arts to connect and to transform.

“To the Old Globe, thank you. Your unwavering commitment, the collaboration, the belief in this mission, and the renaming of the Old Globe Tech Center in my honor is a dream come true,” she said. “This partnership has shown what’s possible when the community and creativity walk hand in hand. Because of each of you, I am reminded of this one simple truth — we rise higher when we lift each other up. So, from the bottom of my heart, and my lovely family and good friends, from the bottoms of our hearts, we thank you for lifting us up, and like dust we rise.”