I have worked with The Old Globe since February 2016. In my time here, I’ve worked on over 120 productions and counting, along with special events and programming. Within the marketing department, I’ve spearheaded website creation and maintenance, social medial, print and digital assets, programs, and email marketing. I’ve also been able to work with noteable designers like Ben Wiseman and producers that have sent shows from the Globe to Broadway (The Heart of Rock and Roll, Almost Famous, and Bob Fosse’s Dancin’).
Below is a sampling of work I’ve created and worked on in my time working at the Globe. Some of the photos below feature viral social media content, custom merchandise for the Helen Edison Gift Shop, and behind-the-scenes photos from photoshoots.
The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional nonprofit regional theatres. Now in its 90th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community by creating theatre that lives beyond the stage. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!—have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.
Program Magazines (Playbills)
For each production that comes through The Old Globe, I am responsible for creating the program playbill to accompany it. Ranging from 24 to 40 pages of carefully curated content, I design and layout out each page for maximum viewership. The Old Globe produces 12 main stage productions a year that require a Playbill for audiences. In my time at the Globe, I’ve designed and produced over 100 programs. With programs, there is a lot of moving parts and flexibility needed with the content that is required, like production billing and Union and Equity rules. Plus, designing in black and white always proving for a creative challenge.
After each program is finalized, I take the final print pages and duplicate them into our digital program app where patrons can scan a QR code to access all of the printed content on their phones. This digital program app is also included in the pre show reminder emails so patrons can read more about the show before they’ve seen it.
Social Media
I manage all of The Old Globe’s social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), Threads, and LinkedIn. From creating content and viral videos to engaging with followers and boosting posts, I’ve been able to grow our Instagram platform almost organically over 400%. With this I’ve also worked with influencers, brand managers, and actors to elavate the Globe’s presence on Instagram and throughout other platforms. The Globe puts out an average of 6-10 posts a week of carefully curated content.
Show Artwork
I have designed and collaborated on many show artwork projects. Below is the artwork that I have been able to design for the Globe’s main stage productions, including the touring Broadway production of Fat Ham and the off-Broadway production of Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors. Both of these shows came with branding systems that the Globe was asked to maintain while the production was running, but we were able to make adjustments to the artwork for our specific productions. I worked with the producers on both shows to insure design integrity while allowing the Globe to have their own artwork. Dishwasher Dreams was similar in the sense that the show had artwork at previous theatres, but here I got to design something that the Globe could for our performances only.
Other Graphic Design Projects
Each department at The Old Globe has a variety of graphic design needs that I’ve helped with. Creating in house collateral, donor materials, custom merchandise, and more.
Review Quotes and Digital Screens
The Old Globe has 5 vertical and one large horizontal screen on its plaza to display upcoming events, show information, etc. I’ve created eye-catching graphics that each play into the artwork from each show featuring taglines or quoteable reviews for display.
Calligraphy
Over the course of my time at The Old Globe I’ve been able merge my other business, Chanel Creates, with events here. Below are some recent place cards I did for the opening night dinner of Henry 6 with the creative team, donors, and staff before the production. I used the rose design from the production’s artwork as the shape for the place cards. I also used gold leaf on the edges to match the large ornate crown that was displayed on the Globe’s plaza as a part of the extensive community work that was done for this show. Photos by Jenna Jo Photo.
Podcasts
I’ve designed branding for two podcasts with The Old Globe. The first being Gather Round!, a holiday themed podcast series that celebrated traditions and rituals of the Globe’s various community partners. Each episode that came out used a different color from the logo. Each of these colors and stars are meant to represent the different holidays that people celebrate. For Cocktails with the Canon this podcast series needed a more elevated look to convey the idea of a hard-hitting conversation amongst friends and their preferred drinks. I took quotes from each podcast episode and created story graphics that we’re eye-catching and had a clear click through action for patrons to listen.
Gather Round! is a short-form limited podcast series, co-hosted by Artistic Associate Lamar Perry and Arts Engagement Programs Manager Laura Zablit, that celebrates the holiday traditions and rituals of various San Diego communities during the winter season. Told through conversations with community partners who recall their childhoods, favorite recipes, and the rich history of their lives, Gather Round! makes space for partners to share their stories authentically and in their own languages. Audience members are guided through Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah, and many others as Lamar and Laura offer some light and laughs to the San Diego community.
In this logo treatment, we wanted it to have a holiday feel without it being tied to one specific holiday. Keeping the colors bright and varying, it allowed for a wide range of tailored social graphics. Each star is also meant to represent a different holiday and the light that holiday traditions bring people together!
Cocktails with the Canon is an interview-based podcast series hosted by colleagues and friends, the Globe’s Literary Manager and Dramaturg Danielle Mages Amato and Artistic Associate Lamar Perry. Through a series of informal but hard-hitting conversations, Amato and Perry will take audiences on a journey that investigates the “traditional” Western dramatic canon, along with the writers, groups, identities, and aesthetics that have historically been excluded. Over the course of the season, they will welcome to the podcast an acclaimed group of American playwrights to reflect on the forces that have historically shaped—and continue to shape—the American theatrical canon, and to discuss the works they consider canonical within their own communities. The hosts and guests will also dive into personal stories and share their dreams and action plans for the future of the American theatre. Ultimately the podcast hopes to ask the question: how can we expand the canon and create access for all? Listeners will walk away from Cocktails with the Canon feeling like they’ve just left a night at the theatre and a gathering with their community over drinks and food. Cheers!
For this logo design, we wanted something that was classic and upscale, much like an after-hours theatre bar. The clean lines of the font match the lines of the cocktail glass shape. I used a hexagon design as the drink stirrer to reiterate the modern feel. The hexagon shape is also used throughout other design elements of the podcast graphics.
This logo and branding was created in April 2021 to launch The Old Globe’s second podcast within less than year.
