GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1920

Short Title:  Globe Theatre Funds.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Hunt; Weatherly and Lutz.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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May 31, 1994

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO RUTHERFORD COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL, INC., TO COMPLETE THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GLOBE THEATRE.
Whereas, the Rutherford County Arts Council, Inc., proposed 10 years ago, and has been engaged in the building of an authentic replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in Alexander Mills, North Carolina; and
Whereas, this effort has been supported by Rutherford County, the Town of Alexander Mills, the North Carolina Arts Council, and various corporate and foundation donors in the total amount of over $400,000 in cash and kind contributions; and
Whereas, the Globe Theatre was the stage upon which most of the plays of Shakespeare were first produced; and
Whereas, the replica of the Globe Theatre is based on the contemporary drawings of the Second Globe Theatre constructed in 1614, following the destruction by fire of the First Globe Theatre in 1613; and
Whereas, the newly-constructed  Second Globe Theatre was described at the time as "far fairer than before"; and
Whereas, an authentic reproduction of an Elizabethan stage would be a unique resource for dramatic productions, including those of Johnson, Marlowe, and Beaumont and Fletcher, written during the Golden Age of English theatre, and for plays, music, and dance of other periods; and
Whereas, the proposed Globe Theatre would give a true sense of how these productions were originally presented and received; and
Whereas, there is no similar full-size theatre elsewhere in North America; and
Whereas, England's leading Elizabethan theatrical scholar and artist, C. Walter Hodges, is in charge of ensuring the authenticity of the design of the Globe Theatre; and
Whereas, the Globe Theatre would be a significant addition to this State's cultural attractions on this period of history, which include the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival and the Lost Colony; and
Whereas, such a theatre would be a significant site for scholarship and for State and national companies presenting Elizabethan drama; and
Whereas, the Globe Theatre would be a resource attracting not only adults from this and other countries, but also the school children of North Carolina and six surrounding states to awake in them a love of theatre and of the language of Shakespeare;  Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to Rutherford County Arts Council, Inc., the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for the 1994-95 fiscal year to complete the construction of the Globe Theatre in the Town of Alexander Mills.
Sec. 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1994.