SOUTHEAST TIME CAPSULE TO REST UNDER LONDON GLOB THEATRE

As William Shakespeare watched his plays being performed, he could not have dreamt that 400 years later Southeast Missouri State University would own a part of London's Globe Theatre.

Throughout 1996, the Southeast's University Players raised enough money to make Southeast a "Globelink" school, earning a time capsule which will be buried beneath the theatre. The local group also purchased part of a figure of Atlas which supports the "heavens," or the cover above the theatre stage.

The organization is advised by Dennis Seyer, associate professor of speech communication and theatre.

"We are really happy to have met our goal," said Brooke Hildebrand, of Kankakee, Ill., the junior who headed up fund-raising efforts. Hildebrand explained that her passion for the project began during the spring 1996 semester, when she participated in the Missouri-London program and visited the site of the original Globe, which was pulled down in 1644.

Shakespeare wrote many of his plays intending them to be performed in the Globe, whose rounded shape he described as a "Wooden O." In 1970, Shakespeare enthusiast Sam Wannamaker established the Globe Playhouse Trust to raise funds for the rebuilding of the Globe, with the dream of seeing Shakespearian plays performed exactly as the playwright had intended.

Ground was broken for the Globe reconstruction in 1987; construction of the theatre, thanks to the fund-raising efforts of Wannamaker's trust, has been proceeding steadily since then. When Hildebrand visited the site of the reconstructed Globe in 1996, the theatre was substantially completed.

Hildebrand became involved in fund-raising efforts through one of Wannamaker's donation ideas, "Globelink," which was designed for schools of all levels.

During Hildebrand's visit to the reconstructed Globe, she saw a plaque honoring schools which had raised funds. Southeast's name was on the plaque, she said, but the school had yet to contribute money to the Globelink effort. Seyer had initiated Southeast's involvement during his own semester in London in 1992.

On her return to Southeast last fall, Hildebrand and the University Players dedicated themselves to making Southeast a Globelink school.

When the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express visited Southeast last fall, the University Players set up a table outside Academic Auditorium and solicited donations from play-goers. The Players also donated their earnings from their 1996 Christmas show. The rest of the $350 was taken from the University Players' own fund.

Having earned Globelink status, the Players and the University now have the pleasure of deciding what to put in a tiny time capsule which looks much like a relay runner's baton. Southeast's capsule will be buried in a special vault beneath the center of the theatre this June.