UNC's Forest Theatre

This outdoor theatre on the eastern part of the University of North Carolina campus has been hosting plays since 1918. The Theatre is located between Battle House and Battle Park, and control of the theatre was given to the NC Botanical Garden in 2004 along with Battle Park. The Theatre was the original home of the Carolina Playmakers Society and although they moved to an indoor location they still frequently perform Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the outdoor pavilion.

In an attempt to bring attention to North Carolina's theatrical prowess UNC President Edward Graham brought Frederick Koch in to establish a theatrical society in 1918. Koch deemed the necessity of an outdoor theatre, leading to the establishment of the Forest Theatre. The area had been used as a theatre in 1916 in celebration of the tercentenary of Shakespeares' death and once again in 1917 by a freshman performing a play he had written, and Koch approved the area for use in 1918. Koch assembled the Carolina Playmakers in 1919, and while they practiced at the Forest Theatre they also toured across the country to high acclaim. After UNC had been given aid from the Great Depression some of the funds were used to establish the stone stage, seating, and lighting and directing towers in the theatre, with construction finishing in 1943.

The Carolina Playmaker society would eventually move into the Playmaker Theatre for the majority of their shows, while still occasionally performing a Midsummer's Night Dream at the Outdoor Theatre. The theatre slowly began deteriorating in the '70s, and the forest theatre was granted to the North Carolina Botanical Garden in 2004 for their care.

NC Botanical Garden. 100 Years of Forest Theatre, NC Botanical Garden. May 19th 2019. Accessed May 12th 2021. https://ncbg.unc.edu/2019/05/19/100-years-of-forest-theatre/.