The beginnings of the Theatricum Botanicum stretch back to the early 1950s when Will Geer, one of the many actors victimized by the McCarthy Era Blacklisting, opened a theatre for Blacklisted actors and folk singers on his Topanga property.

Audiences flocked to free workshop performances of Shakespeare, folk plays, and concerts featuring such well-known artists as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie, Della Reese & Burl Ives, among others.