scripps worked as assistant technical director for the old globe theater in san diego, the berkeley shakespeare festival, as well as lighting designer for the riverside shakespeare company, for which he was also a major donor to the first center for performance and training of the works of shakespeare in new york city, the shakespeare center. from 1988 to 1994, he was partner with w. stuart mcdowell in mcdowell/scripps productions, developing new plays for the american stage, including "the brothers booth!", which was workshopped in new york with david strathairn, david dukes, maryann plunkett, angela goethals, and stephen lang. in later years, scripps also became a major donor and supporter of theatre for a young audience in new york. in recognition of scripps' financial support for the rebuilding of the globe theatre in london, sam wanamaker, head of the shakespeare globe trust, said, "sam scripps is playing a key role in spearheading the plans to make the recreation of shakespeare's globe in london a reality." eventually, even after mr. wanamaker's death in 1993, scripps went on to become a key american donor to the rebuilding of shakespeare's globe theatre in london in 1997.