Tag: theatre

A caffeinated San Diego Fringe Festival!

The multi-day 2023 San Diego Fringe Festival is now underway! Most of the very inventive Fringe performances can be enjoyed in Balboa Park, at either the Centro Cultural de la Raza or the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater. For a list of the festival’s complete lineup, click here!

This afternoon I sat in the audience at a very unique performance. The Coffee Plays, in five theatrical acts (each concerning types of coffee from around the world) was a fun mixture of storytelling, music, singing, coffee history, and love for the drink.

At certain points during the performance, members of the audience got to sample each type of coffee, courtesy of Mr. Green’s Coffee Beans. The Dalgona, The Bunn, The Kona, The Sumatra, The Jamoke. Those watching, as they ingested caffeine, enjoyed additional stimulation provided by the talented actors!

Fringe performances are usually unusual and typically untypical. Small, intimate audiences enjoy the efforts of often little-known artists. The audience determines whether a production is successful or less-than-successful. (Fortunately, I didn’t see any bags of rotten tomatoes.) Those who buy a ticket can’t really go wrong, because each performance is less than an hour and only ten dollars.

The Coffee Plays was amusing, inventive, and brimming with delicious humor. It did seem to drag and ramble in a few places, as an amateur production might, but overall it was an enjoyable experience. The audience really drank it up!

The Coffee Plays was co-produced by San Diego Black Ensemble Theatre and Asian Story Theater.

Check out the San Diego Fringe Festival website here and see what creative craziness awaits!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Huge birds and fun at Without Walls Festival!

The big annual Without Walls Festival, presented by the La Jolla Playhouse in association with the San Diego Symphony, is taking place all this weekend at the Rady Shell!

Today after work I headed behind the San Diego Convention Center to Embarcadero Marina Park South where very unique outdoor performances and activities could be freely enjoyed!

I saw many families and theatre lovers enjoying music, food, and of course, the intriguing productions.

One play involves the actual recreational vehicle used by an actress during COVID, and her strong experiences during a cross-country expedition.

Interactive activities include exploring the inspiration behind a Mexican restaurant in Barrio Logan, negotiation between yourself and a stranger that might result in personal transformation, an imaginative playscape for children, an immense puzzle whose solution requires collective cooperation, thought-provoking artwork beside the water of San Diego Bay, and the chance to mingle among gigantic, stilt-walking puppets that resemble birds from prehistoric times! WOW, indeed!

Learn all about the what and where and when by clicking here.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Playback Theatre and real stories at Old Globe.

A live outdoor performance was enjoyed today at the Old Globe theatre complex in Balboa Park.

Audience members were asked to share stories from their own lives, then an acting and music ensemble interpreted those stories up on stage.

The program was titled Imagine Theatre Presents: Playback Theatre. The event was produced in partnership with Imagine and the Chrysalis–Monarch Performing Arts Center.

I sat in the audience for a time and experienced how three stories were courageously told then interpreted.

One story involved a man’s serious illness, frustration and anger, then the realization that he could live one day at a time, to the fullest, with optimism and a sense of adventure. A second story involved the loss of a loved one and precious memories. A third concerned forks in the road of life, and how new opportunities arise with change.

This wonderful, very powerful performance was part of the Old Globe’s free AXIS Performing Arts Series. Click the preceding link to learn about upcoming events!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Mural painted at New Village Arts in Carlsbad!

A large new mural was recently painted on the back wall of the New Village Arts Theater in Carlsbad!

New Village Arts is a professional theatre group whose building is presently undergoing a major renovation. It will be reopening early next year.

The amazing mural is titled Reflection. It’s by CLYDE (@clyde_0000), a graffiti artist out of Tempe, Arizona.

I happened to spy this new mural yesterday as I walked near the roundabout east of the Carlsbad Village train station. Of course, I had to go check it out!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Paper theaters open to audiences in La Jolla!

Dozens of theaters have recently opened in La Jolla. Audiences have been gathering to view some of the most unusual theatre productions ever conceived. And it’s free!

Yes, dozens of small paper theaters have been carefully folded open in the Wisteria Cottage Gallery of the La Jolla Historical Society. The exhibition is titled The Smallest Show on Earth: Paper Theaters Explored.

Those who are interested in art, theatre, Victorian Era London (where toy theaters originated) or collectibles will be intrigued by this important collection.

Popular in the 19th century, paper theater kits were sold at the concession stand of an opera house, playhouse, or vaudeville theater. The kits included tabletop theaters that one could easily assemble, plus paper doll players and scripts. Tiny dramas could be played out at home. Better yet, original productions could be imagined and performed!

These paper theaters might seem a quaint reminder of a simpler time, a time when there was no television, no radio and no internet. For home entertainment, people had to rely on their own intelligence, creativity and imagination.

This cool exhibition includes many paper theaters from that era long past and the posters that promoted them. You’ll also see new, contemporary creations that were inspired by this very unique do-it-yourself art form!

The Smallest Show on Earth: Paper Theaters Explored continues through January 22, 2023.

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Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often, so you might want to bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and check back from time to time.

You can explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on this website’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There’s a lot of stuff to share and enjoy!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

The Gingerbread Man runs in Chula Vista!

The Gingerbread Man emerged from a hot oven and arrived in Chula Vista today, thinking he could easily outrun families and kids attending Arts in the Park. But, alas, the famous little cookie met his fate.

The story of The Gingerbread Man was acted out, to the delight of the audience, in a very small wooden theater.

It was a fun demonstration of Kamishibai, a form of outdoor story telling that was popular in Japan during the first half of the 20th century.

The Kamishibai version of The Gingerbread Man was presented by Write Out Loud, who brought their live reading performances to the annual Arts in the Park event, held at Memorial Park in Chula Vista.

Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbread Man!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Scenes from La Jolla Playhouse’s POP-UP WOW!

This evening I watched a stirring performance. I and many others enjoyed the La Jolla Playhouse’s POP-UP WOW event at Liberty Station.

What did I see?

I saw soulful singing and dancing that stems from a shared history of suffering and endurance.

I saw joy that rises from the heart–a triumph of the spirit.

I saw how bubbles are like aspects of life–and like life itself. Mysterious, beautiful, soaring . . . short-lived. A beginning and an ending. Like memories.

I, too, wondered why we have an impulse to chase bubbles.

I saw a fable about a giant who wanted power over everything.

Until he saw the beauty of bubbles and learned wisdom.

I saw individuals repeatedly asking “Can I?”

They make one clumsy attempt after another, slowly gaining ability, gaining confidence, until they venture out into this sometimes scary world.

Meeting others, overcoming their fear, the question becomes “Can WE?”

What I observed was life.

You can watch it tomorrow if you’d like, too. Click here to learn about the Sunday performances. It’s free!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

Dramatic faces outside the Spreckels Theatre!

I was walking down Broadway in downtown San Diego a few days ago when, looking up, I suddenly realized there are four different faces adorning the 1912 Spreckels Theater Building!

Two of the face types, which can be found at intervals around the building, look like dramatic golden masks. The other two belong to musicians holding a lyre and harp, directly above the marquee.

I took these photographs!

If you’d like to see the elegant inside of the building, check out a blog post I published several years ago. Back then I enjoyed a special tour of the amazing theatre, where I and a few others learned all about its history. And we got to go backstage!

See those interior photos by clicking here!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Cool marquee of the Star in Oceanside!

The next cool thing I came upon during my Oceanside walk yesterday was the historic Star theater building with its incredible marquee!

As I was taking photos, I noticed someone testing different paint colors on the building’s exterior. I subsequently learned from two friendly people of the Star Theatre Company, which now occupies the old movie house, that a new paint job is coming both inside and outside, to make this historic Oceanside landmark even more amazing!

I also learned the Star Theatre, during the COVID-19 pandemic, is hosting an after school Acting Camp for youth with safety precautions, is offering professional audition taping and workshops, and will be offering live streamed performances. To read more check out their website here.

More about the building’s unique history can be read here, including: “The Star Theatre opened the 18th of August 1956 with the movie “Moby Dick” starring Gregory Peck…Designed by architect William Glenn Balch, the Star was from an era when neon was king and every city was building a drive-in or walk-in theater. The Star Theatre is the largest of Balch’s 17 theaters that were located in the state of California and the last one that is still open. The marquee boasted being the largest in San Diego County and has been noted for its spectacular animation. It is one of the few remaining examples from its era…”

In this difficult period of an extended coronavirus lockdown, the Star Theatre would really appreciate donations, to help keep their important mission moving forward. Please help them here.

Finally, if you’re wondering about the big, colorful mural on the side of the building in the following photograph, check out one of my old blog posts here!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!

Holiday decorations in Old Town State Park!

Late this afternoon, a little before sunset, I strolled around Old Town San Diego State Historic Park to enjoy their annual holiday decorations.

Even though all of the museums and many of the shops are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I noticed a few people walking about like me, poking their noses into scattered places that were open.

If a lockdown is mandated throughout California in the coming days or weeks, I’m sure Old Town will become a ghost town. Already there are no scheduled holiday events, such as the traditional Las Posadas procession. So if you’d like to see Old Town’s beautiful holiday decorations, now might be the best time to go!

I did notice during my late day walk that Fiesta de Reyes was open for dining, and I saw folks inside a few shops, including Cousin’s Candy Shop, Toby’s Candle and Soap Shop, and Miner’s Gems and Minerals. It appeared other shops might have closed a little earlier in the day.

As you can see in one photo, Old Town’s Cygnet Theatre is streaming two holiday radio plays this year: A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life. Learn how you can listen by visiting their website here!

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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!

You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!