La Jolla Playhouse’s Free WOW Fest Brings Signature Interactive Art to Rady Shell

The La Jolla Playhouse joins with the San Diego Symphony, as the free WOW Festival opens Thursday at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. 

It’s the first time the festival, continuing through Sunday, will take place at the Shell, now in its third year.

The event – formally known as Without Walls – features dozens of performers, in theatre, dance, music, puppetry and more, with works by acclaimed local, national and international artists. Though most shows are free, reservations are recommended for select performances with limited capacity. 

Festival projects by local artists include Ryan Carter’s A Shared Space, from the San Diego Symphony; Choreo & Fly, from San Diego’s DISCO RIOT; Broadway veteran Sharon Wheatley’s Drive, from the Diversionary Theatre; Las Cuatro Milpas, from San Diego’s TuYo Theatre, and salty water, from San Diego’s Blindspot Collective.

Both TuYo and Blindspot Collective are WOW Fest veterans, the former for On Her Shoulders We Stand, and Blindspot for Black Séance and Hall Pass).

Christopher Ashley, the playhouse’s artistic director, called the festival an opportunity to “celebrate our community’s adventurous spirit and rich cultural offerings.”

Launching alongside the WOW Festival will be La Lucha, a world premiere by award-winning designer David Israel Reynoso and his theatrical company Optika Moderna, also a fest vet. 

Presented in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the piece – inspired by professional Mexican wrestlers who use masks while performing high-flying maneuvers – will run at MCASD Downtown in the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Building, 1100 Kettner Blvd. 

Other productions are coming from near and far, including Birdmen from the Netherlands’ Close-Act Theatre Company; Circular Dimensions, from Palm Springs artist Christopher Cichocki; The End, from Denver’s Control Group Productions, and The NEST, from St. Paul-based artist Megan Flød Johnson.

Limited-capacity projects include 360, The Cell Plays, Brassroots District: Live in the Lot Summer ’73, Drive, The End, Fair Trade and various workshops. Check online to reserve seats.

The Playhouse’s WOW series began in 2011, with leaders commissioning some works and booking others with the goal of presenting immersive, site-inspired and virtual productions. The event has included eight stand-alone productions, five Festivals and 14 digital WOW pieces.