LA JOLLA–La Jolla Playhouse announced its initial programming for its acclaimed biennial Without Walls (WOW) Festival, a four-day explosion of site-based and immersive performances, taking place October 17 to 20 at Arts District Liberty Station, in partnership with the NTC Foundation.
The 2019 WOW Festival line-up will feature three Playhouse-commissioned projects: Ikaros, by the internationally-renowned, New York-based Third Rail Projects (Then She Fell); Las Quinceañeras, by acclaimed local designer and Arts District Liberty Station resident artist David Israel Reynoso/Optika Moderna (2017 WOW Festival’s Waking La Llorona, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More); and Written in Stone, a series of five 10-minute, site-specific plays, produced by the Playhouse’s 2019 Resident Theatre Backyard Renaissance.
The WOW Festival will also include pieces by preeminent international companies: Boats by Australia’s Polyglot Theatre (2013 WOW Festival’s We Built This City); ¡Vuela!, by Mexico’s Inmigrantes Teatro (Playhouse’s Kikiricaja); Hidden Stories by France’s Begat Theatre; and Peregrinus, by Poland’s Teatr KTO; as well as works by acclaimed local artists, including Senior Prom, by the Arts District-based San Diego Dance Theater (2015 WOW Festival’s Dances With Walls) and Hall Pass, by Blindspot Collective. Additional projects, including many family-friendly offerings, will be announced at a later date. Tickets for WOW Festival performances, ranging from free to $35, will go on sale this summer. For more information, please visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org.
“This initial WOW Festival line-up showcases a myriad of extraordinary artists from around the globe who will offer audiences a series of intriguing and transformative experiences that place the audience right in the center of the action,” said Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. “And I couldn’t be happier that these experiences will all take place at Arts District Liberty Station – an iconic San Diego gathering place and an ideal location for this community-wide celebration of immersive and site-inspired work.”
The 2019 WOW Festival will be curated and produced by Playhouse Associate Producer Teresa Sapien. Similar to past festivals, this exciting event will serve as a cultural and artistic hub, centered around the Show Imaging Festival Stage, where patrons can gather to experience WOW performances, hear live music, engage in lively discussions about the work, and enjoy the many food and drink options on offer at Liberty Station.
“The Arts District is looking forward to hosting all these creative artists from around the world at our beautiful campus in Point Loma,” said Alan Ziter, Executive Director of the NTC Foundation. “Programs like La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival are what the community envisioned for the former Navy base’s new mission as a vibrant new San Diego center for arts, culture and creativity. We’re excited about our partnership with La Jolla Playhouse and for what the community will see at the Festival.”
Since its inception in 2011, Without Walls (WOW) has become one of San Diego’s most popular and acclaimed performance programs. This signature Playhouse initiative is designed to break the barriers of traditional theatre, offering immersive and site-inspired works that venture beyond the physical confines of the Playhouse facilities. Over the last nine years, the Playhouse has been commissioning and presenting a series of immersive and site-specific productions at locations throughout the San Diego community, including Susurrus (2011), The Car Plays: San Diego (2012), Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir (2012), Accomplice: San Diego (2013), El Henry (2014), The Grift at the Lafayette Hotel (2015), The Bitter Game (2016), What Happens Next (2018), as well as the 2013, 2015 and 2017 WOW Festivals.
The WOW Festival is made possible in part through the generous support of the Wallace Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the San Diego Commission for Arts & Culture, Show Imaging, the FACE Foundation and Delta Airlines.
