Diversionary Theatre

Catering specifically to the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, Diversionary Theatre’s Teen-Versionary Online program is totally free; participants will create a theater production that will feature in the 2020 San Diego Virtual Pride Festival July 18–19. Rehearsals start on July 6 and go through the 17th, and are available from age 13 to recent high school grads. All rehearsals will be conducted over Zoom.

Intrepid Theatre Company

Two camps are available here—a Young Actors Camp for ages six to 15, and a Performance Camp for ages 12–17, both at $100 per week. Each camper gets a role in an adapted performance like Shakespeare’s Star Wars or Marvelous Magical Matilda, which will be edited into a movie compilation at the end of the week. All classes are held via Zoom. The next Young Actors Camp starts July 6 (one week), and the next Performance Camp July 13 (two weeks).

La Jolla Playhouse

Currently there are two programs offered: For $79, grades 6–8 and 9–12 can join the Young Performers Lab and “learn while doing” as they produce a new play every week. The lab’s first week opens July 6. The second program is an intensive playwriting class for ages 13–17 at $149. Running from July 20 to August 31, the class will teach the basics of writing characters, setting, plot, and dialogue for beginners. Both programs are conducted entirely online.

Oceanside Theatre Company

OTC is running six roughly concurrent classes as part of their Summer Theatre Arts Academy, where children ages eight to 17 can learn about stage makeup and cartooning via 60-minute Zoom classes at $20 per, with a discount if you buy all six. Unlike other programs highlighted here, these classes are recorded, so you can catch up on any you might have missed. The first classes began June 29 and the next ones start July 6.

The Old Globe’s Arts Engagement

The Old Globe’s Arts Engagement program is offering some slightly different options for summer classes compared to the other theater companies on this list. Two classes are available, both of them streamed via Facebook Live: The first is an opportunity to learn “how to write, develop, design, direct, and present your own Living Room–inspired short plays” starting July 2, while the second is the Creative Youth Studio, which focuses on high school students and starts August 8. Both classes are totally free and streamed once per week.

Palomar College Performing Arts

Palomar College is in the middle of its totally free Cybertheatre Exploratorium that started June 22, but drop-ins are welcome. On Mondays they do theater games and acting exploration, then Tuesdays and Wednesdays are dedicated to exploring and creating anti-racist theatre (these sessions request “sustained commitment,” so inquire directly for more information on joining). No age group is specified, and all sessions are held via Zoom.

San Diego Junior Theatre

The longest-running youth theater in the country is offering virtual camps and classes in musical theater and acting, with options for kids from pre-K to 12th grade. Prices range from $100 to $300 and registration is now open for all classes. The first begin July 6 and the last finish up by August 28; the camps and acting classes run for one week and the musical theatre goes for two. The camps specifically will have four different sections per day: acting, voice, dancing, and a theater specialty. The website warns that classes fill up quick, so act fast!

San Diego Musical Theatre

SDMT Academy has three unique programs for students age eight to adult: First is a dance program that includes jazz, tap, hip-hop, and ballet, with both in-person and online options available starting July 6. Second is a series of four master classes on July 11 only, highlighting Wicked, Hamilton, Jersey Boys, and vocal performance taught by professionals in each subject. Finally, there is the unique option of making your own class, choosing your own topic, and receiving professional teaching for you and up to five friends. Prices are $80 for the dance classes and $40 for the master classes (no price listed for the build-your-own).

Trinity Theatre Company

Registration is still open for Trinity Theatre Company’s last three sessions of virtual summer camp; the next session begins July 13. There are two-week sessions available for kids under eight, kids eight to 12, and teens; and one-week sessions for adults. Camps will teach skills such as auditioning, or center on performing a play, like The Lion King, or the work of actor Uta Hagen. Each session is $250, with a discount for attending two or more.

Local Theater Camps

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Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company

The Dazzle and Tarrytown

Available to stream any time June 26–28 (this Friday through Sunday) | Tickets $20 per householdThe Dazzle is a quixotic, “almost true” story of two brothers (Francis Gercke and Tom Zohar) living in 1920s Harlem whose lives are suddenly turned upside down by an eccentric socialite (Jessica John). It was part of Backyard Renaissance’s regular season schedule, and the cast, crew, and director Rosina Reynolds soldiered on with it despite the lockdown, conducting production meetings and rehearsals over Zoom, and set design in solo shifts. They used a multi-camera setup to film a socially distanced performance reading, then edited it together into a cohesive production available to stream this weekend only.Plus, make it a double feature with a filmed production of their 2017 San Diego Critics Circle Best New Musical winner, Tarrytown. This modern interpretation of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow stars Bryan Banville, Kay Marian McNellen, and Tom Zohar, directed by Francis Gercke and Anthony Methvin. Gerke says, “We had very limited seating, so very few people got to see it. But those who did come, ended up coming back multiple times. We’ve had a lot of people tell us that they wish they had been able to see it. We couldn’t think of a more perfect show to remind people what artists can do, in the midst of some pretty incredible challenges.”

Trinity Theatre Company

Blackademics

Streaming live on June 27 (this Saturday), 7 p.m. | Tickets free (donations welcome)Trinity artists are holding live play readings via Zoom every other Saturday, and this week it’s Blackademics by Idris Goodwin, directed by Kandace Crystal. It’s a satire about two friends meeting for dinner at a trendy new restaurant to commiserate on their experiences as black women in academia, all while their meal service becomes increasingly surreal. Starring Emily Candia, Jaeonnie Davis-Crawford, and Ashley Graham.

North Coast Repertory Theatre

Human Error

Available to stream anytime through June 29 (this Monday) | Tickets $10This West Coast premiere by Eric Pfeffinger was originally planned to be fully staged in the regular season; instead, North Coast Rep has undertaken their first digital production using advanced Zoom editing technology. It’s a comedy about a liberal couple and a conservative couple who have to strike an unlikely friendship after a medical mixup forces them together. Artistic director David Ellenstein says that “audiences will be experiencing a professionally produced piece, and not simply a staged reading.” Directed by Jane Page, starring Allison Spratt Pearce, Terrell Donnell Sledge, Max Macke, Jacque Wilke, and Martin Kildare.

San Diego Repertory Theatre

Beachtown Live

Streaming live every Wednesday through July 29 at 7 p.m. (next show July 1) | Tickets freeThe fictional Southern California community of Beachtown is facing a pandemic, and you, a resident, are invited to attend a live Zoom meeting of the city’s Road to the Future Task Force as they debate when and how to begin opening back up for business. The “meetings” are free to join, and participation is welcome (but not mandatory). This immersive, interactive, one-of-a-kind experience has been running for a few weeks now, and every week is different, so citizens are encouraged to attend more than once. The project is the brainchild of SD Rep’s very funny playwright-in-residence, Herbert Siguenza, who plays a senator. Sandra Ruiz, Salomon Maya, Mondis Vakili, and Marci Anne Wuebben also star, as various chairpeople, medical experts, and lobbyists who all have their own agendas at work.

La Jolla Playhouse

Digital Without Walls Festival

Some programs available now, with more to come in July and August | Tickets range from free to $25The playhouse’s annual celebration of nontraditional and site-specific performance art is a natural fit for going digital, and they’re rolling out groundbreaking new work to experience in a variety of ways all summer long.Closing July 12 is Binge, by far the most intimate of all the play-enjoying methods on this list: a one-on-one performance “tailor-made to fit the life of each individual audience member,” where your very own artist companion prescribes which television shows to watch. For something a little less personal, check out Ancient, a video installation meditating on the beauty of the routine. If you need to stretch your legs, take a walk around your neighborhood while listening to Blindspot Collective’s Walks of Life, each episode of which imagines what drama might be unfolding inside the houses you pass by. Or, if you can’t get enough Herbert Siguenza, join him, Richard Montoya, and Ricardo Salinas (aka the nation’s premier Latino performance trio) for The Totally Fake Latino News with Culture Clash, ten-minute snippets of social satire; the first of six episodes is available now.

Diversionary Theatre

The Boy Who Danced on Air

Available to stream any time July 6–19 | Tickets $15–35 per householdDiversionary was in the middle of rehearsals for their regular-season production of Plot Points in Our Sexual Development when California’s stay-at-home order hit back in March, but rather than call the whole thing off, they filmed their last rehearsal and released it for home viewing for a limited time. It went over so well that for two weeks in July, they’re bringing back an archived recording of their 2016 Craig Noel Award–winning, world premiere musical The Boy Who Danced on Air. It tells the story of two young men caught up in the illicit Afghan trade of Bacha Bazi, in which poor boys are purchased by wealthy older men and forced to dress as women and dance at parties. The Union-Tribune hailed it as “solid, subtle, sad, and often inspiring work that’s smartly staged by director Tony Speciale with a first-rate cast.” Tickets are available on a sliding scale, with discounts for families who’ve been financially affected by the pandemic.

Troy Iwata and Sittichai Chaiyahat in The Boy Who Danced on Air, streaming soon from Diversionary Theatre

Simpatika

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