For the first time, San Diego Theatre Month has a human face for the major task of promoting local performing arts throughout March.
Award-winning playwright Christian St. Croix, named the inaugural artist ambassador, is personally taking on the mantle of the San Diego Performing Arts League (SDPAL), a nonprofit with the goal of providing affordable, accessible theater to locals.
Venues taking part in Theatre Month charge $15, $30 or $45 during March for entry to a range of traditional plays and musicals. In addition, there’s tickets to improv shows, dance concerts and musical acts too.
“I’m hoping to encourage San Diego audiences to, if they already love theater and (have) found themselves falling out of love with theater, to find it again. And then also encourage people who do not know theater that well, to take a chance on a new show … and see what’s out there and the different types of theater that San Diego can provide,” St. Croix said.
Find all the San Diego Theatre Month listings and get tickets at sandiegotheatremonth.com/events-list.
Raised in Sacramento, St. Croix had little to no exposure to theater growing up in a neighborhood of “worker bees.” The arts, to him and his community, were at most a weekend hobby.
A commission from Scripps Ranch Theatre changed that for him. The resulting play, Monsters of the American Cinemas, changed his life trajectory. The slice-of-life play set in Santee has garnered attention for its gritty depiction of a widowed gay Black man raising his late husband’s white son. They bond over classic American monster movies until the son’s involvement in a gay-bashing incident threatens to tear them apart.
An expanded version was performed at Diversionary Theatre, and other theaters across the county picked it up. In the next two months, it will show at Alley Rep Theatre in Boise, Idaho and Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y.
Other San Diego locales have inspired St. Croix, including for the ghost story Normal Heights, which played at the Fringe Fest and honors his favorite neighborhood.
While New York City and Los Angeles might have more established paths in theater, he likes that San Diego strives for uniqueness.
“They’re open to experimentation,” St. Croix said. “They’re always looking for the different slant or a different way to tell the story. And I always found that interesting about San Diego.”
In the announcement of his ambassadorial role, St. Croix said that every break in his playwriting career came from someone making space for him. Now, he wants to help make space for others.
“The goal is to contribute to the enrichment of the arts in San Diego,” he said.
He shared that many Theatre Month attendees are college students, searching for what interests them. Most have never heard of black box, experimental or interactive theater.
“Children aren’t being given the access to theater arts as often as they used to, as often as they should be,” St. Croix said. “Mostly, what they know about theater and theater arts is from Broadway. So they think everything’s Wicked, everything’s Rent, everything’s Sweeney Todd.”
Like movie theaters, live theater has to compete with streaming services. And many production companies have yet to fully recover from COVID-19.
“Even after all of these years, there are still some theaters struggling to stay afloat and struggling to keep their candles lit,” St. Croix said.
Each year, around 5,000 tickets are sold during Theatre Month, boosting attendance beyond the usual audience figures in February and April. SDPAL board president Jay Henslee shared that last year, one theater was planning to reduce its five-show season to four. But the influx of revenue and attendees during Theatre Month let it maintain its planned season.
Some aspects of Theatre Month are still trying to bounce back as well. Offerings have been slimmer, which Henslee attributed to fewer shows being performed in general.
The number of participating organizations has started to rebound. “We conduct outreach to every organization producing a show in March, and have been successful in growing the number of participating organizations,” Henslee said.
Most shows will be performed in March, but a few places are offering discounted pre-sale tickets. The Old Globe has discounted tickets to Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure in June and audiences can see The Spongebob Musical at The Joan that month as well.
For his part, St. Croix recommends Matt & Ben, a play at New Village Arts written by Mindy Kaling, the 30th anniversary tour of Riverdance and The Notebook musical brought here by Broadway San Diego. He also likes the premiere play Straddle at Diversionary Theatre and Measure for Measure.
Hence then, the article about meet christian st croix the first artist ambassador for san diego theatre month was published today ( ) and is available on Times of San Diego ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Meet Christian St. Croix – the first artist ambassador for San Diego Theatre Month )
Also on site :