Street Theater in San Diego, California

Street theater in San Diego has had many incarnations over the years. Some of which are not theater, nor take place in the street, nor in San Diego, but are also included here. The following is a small sample that I happened to have heard about, and was able to find a little information for.

Images

IMAGES is a teen theatre program sponsored by Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside Counties . It is created by and for adolescents and young adults. Each year, cast members, ages 16-19, collaboratively write and perform 8 to 12 scenes and monologues based on more than 100 hours of professional health and theatre training. The dynamic shows cover such topics as abstinence, birth control, male responsibility, sexual assault, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, teen pregnancy, and violent relationships. IMAGES began in 1981 as New Image Teen Theatre (NITT). They publish the training manual, "Behind the Scenes: tips, tools, and techniques for creating and managing an educational theatre company"

Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo

The Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo, BAW/TAF, was formed in 1984, as part of the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. It is a multi-national conduit that serves to address the issues we are confronted with while existing in a region where two countries and cultures meet. Sites for performances include the end of the border fence where Tijuana and San Diego meet at the Pacific Ocean, the tomb of Juan Soldado, and the Poblado Maclovio Rojas.

Channel Ø Theater Collective

Formed in 1985 in San Diego, California by local activists and a displaced member of the Living Theater . Their main performance was The Tower, an enactment of the causes and effects of nuclear proliferation, performed in the streets of San Diego. The following are soundscapes for the performance:

Tower A
Tower B

Ground Zero Players

The Ground Zero Players began as the theatrical arm of the Desert Waves Affinity Group in the late 1980's. They have performed direct action and anti-nuclear and progressive street theater at San Diego venues such as the BioTech Conference, and the Republican political conventions in San Diego, as well as the Nevada Nuclear Weapons Test Site, the Las Vegas Strip, and the Democratic convention in Los Angeles. In San Diego the Ground Zero Players have performed on Hiroshima Day 2002, organized a Cacerolazo for Bush's inauguration in 2005, and performed Butoh for the 2nd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. They invite interested performers to contact them.

InYourSpace

InYourSpace Projects, not-inc., is a bi-coastal organization dedicated to presenting art-based question-provoking activism in public spaces. Honor and Question was performed on September 11, 2002 to invite passers-by to honor the memory of the victims of September 11 and also to ask “how we can create a world in which the tragic events of last year will not be repeated?” A similar performance was performed at the Super Bowl.

People Acting Against War

People Acting Against War is a network of anti-war activists, organizers, and community members based in San Diego who mobilize for direct action to challenge the polices of war, advocate for peace by confronting root problems of inequality, hate, and domination, and organize for a non-hierarchal movement and society.
Die-ins:
"48 hours to Impeach Bush" (4/18/03)
A group calling themselves "Stop Profiting From Murder" staged a die in in front of qualcomm today to bring attention to Darryl Issa's proposed bill that states that the cellular network of Iraq must be the qualcomm network. The group feels that the people of Iraq need food, water and medicine, not cell phones. The group also holds that the Iraqi people should decide what companies they want to rebuild Iraq, not the US congress. (4/8/03) more info

To contribute more information about street theater in San Diego please contact me.

Arnie,1/05