La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls (WOW) Festival Returns to UC San Diego

Two works created by UC San Diego alumni are also showcased. In “Tale Travelers,” audiences encounter legendary characters as they explore classic literature, having mysteriously fallen from their stories (with alum Shellina Hefner, Theatre and Dance). And “when my body talks” focuses on first-time queer experiences, deconstructing moments of discovery, secrecy, celebration and love through movement, monologue and music (with alum Danniel Ureña, Theatre and Dance).

La Jolla Playhouse has a longstanding partnership with the university. Together with the Department of Theatre and Dance in the School of Arts and Humanities, a unique environment has been fostered for experimentation and advancement in theatre training and production. The WOW Festival represents one of hundreds of theatre, visual art, music and creative writing programs and events at UC San Diego, all part of ArtsConnect—a pathway designed to make it easy to study, create and experience the arts at the university.

Admission to the WOW Festival is free. The majority of productions do not have a fee to attend, with a handful of ticketed performances ranging from $12 to $37. Following, we highlight three performances by UC San Diego faculty and students that are designed to spark interaction and inspire reflection about issues impacting our world.

Immersive installation inspires reflection on the state of our planet

“No one wants to believe the garden is dying, that its heart has swollen in the heat of this sun, that its mind drains slowly of its lush memories.” The words of Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad, written six decades ago, evoke a deteriorating garden, a loss of lushness. Her poem, “I Pity the Garden,” inspired an immersive music and art installation by Professor of Music and Associate Director of the Qualcomm Institute Shahrokh Yadegari and Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Memo Akten.

Visitors to the installation will be surrounded by 32 channels of sound as they sit encircled by three large screens, enveloped by the mesmerizing abstract simulations and the hauntingly beautiful vocals of Iranian singer Azam Ali. The music is derived from an album Yadegari produced nearly two decades ago— “Green Memories,” inspired by Farrokhzad’s poetry—which has been significantly edited and remixed into a multi-channel version made specifically for the new surround sound space.

The music is complemented by three video simulation works from Akten’s portfolio, which have been edited to align with the music and narrative, coming together harmoniously while maintaining distinct identities. As a visual artist, Akten uses code, data and artificial intelligence to explore the nature of the universe, connections between humans and technology and ecological collapse. 

The experience lasts 20 minutes, with each performance beginning on the hour and half hour in the Immersive Media Lab (Room 1613) at the Qualcomm Institute’s Atkinson Hall. UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute, which is dedicated to jumpstarting innovation through technology, is hosting a number of festival events in its spaces, including "The Society of Historic Sonic Happenings," "Artists Everywhere," "Bring Back the Happening" and "How to Put on a Sock."

A theatrical exploration of when online wellness tips turn toxic

Social media provides answers to seemingly every wellness question a person may have, but when does it go too far? UC San Diego Theatre and Dance undergraduate students will attempt to answer this question in their site-specific play, set at Tim Hawkinson’s “Bear,” one of the Stuart Collection’s commissioned sculptures located in the Qualcomm Institute Courtyard.

Student directors Lula Britos and Claire McNerney enrolled in “Advanced Studies in Performance” in fall 2023, colloquially known as the “WOW Class” because students learn how to devise original work for outdoor and experiential spaces. The class led them to create performances for the 2024 WOW Festival, including “Fallen Star(s)” and “Letters to Home.”

“It’s been a wonderful departure from traditional scripted theatre as we’ve been working on creating visually compelling moments in the play from elements other than text, such as movement, props and themes,” they shared.

This year they are building on what they learned in the course, this time for their honors thesis. Their 2025 WOW Festival performance is called “Goldilocks Screentime,” a play that examines how prevalent the Internet is in our daily lives and the impact of those who have grown up with the World Wide Web. Britos and McNerney explain that the amount of advice one can find online can be overwhelming, so much so that a search for wellness can lead in the opposite direction. 

Described as “a fun romp through the Internet world, featuring social media, fairytales and bears (oh my!),” numerous performances of the free outdoor play will happen April 26-27.

University ensembles and community percussionists converge in an interactive outdoor orchestra

Are you a percussionist? Do you have an object that can serve as a drum? If so, then you might be the perfect candidate to take part in a unique communal orchestra happening at the WOW Festival, presented in partnership with UC San Diego’s Artpower. The outdoor performance will take place at the Epstein Family Amphitheater, where drummers of all kinds will move throughout the space, interacting with audience members.

Grammy nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion is collaborating with UC San Diego Professor of Music Steven Schick and two Department of Music ensembles on the West Coast premiere of Douglas J. Cuomo’s “THE JUMP UP!” The piece was developed during the pandemic when it became impossible to make music in community. “Above everything else, this piece is really about the joy that we feel making music together,” shared Sandbox Percussion’s Ian Rosenbaum.

“Sandbox Percussion is one of the most dynamic and talented young ensembles in the world; their performances on major American and international stages have been nothing short of riveting,” said Schick. “Expect this performance to be a display of great percussion playing in a community context where the audience can enjoy a spring afternoon with rhythmic, dynamic and heartening percussion music.”

Those who are 12 years or older and have some percussion experience can sign up to join the ensemble, with a short rehearsal required immediately before the performance on April 26. They will play a structured improvisation alongside community musicians, including UC San Diego’s graduate percussion ensemble red fish blue fish, undergraduate percussion ensemble one fish two fish and the San Diego Youth Symphony. The hour-long performance is free to attend.

To learn more about the WOW Festival and access the entire four-day schedule, visit wowfestival.org.