Renowned for his sharp wit and keen observations on the human condition, best-selling author and master of satire David Sedaris returns to ArtPower for his first appearance at the newly renovated Jacobs Music Center. Known for his acerbic humor, incisive social commentary, and wildly entertaining stories, Sedaris cuts through cultural euphemisms and political correctness with intelligence and wit. He will treat audiences to a mix of published favorites and new works-in-progress in an evening of unforgettable storytelling.
Category: Theater
Karaoke Dreams
Presented in collaboration with San Diego based award winning theater company Blindspot Collective, Karaoke Dreams is a feel good new musical where every character whether a regular, newcomer, or a wannabe rockstar—carries a secret, a song, and something to prove.
In this immersive production, as the drinks get stronger and the bass gets louder, past and present collide—revealing the heartbreaks, hookups, and hopes hiding behind the music. Featuring songs by Lady Gaga, Elton John, Rihanna, Queen, Madonna, Tracy Chapman, ABBA, Bad Bunny, and many more, this world premiere is a joyful celebration of connection, community, and the catharsis of singing your truth. Karaoke Dreams reminds us that sometimes, the right song really can change everything.
Blindspot Collective is an award-winning theater company based in San Diego whose productions won or been nominated for Best New Play, Best New Musical, and Best Solo Performance by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle. It is created and directed by Blake McCarty, whose work is “broadening the definition of theater” (New York Times), with musical direction by Lyndon Pugeda and choreography by Micah Parra.
Tickets for upcoming events:
Thur, July 24 at 7 pm
Fri, July 25 at 7 pm
Sat, July 26 at 7 pm
Sun, July 27 at 2 pm
Thur, July 31 at 7 pm
Fri, Aug. 1 at 7 pm
Sat, Aug. 2 at 7 pm
Sun, Aug. 3 at 2 pm
DCOM: Live!
Celebrate the iconic magic of Disney Channel Original Movies with DCOM: Live! Experience an immersive journey through music, dance, and nostalgia, featuring hits from High School Musical, Camp Rock, The Cheetah Girls, and Descendants, as well as The Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire, and SO many more! This high-energy concert features six Broadway-caliber performers and an electric live band that will have you up out of your seat, singing and dancing along to everything from Zenon to Zombies! DCOM: Live was developed as part of ArtPower’s Launchpad program.
Wicked Singalong: Film Screening
Get ready to experience the magic of Wicked like never before at the Epstein Family Amphitheater. Led by some of San Diego’s favorite performers, this special sing-along screening offers a uniquely interactive film experience complete with prop packs, a costume contest, and themed cocktails and snacks. Whether you’re dressed in Glinda’s sparkle or channeling Elphaba’s edge, all are welcome to sing along—the lyrics will be on screen to guide you. Presented as part of ArtPower’s Launchpad program, this event is a celebration of friendship, imagination, and the joy of singing together under the stars.
Meet Your Hosts
Brooke Henderson – Elphaba
Brooke Henderson is a San Diego native and excited to be joining the Wicked Sing Along,after her recent 54th Below debut! Some of her regional credits include; Little Eva in Beautiful, Little Red in Into the Woods,Sarah in Ragtime, Ti’Moune in Once on this Island (Moonlight Amphitheater), Ensemble u/s Gloria in Damn Yankees (Marriott Theater Lincolnshire), Lorraine in All Shook Up (San Diego Musical Theater), as well as her 5 years in How The Grinch Stole Christmas (The Old Globe). Her film credits include; Anchorman 2. She would like to thank the creative team for the opportunity as well as her Mom, Dad, Boyfriend and little brother for the support. @dccbrookie
Audrey Deubig – Glinda
Audrey is thrilled to be performing in her first sing along at the Epstein Family Amphitheater!
Regional credit: Grease (Frenchy), Waitress (Onstage Swing), Matilda (Ensemble) [Moonlight Stage Productions], The Rocky Horror Show (Janet) [Cygnet Theatre], The Winter Wonderettes (Suzy), Legally Blonde (Margot/Elle US) [San Diego Musical Theatre], Head Over Heels (Understudy/Swing) [Diversionary Theatre], West Side Story (Velma) [Teatro San Diego]. Memorable credits: Cabaret (Fraulein Kost), Steel Pier (Hannah), Postcard American Town (Betty) [SDSU]. A big thank you to Audrey’s friends and family supporting her in the audience and in life.
Instagram: @audreydeubig
Jake Bradfod – Fiyero and Emcee
Jake is so excited to produce and perform in this fun event for ArtPower! Jake is a proud graduate of UC San Diego, Class of 2021. He has performed at Moonlight Stage Productions, Cygnet Theatre, New Village Arts, the Welk Resort, Lamb’s Players Theatre, and others. He has also performed at schools and theme parks across Southern California. Go Tritons!
Call For Submissions: So Say We All
Calling all UC San Diego students, faculty, and staff. Share your story at the VAMP Storytelling Showcase.
So Say We All and ArtPower at UC San Diego invite students, faculty, and staff to send us their true, creative non-fiction stories and join us for the first ever UCSD VAMP Storytelling Showcase! Our inaugural theme, “The Unexpected Ally,” invites true tales about receiving salvation from surprising sources, being gobsmacked by enemies becoming heroes, discovering redemption in the darkest crevices, and however else our brave storytellers interpret the theme. All stories are 100% true and boldly told, so come discover some unexpected allies in your own community as they bare their soul for your titillation.
Deadline to submit: April 13 at 11 pm
Save the date
UCSD VAMP Storytelling Showcase: The Unexpected Ally
Thursday, May 15, 7–9 pm
The Loft
3151 Matthews Ln, La Jolla, CA, 92093
Free
DCOM: Live!
Celebrate the iconic magic of Disney Channel Original Movies with DCOM: Live! Experience an immersive journey through music, dance, and nostalgia, featuring hits from High School Musical, Camp Rock, The Cheetah Girls, and Descendants, as well as The Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire and SO many more! This high-energy tribute concert features six Broadway-caliber performers and an electric live band that will have you up out of your seat singing and dancing along to everything from Zenon to Zombies! CALLING ALL WILDCATS, it’s time to *Jump In* your time capsule and head to the Year 3000 with us, because tonight, DCOM stands for Disney Channel Original MUSIC!
DCOM: Live was developed in partnership with ArtPower at UC San Diego and we could not be more thrilled to be debuting this show here! Whether you’re a Disney kid or a Disney-kid-at-heart, this show has something for you, and we can’t wait to rock out with you all night!
Theater of War: Hector, Andromache, and the Death of Astyanax
Theater of War: Hector, Andromache, and the Death of Astyanax presents live, dramatic readings of selections from Homer’s Ilian, Book VI and scenes from The Trojan Women by Euripides—featuring acclaimed actors and a chorus of UC San Diego students and community members from a variety of backgrounds, whose lives have been impacted by war—to help frame powerful dialogue about the human cost of war, centered on the suffering of children and civilians.
Featuring performances by Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black, Dear Edward), David Denman (The Office, Mare of Easttown), Tate Donovan (Friends, The Holdovers), and April Grace (Magnolia, Star Trek: Picard). Translated, directed, facilitated by Bryan Doerries.
Ebisu Sign Language Theatre Presents Third Person
Ebisu Sign Language Theatre Presents THIRD PERSON
A piece in English, Hebrew, and Sign Language about the deaf, the hearing, and the in-betweens
A collaborative creation by the actors:
Shoval Ben-Ze’ev, Yaroslav Bernatsky, Lee Dan, Ella Okhotin, Nurit Shalom
+ Director Atay Citron + Dramaturge Lee Dan
Stage designer: Shay Id Alony
Costume designer: Helen Budniatsky
Lighting designer: Yair Vardi
Video: Yonathan Zur
Stage manager: Gal Belsitzman
Third Person, Ebisu Theatre’s third production, deals with the complex relations of deaf people with their sign language interpreters and with hearing people. Third Person opened in April 2023 in Jaffa and won enthusiastic public reception and outstanding reviews. It was selected for the prestigious program “International exposure” that shared a video documentation of the piece with hundreds of theatre artists and artistic directors around the world.
“The clear and precise humanity of the Ebisu ensemble conquers the heart, and we can’t help but fall in love with these people, identify deeply with the drama of their lives and be very moved […] From the point of view of the hearing spectators, there is the real excitement of visiting an almost foreign land, and the possibility of experiencing it through the eyes of the local residents. This is joined by physical theater techniques, which make it possible to create a carefully crafted theatrical space, where every movement, every gesture and every word spoken in sign language or in voice receives weight and meaning.”—Noah Sadeh, Theatre Critic, Habama online
“Watching your show was inspiring. [It is] very beautiful, incisive, and contemporary […] physical, verbal and non-verbal, narrative and image based, simple, and yet densely poetic. The performers are simply wonderful.”—David Bridel, Artistic Director, The Clown School, Los Angeles
“I was mesmerized with the nonstop gesturing. It was beautiful, emotional, and revealing. Revealing what deaf people go through day after day, so unnoticed by us that hear.”—Patricia O’Donovan, master puppeteer, Jerusalem
Ebisu Sign Language Theatre Laboratory began operating in 2014 as part of the “Grammar of the Body” research project at the University of Haifa. It performed its first two productions throughout Israel, in New York and in Reims, France. Since 2018 Ebisu Theatre has operated as an independent theatre company with four deaf and one hearing actors.
Ebisu Sign Language Theatre Presents Third Person
Ebisu Sign Language Theatre Presents THIRD PERSON
A piece in English, Hebrew, and Sign Language about the deaf, the hearing, and the in-betweens
A collaborative creation by the actors:
Shoval Ben-Ze’ev, Yaroslav Bernatsky, Lee Dan, Ella Okhotin, Nurit Shalom
+ Director Atay Citron + Dramaturge Lee Dan
Stage designer: Shay Id Alony
Costume designer: Helen Budniatsky
Lighting designer: Yair Vardi
Video: Yonathan Zur
Stage manager: Gal Belsitzman
Third Person, Ebisu Theatre’s third production, deals with the complex relations of deaf people with their sign language interpreters and with hearing people. Third Person opened in April 2023 in Jaffa and won enthusiastic public reception and outstanding reviews. It was selected for the prestigious program “International exposure” that shared a video documentation of the piece with hundreds of theatre artists and artistic directors around the world.
“The clear and precise humanity of the Ebisu ensemble conquers the heart, and we can’t help but fall in love with these people, identify deeply with the drama of their lives and be very moved […] From the point of view of the hearing spectators, there is the real excitement of visiting an almost foreign land, and the possibility of experiencing it through the eyes of the local residents. This is joined by physical theater techniques, which make it possible to create a carefully crafted theatrical space, where every movement, every gesture and every word spoken in sign language or in voice receives weight and meaning.”—Noah Sadeh, Theatre Critic, Habama online
“Watching your show was inspiring. [It is] very beautiful, incisive, and contemporary […] physical, verbal and non-verbal, narrative and image based, simple, and yet densely poetic. The performers are simply wonderful.”—David Bridel, Artistic Director, The Clown School, Los Angeles
“I was mesmerized with the nonstop gesturing. It was beautiful, emotional, and revealing. Revealing what deaf people go through day after day, so unnoticed by us that hear.”—Patricia O’Donovan, master puppeteer, Jerusalem
Ebisu Sign Language Theatre Laboratory began operating in 2014 as part of the “Grammar of the Body” research project at the University of Haifa. It performed its first two productions throughout Israel, in New York and in Reims, France. Since 2018 Ebisu Theatre has operated as an independent theatre company with four deaf and one hearing actors.
Two Destination Language: A Journey of a Home
Available March 20-28: Listen on your own time
Free
The piece takes audience members on an audio walk where hopes come up against the reality of experience on a trip into the unknown – don’t worry, we’re holding your hand!
With themes of identity, border crossing and migration at the heart of the work, the piece deals with the ‘long moment’ created through the act of travelling, in which hope meets reality, the place where we simultaneously look towards the future and back at what we have just left.
In gently questioning what home is, the piece reflects on all things that make our home- family, friends, environments and possessions- the physical things which support, reinforce and bound our identity.
The piece is based on an autobiographical experience of a girl’s first travel to the UK and her settlement into the new culture. It specifically follows her steps from Sofia airport (in Bulgaria) to taking the plane to London Heathrow and the experience of first encountering the new, the known, the exciting and the intimidating at the arrivals gate before continuing on.
The main narrative of the girl’s journey to the UK is fragmented by a second voice who questions and reminisces on ideas of travel and its availability, home, language, time and what it might feel to be one of the many at the long queue before passport control.