What is WOW Fest?
Each year, lit by the La Jolla sun and backgrounded by an iconic San Diego locale, The La Jolla Playhouse hosts its Without Walls Festival. Being one of the premier regional theatres in the country, The La Jolla Playhouse brings powerhouse acts from across the country- and sometimes the world- to showcase their talents for the theater’s passionate audiences.
Where’s The WOW?
The Without Walls Festival, often abbreviated to ‘WOW Fest’, encourages artists to think outside the box of a traditional theatre space and to make art in unexpected places. This year the festival took place on the sprawling campus of UC San Diego; with a footprint of over 2,000 acres and hundreds of diversely designed buildings across its eight colleges, UCSD provided a vast array of immersive spaces for the festival and its attendees.
Shows took place in unconventional spaces across campus: the campus’ iconic Geisel Library, green spaces outdoors on campus, and in and around members of the campus’ impressive Stewart Collection- a network of visual art pieces displayed on the campus year round. The campus united all of the pieces, creating an exciting opportunity for viewers to explore both the festival and the university itself, assisted by maps and help stations staffed with La Jolla Playhouse staff.
What’s in the WOW?
WOW Fest also champions the presentation of unique performances, not necessarily limiting itself to the bounds of contemporary theater. Many of the shows are interactive and encourage audience members to step inside the narrative instead of simply watching from afar. Circuses, performance artists, solo shows, and long form walk through experiences are the stars of this weekend.
It’s rare to find an audience member confined to a chair at the WOW festival. Audiences are encouraged to play, dance, sing, and explore these works in tangible ways.
Highlights of the festival included a walkthrough tour of the Geisel Library which also toured audiences through classical story books- including those of Dr. Seuss, the Mr. Geisel the library is named for, a community percussion performance in the campus’ stunning new Epstein Family Amphitheater, a parade of giant puppets, and a theatrical casino meant to simulate realities of achieving the American Dream.
Who’s at the WOW?
Despite some minor rain delays on Friday- an unusual sight in sunny San Diego- both audience members and performers were in excellent spirits all weekend.
When asked about their experiences at the festival, audience members most commonly used words like “exciting” and “unique” to describe the event itself, and used words like “powerful”, “interesting”, and “fun” to describe the shows they had seen so far.
This playful sense of wonder was adopted by audience members of all ages; at the festival there were shows designed specifically for children, shows geared towards adult only audiences, and a large array of all ages content. The festival was populated by every type of group from multigenerational families, to UCSD students, to La Jolla Playhouse patrons.
Sounds Awesome! But, how do I WOW?
WOW Fest offered over twenty shows for audiences to choose from this year, and most of them did not require tickets to attend. Audiences are encouraged to make a festival plan based on the schedule of events; shows often run a few times a day in the same time slots as other shows, so some strategy is needed to ensure you get to see everything you’d like to see!
Knowing this, however, the La Jolla Playhouse does an excellent job of making the festival accessible and easy to understand. Members of the playhouse staff were posted at all major festival locations to answer questions, give directions, and provide general context for the works presented at the festival. Despite UCSD’s sprawling grounds, staff made the festival accessible and easy to manage for all guests.
Festival experiences could also be spotted by the presence of bright yellow and orange umbrellas utilized by the Playhouse to decorate campus for the festival. Hundreds of umbrellas hung from trees and arches all across campus, giving the festival an all over added sense of whimsy and delight.
Now You’re Ready to WOW!
All told, the festival was a fantastic representation of San Diego’s vibrant art scene and the priorities it places on experimentation, excitement, and innovation.
Next year’s WOW Festival is already scheduled for April 23-26, 2026, and will once again take place in partnership with UC San Diego. Further information regarding both past and future festivals can be found on The La Jolla Playhouse’s website.