Celebration of San Diego Playwrights
January 7–9 | Moxie Theatre
Join us for three evenings celebrating the imagination, artistry, and distinctive voices of San Diego playwrights. The Celebration of San Diego Playwrights brings together original theatrical works, talented local artists, and audiences for an engaging festival of staged readings, post-performance talkbacks, and conversation.
Each evening features a different play, offering a range of theatrical experiences – from psychological suspense and provocative moral questions to cultural history and the powerful legacy of Mexican art. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience these works in development, hear from the artists behind them, and participate in conversations that explore the creative process and ideas at the heart of each play.
NIGHT ONE – January 7
Opening Ceremony at 6:30 PM 7:00 PM – Staged Reading with Talkback
DEVILS DISH
- Writer: Lisa Balderson
- Director: Phil Johnson
What if the one thing you long for most could become the thing that destroys you?
When a grieving widow discovers Inferno, an exclusive restaurant run by a disturbingly charming man named Lou, she’s offered an extraordinary chance to reconnect with the husband she’s lost. But every indulgence comes at a terrifying price. As nostalgia turns into obsession and memories become a dangerous trap, she must decide how much of her future she’s willing to sacrifice to keep the past alive.
At Inferno, the first bite is free, but the rest could cost you everything.
NIGHT TWO – January 8
7:00 PM – Staged Reading with Talkback
DIEGO RIVERA HIS STORY
- Writers: Herbert Siguenza and Carlos Baron
- Director: Sam Woodhouse
- Performer: Herbert Siguenza
Veteran Chicano actor and playwright Herbert Siguenza performs this personal and compelling one-man show exploring the legacy and influence of legendary Mexican artist Diego Rivera.
Set in the aftermath of the funeral of his iconic wife, Frida Kahlo, Rivera returns to his studio, grappling with grief, confusion, and his own mortality. In his solitude, he is visited by Cantinflas, a charismatic embodiment of Mexican consciousness and the common man.
Through an engaging blend of visuals and music, Rivera recounts his remarkable journey through art, history, politics, and his complicated relationships with influential figures and art sponsors, including Nelson Rockefeller. The play explores Rivera’s extraordinary life, his groundbreaking murals, the international movement that brought art and politics together, and his relationships with remarkable women, including Frida Kahlo.
A tribute to one of Mexico’s most influential visual artists of the 20th century, Diego Rivera His Story brings the artist’s world to life through the performance of acclaimed actor and playwright Herbert Siguenza of the celebrated Chicano performance group Culture Clash.
NIGHT THREE – January 9
5:30 PM – Playwrights/Dramaturg Panel 7:00 PM – Staged Reading with Talkback Post-Performance Party to Follow
AT ROPE’S END
- Writer: Matthew Salazar Thompson
- Director: Matthew Salazar Thompson
In a 1970s Boston dorm room, two brilliant but dangerously entitled undergraduate students, Brenda and Grace, murder a classmate as an intellectual experiment, concealing the body inside a designer storage chest in the center of their living room.
Convinced their intellectual superiority places them above morality, the two women host a chic dinner party with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres that same evening. Their guests include the victim’s boyfriend, his best friend, and their former philosophy professor, whose teachings about power, ambition, and moral relativism they believe inspired their actions.
As the evening unfolds, secrets, deception, and psychological tension take center stage. Featuring a twist at the play’s conclusion, this provocative work pays direct homage to Patrick Hamilton’s original psychological thriller.
All performances and events take place at Moxie Theatre.