WOW Festival showcases women-led arts & talks

San Diego’s WOW Festival opens Thursday, April 23, turning the University of California San Diego campus into four days of immersive theater, dance, music and public art. (lajollaplayhouse.org) La Jolla Playhouse and the University of California San Diego are presenting the 2026 festival from April 23 through April 26 in venues spread across the La Jolla campus. The program lists more than 20 new works, with free events, RSVP-only events and paid ticketed shows. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) WOW stands for “Without Walls,” La Jolla Playhouse’s program for taking performance out of conventional theaters and into places like malls, bars, outdoor walkways and other everyday spaces. The Playhouse says the format is built around site-based and interactive work by local, national and international artists. (lajollaplayhouse.org) This year’s festival is the third straight WOW edition at the University of California San Diego campus, according to KPBS. La Jolla Playhouse says the broader WOW program has run since 2013 and is its signature platform for immersive and experimental performance. (kpbs.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) The lineup shows how wide that definition of performance has become. “Suzik,” by South Korean company FORCE, is a free Chinese-pole performance on Warren Mall, while “Karaoke Dreams,” by San Diego’s Blindspot Collective, puts audiences inside a neon-lit karaoke bar where songs drive the story. (kpbs.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) Other works push further into one-on-one and small-group experiences. “Night Watch” is staged inside a 9-foot cargo van and runs every 30 minutes, and “Handle with Care” is billed as a theater performance in a box with no actors or technicians. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) Most of the festival can be approached casually, with organizers posting suggested schedules, a map and an online planner for visitors who want to move between shows. Festival hours run from 5 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 9:40 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) The practical tradeoff is that a festival spread across a working university campus takes planning. KPBS reported that parking can be difficult, and La Jolla Playhouse directs visitors to transit, parking and accessibility guides before they arrive. (kpbs.org, lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) For San Diego audiences, the pitch is simple: show up on campus between April 23 and April 26 and art will be happening all around you, not behind a proscenium arch. The festival’s own shorthand is shorter still: theater, without walls. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org)