WOW Festival in San Diego This Week

La Jolla Playhouse’s WOW Festival opens Thursday, April 23, and runs through Sunday, April 26, turning the University of California San Diego campus into a four-day hub for immersive and site-based performance. (lajollaplayhouse.org) The festival is presented by La Jolla Playhouse in partnership with the University of California San Diego and features more than 20 works by local, national and international artists. Organizers say most events are free, with a smaller group of ticketed shows priced from $10 to $29. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) WOW stands for Without Walls, the Playhouse’s long-running festival of theater, dance, music, puppetry and spectacle staged outside conventional theater buildings. The 2026 edition includes performances, installations and audience-participation pieces spread across campus venues in La Jolla. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) This year’s lineup includes Belgian company Ontroerend Goed’s “Handle with Care,” Blindspot Collective’s “Karaoke Dreams,” 404 Theater’s “DeepFake,” and “Choir! Choir! Choir!” presented by ArtPower at the University of California San Diego. The published program also lists installations including “LAMP,” “Light Lane” and “Sung Forests.” (lajollaplayhouse.org) The schedule starts Thursday with events such as “Night Watch” beginning at 4 p.m., “Out of Body Expo” at 5 p.m. on Warren Mall, and “Choir! Choir! Choir!” at 7 p.m. at Epstein Family Amphitheater. Festival planners break the weekend into day-by-day routes and note that some shows are drop-in while others need tickets or a free reservation. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) The Playhouse says the festival is built for roaming, with events grouped by day, time, festival area and audience type, including young-audience and family options. Its planning guide recommends buying paid tickets early and leaving about 10 minutes between ticketed events. (lajollaplayhouse.org) The 2026 festival continues a format the Playhouse has used to showcase work that does not fit neatly inside a proscenium stage, from pop-up pieces to one-person interactive shows. The organization’s press materials describe WOW as an annual festival of immersive and site-inspired work. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org) For San Diego audiences looking for a single event, WOW is not one show but a menu: four days, multiple campus zones, and a mix of free walk-up experiences and timed ticketed performances. The full schedule, maps and venue details are posted on the festival site. (lajollaplayhouse.org, lajollaplayhouse.org)