San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
THEATER NOTEBOOK
Moonlight to reopen for ‘Frightfest 2020’
While San Diego County’s indoor theaters will remain closed for the foreseeable future, Vista’s Moonlight Amphitheatre will reopen next month for a socially distanced weekend of spooky film screenings.
From Oct. 8 through 10, the gates will reopen to allow a maximum of 100 people, just 5 percent of the venue’s capacity, to attend evening films under the stars. Sponsored by Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, “Frightfest 2020” is allowable under state health standards for outdoor movie theaters. Audience members will be required to wear masks, have their temperature scanned upon entry, and sit in socially distanced groupings. Food and drink concessions will be sold onsite.
“We are so fortunate to have a beautiful, expansive, outdoor venue that allows us to provide safe outdoor movie experiences during this time,” Colleen Kollar Smith, Moonlight’s managing director, said in an email.
At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8, the 1982 Steven Spielberg thriller “Poltergeist” will be shown. The family-friendly 1993 Disney film “Hocus Pocus” will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, and the campy 1975 musical film for grownups “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” will have two screenings at 7 and 10 p.m. Oct. 10. Gates open an hour before each show. Tickets are $22 for one film, $40 for two and $54 for the entire weekend. Tickets are on sale at (760) 724-2110 and moonlightstage.com.
New Village Arts hosts Latinx series
Carlsbad’s New Village Arts is hosting a series of Latinx events through Oct. 15 as part of its Teatro Pueblo Nuevo bilingual and multicultural outreach initiative. The series kicked off Sept. 19 with an online drag show featuring three Latinx drag queens. The series continues Saturday with “A Night of Poetry, Music and Dance” featuring Melba Novoa and Diana Cervera. The series concludes Oct. 10 with a reading of “Nana’s Theatre Spectacular” by Patrice Amon and starring Catalina Maynard, Anyelid Meneses and Jacobo Birkbeck. Written specifically for Zoom, the play tells the story of Nana’s impromptu puppet show. All events are free, but donations are suggested to the theater’s Teatro Pubelo Nuevo scholarship fund.
For details, visit newvillagearts.org/tpn.
Author says play inspired by his life
Matthew Salazarthompson, whose 2017 play “Switching Tracks” will have an online reading with The Roustabouts Theatre Co. on Wednesday, said the two-character piece was inspired by past relationships in his life. Salazarthompson was a longtime presence in San Diego theaters as an actor, director and playwright and as a performer at Seaworld San Diego. But in the spring, he moved with his fiancée, Jesse Kinkaid, and their 3-year-old daughter, Sadie, to Los Gatos, where he now teaches at nearby San Jose State University.
To watch the online performance at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 30, and make a donation if possible, visit theroust abouts.ticketspice.com/ switchingtracks.
SRT, Oceanside to present filmed reading
Scripps Ranch Theatre and Oceanside Theatre Company will co-present a filmed reading of Ian August’s play “Donna Orbits the Moon” that will be available for streaming early next month. Directed by Kandace Crystal, the play is about Donna, a wife, mom and star baker who’s out of sorts, and nothing short of a trip through time and space will heal her soul. The reading will be filmed and edited by Ted Leib and available for $20 between noon Oct. 2 and Oct. 5. Visit scrippsranchtheatre.org.
Cygnet launches script-reading club
Rob Lutfy, associate artistic director of Cygnet Theatre, is launching a monthly script-reading club this fall. Members will receive invites to monthly script-readings and group conversations. For each play, members will receive a suggested cocktail pairing to make and enjoy at home with the show. The three plays Lutfy selected for the initial three-show series deal with the subjects of healing and transformation. All readings will be held on Zoom. The first reading at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 is Jackie Sibblies Drury’s “Fairview,” which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Club membership is $60. Enrollment deadline is Oct. 3. Visit cygnettheatre.com.
Old Globe joins election effort
The Old Globe will serve as an official Mail Ballot Drop-off location for the 2020 general election on Nov. 3. It’s one of 126 places in San Diego County where voters can drop off their ballots this fall. For election information, visit sdvote.com.