Cygnet Theatre Company in
San Diego, CA
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
was founded in 2003 by Bill Schmidt and Sean Murray. The theatre's name is a reference to the
Swan Theatre, a prominent competitor to
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
. One of San Diego's major theatre companies is the
Old Globe Theatre
The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...
.
History
Cygnet's first season included
Hedwig and the Angry Inch,
Bed and Sofa
''Bed and Sofa'' (russian: Третья Мещанская) is the English name of a 1927 Soviet silent film originally released in the Soviet Union as ''Tretya meshchanskaya'', and is sometimes referred to as ''The Third Meschanskaya''. In add ...
, and
Fully Committed. Highlights in the first eight seasons include ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Little Foxes, The Invention of Love, Yellowman, Copenhagen, Fences, A Little Night Music, The History Boys, Noises Off, Sweeney Todd, The Norman Conquests, Cabaret'', and the World Premiere of Stephen Metcalfe's ''Tragedy of the Commons''.
Cygnet presents at the Old Town Theatre in
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the City of San Diego and includes many historic buildings ...
. Its programs include:
*''Mainstage''. Cygnet presents six mainstage productions each season in the 248-seat Old Town Theatre. Cygnet has made its mark by producing top-quality theatre, including 19 city, regional, Southern CA, West Coast and World premieres in its first eight seasons, while garnering over 90 awards for theatre excellence.
*''Storytelling on the Green'', Cygnet’s educational outreach program presents outdoor daytime historical theatre to school groups, tourists and other Old Town State Park visitors. At various times of year, the repertory includes abridged versions of ''Hamlet, Macbeth, A Christmas Carol, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' and ''A Midsummer Night’s Dream''. The actors arrive at the Old Town lawn pulling a simple wagon platform, which carries the props, scenery and costumes, and also serves as the stage. In keeping with the American Period theme (1840-1872) of the Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the actors perform in the Delsarte style. The program serves over 9,000 children and adults each year.
*''Playwrights in Process'' is a New Play Development program, designed to explore and develop new works. Cygnet’s mainstage production of Stephen Metcalfe’s ''Tragedy of the Commons'' was the first play to come through this program.
*Cygnet Theatre collaborates with San Diego State University to provide opportunities each year for specially selected SDSU graduate students to design sets, lights and costumes for Cygnet Theatre under the mentorship of Artistic Director Sean Murray.
Awards and recognition
Cygnet was awarded the
American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...
's National Theatre Company Grant in 2016.
[{{Cite news, url=http://www.americantheatre.org/2016/10/04/american-theatre-wing-announces-2016-national-theatre-company-grants/, title=American Theatre Wing Announces 2016 National Theatre Company Grants, date=2016-10-04, work=AMERICAN THEATRE, access-date=2017-11-29, language=en-US]
References
External links
Cygnet Theatre Company website
Theatre companies in San Diego