Say good-bye to the New Village Arts' free summer Shakespeare Festival and hello to its "Summer Comedy Festival."
"The Shakespeare Festival got a little too big with all the other things that we do," explained Kristianne Kurner, the theater's executive artistic director. "But we still wanted to offer something different in the theater for all the tourists coming in and residents who love theater. You see theaters all over town doing comedy now. It's nice to spend a day on the beach and then come in where there's air-conditioning and enjoy laughing with your family."
As summertime lends itself so well to comedy, Kurner decided to produce two programs of comedy as well as a one-night concert by Billy Watson and the Silver String Submarine Band, which blends blues harmonica playing with comedy. The entertainment lineup will be almost continual Thursday through mid-August.
"So over the next three weeks, there will be only one night that we won't have something going on," she said.
And yet, in the New Village Arts tradition, the comedy has many layers. For instance, David Ives' "Time Flies," a series of six short plays that look at what we're doing with the time that's allotted us and what is true, is designed not only to make audiences laugh, but think as well. It's directed by Joshua Everett Johnson.
The second program is the combination of two one-acts -- Emily Reit's "Prom Night" and Ives' "Sure Thing."
"'Prom Night' was done by Cygnet Theatre as part of the Young Playwright's Festival and we were so impressed with it, we moved the production here except for one actor," she said. "The playwright, Emily Reit, will be here on Sunday. We then looked for a companion piece for it, and 'Sure Thing' ended up being a good fit, plus we could use the same two actors."
Ruff Yeager is directing "Prom Night" and Kurner was originally slated to helm "Sure Thing," before being offered a role in a Moxie Theatre production in San Diego. So that one-act will be directed by Mark Stephan, who directed New Village's very first production, "Brilliant Traces," back in 2001.
"Billy Watson is a local legend," said Kurner of the concert booked for Aug. 10. "He always performs in an outlandish way, standing on his head or in a long beard. He's so much fun."
And that last statement also sums up the theater's goal for the festival.
"It's going to be an enjoyable evening, whenever people come," she said. "Each show is funny to the extreme."
"Summer Comedy Festival"
- "Time Flies"
When: Previews, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; opens Saturday and runs through Aug. 16; showtimes, 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays
- "Prom Night" and "Sure Thing"
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Aug. 9, 11 and 12
- Billy Watson and the Silver String Submarine Band, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 10
Where: 2787 State St., Carlsbad;
Tickets: $20 for "Time Flies," $15 for "Prom Night/Sure Thing"; $15 for Billy Watson
Info: 760-433-3245
Web: NewVillageArts.org
