Encinitas-based Moxie stages original holiday one-acts

North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
We held a countywide contest for a holiday play, said Jennifer
Thorn, marketing director for the Encinitas-baesd theater and a
producer of this production. …

Like many other local theater companies, Moxie Theatre decided to create an annual holiday presentation. But instead of a well-known theater piece, the edgy and still homeless Moxie decided to create something totally unique.

“We held a countywide contest for a holiday play,” said Jennifer Thorn, marketing director for the Encinitas-baesd theater and a producer of this production. “Our stipulations were that it be family oriented and non-faith-based. And we got a bunch of submissions.”

The four women who make up Moxie —- artistic director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, Jo Anne Glover, Liv Kellgren and Thorn —- decided on two one-act plays. The first is “A Claus for Alarm” by local playwrights Amy Chini and Tom Zohar. It’s directed by Katie Rodda.

“It shows Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve and she’s feeling lonely with Santa gone,” said Thorn. “She starts to wonder what she could have done if her life was different and the elves come in and cheer her up. It’s really hilarious —- very clever and witty.”

It also is a strong female role, which is part of the mission statement of Moxie, which believes in creating more diverse and honest female images for our culture.

“This builds on the Santa story that everyone knows,” she said. “Imagine what it’s like to live your life building up to one day a year.”

The second show is “Mrs. Frank’s Third Grade Class Presents,” written by Thorn and directed by Erika Malone. The cast from “A Claus for Alarm” performs this one-act as well, this time in masks created by Thorn.

“It’s about what’s unique about each family’s holiday,” she said. “I grew up in a Rancho Penasquitos cul-de-sac where I had neighbors who were Korean, Filipino and Russian. I grew up jealous of all their holiday traditions. And it struck me that people in San Diego may celebrate different holidays at this time of the year, but they’re all celebrating.

“So many of the shows we got were Christmas-focused, so we wanted something more balanced. This show builds on everyone’s traditions.”

The production is being staged at an Encinitas elementary school. While Moxie searches for a permanent home theater space, it has had to rent space from other theaters in San Diego to stage its first season of shows. The company is hoping to have a permanent theater space in the next year or two.

In the past, Moxie has presented mostly adult fare. But as many of the Moxie staff and board have kids, they felt adding something for the whole family would start a new theatrical tradition.

“Most of our staff and audience would have to drop their kids off to a sitter before coming to the theater,” she said. “We usually offer child care at one performance of every show. But this is something the whole family can come to together.”

To encourage that family unity, Moxie’s ticket prices have been lowered.

“So many holiday shows are expensive,” she said. “Who can afford $60 a ticket? We wanted to have something where people don’t have to spend a lot of money. We’re very excited about making the holidays part of our focus with Moxie’s first show for the whole family.”