A Comedy That Can Make You Cry

Polly Frost stars in “How to Survive Your Adult Relationship with Your Family,” at the Camino Real Playhouse 8 p.m. Saturday.

Humorist Polly Frost believes that people who had perfectly happy childhoods can still develop less-than-happy relationships with their family during adulthood. She incorporated this hypothesis into her one-woman show, “How to Survive Your Adult Relationship with Your Family,” which comes to the Camino Real Playhouse in San Juan Capistrano 8 p.m. Saturday. In her show, Frost uses sincerity, as well as humor, to discuss how relationships between family members are altered once adulthood settles in. “My show is very funny and very heartfelt. It’s about the fact when you get to be an adult, your family can change in ways you’ve never predicted, through divorces, marriages and people changing,” Frost said. In the past few years, Frost noticed …

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Downtown Revamp Unlikely, Panel Says

San Juan planning commissioners question how the proposed makeover of the town's historic core can move forward if the city has no redevelopment money.

The Planning Commission questioned the need for a new master plan for downtown now that the city won’t have any redevelopment money to build out the vision. On Tuesday, in the first of two public hearings on the matter, planning commissioners noted the private sector would develop most of the projects – as it would with or without the plan – but cast doubt on the city's ability to construct several anchor projects. One of the larger features of the master plan is a parking garage known as the “park once” structure. It is planned for the corner of Del Obispo Street and Ortega Highway, which is scheduled for realignment when Caltrans reconfigures the Ortega Highway interchange with Interstate 5. The land is currently owned by the city and …

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Penny Arévalo

5:40 pm on Friday, January 27, 2012

Interesting results, guys. Thanks for participating in the poll!   more ›

Playhouse Founder Decries Downtown Redo

In an open letter, Camino Real Playhouse founder BJ Scott responds to plans to tear down the playhouse and replace it with a parking structure.

It was with great interest that I read the articles in the local media regarding the latest downtown master plan prepared at a cost of $500,000. I searched the pictures first and could not find a trace of the Camino Real Playhouse, the group I founded in 1989 and established a home for in San Juan Capistrano with the foresight and support of the City Council and other civic leaders in 1991. The fledgling group rallied volunteers to move literally tons of city-owned, discarded office equipment and other material, including, interestingly enough, boxes of the then-current Master Plan!  It was a sad surprise to see the only mention in the Master Plan of the Camino Real Playhouse was that it was to be torn down to be replaced by a parking …

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Loriann Witte CAC

10:48 am on Friday, December 30, 2011

Tell me anything I can do to help. Art & culture is what makes us people of peace. loriann.witte@gmail.com call on me anytime I will be there.   more ›

Parks Commission: City Hall at HTC Park May Kill ‘Mayberry’

A plan to revitalize downtown calls for a new City Hall at Historic Town Park in downtown.

Building a new City Hall on the the outskirts of Historic Town Center Park would destroy the small town's Mayberry feel, San Juan Capistrano's Parks and Recreation Chairwoman said Monday. Abandoning the one-story site at Paseo Adelanto and relocating city operations to a new structure on the eastern edge of the downtown park, on a gently sloped site where a small grove of trees exists today, is part of a grand plan to revitalize downtown. The draft Historic Town Center Master Plan, produced by consultants Studio One Eleven at a cost of $500,000, is being reviewed by the City Council's numerous advisory boards. The Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Commission was the latest to review it Monday. Unanimously, commissioners agreed the plan…

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SJCNative

11:50 am on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

It appears that you are finally getting it. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of taxpayer dollars wasted by our city .   more ›

Catch Final 'Hate Mail' Performances This Weekend

The final showings of Hate Mail are this weekend at the Camino Real Playhouse. Directed by Jessica Morrow of Dana Point, "Hate Mail is an epistolary play something like Love Letters, with two actors reading letters and other correspondence, but it's a little wilder and more hysterically funny," said Beverly Black of the Playhouse in a press release. Cast in the play are Nicol Maurer of Irvine and Brandon Delgado of Capistrano Beach. Delgado plays the part of Preston, a spoiled rich kid who meets his match in Dahlia, an angst-filled artist. Their worlds collide when Preston sends a complaint letter that gets Dahlia fired from her job. The play follows their increasingly crazed correspondence as they move from hate to love, and then right …

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'Taming of the Shrew' in Downtown San Juan Capistrano

Shakespeare’s classic, timeless and most popular comedy, Taming of the Shrew, is being put on by the Camino Real Playhouse in Historic Town Center in downtown San Juan Capistrano. The final performance is at 7 p.m. today, Sunday.

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Get Out

Get Out: To the Beach and Parks

The best of the weekend in and around San Juan Capistrano.

Highs are expected in the upper 70s this weekend, so get out and enjoy the sunshine. SALT CREEK BEACH CLEANUP Where/When: 33333 S. Pacific Coast Hwy., Dana Point; 9 a.m. to noon Saturday Why go: Help keep Salt Creek Beach beautiful.  Pricing: Free CASPERS CAMPFIRE PROGRAM Where/When: Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, 33401 Ortega Hwy, San Juan Capistrano; 8 p.m. Saturday Why go: Kids and parents can enjoy games, presentations about outdoor topics and share some quality time. Pricing: Program is free, $5 for parking THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Where/When: Historic Town Center Park, 31806 El Camino Real, San Juan Capistrano; 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Why go: This classic Shakespearean comedy closes this weekend.  Pricing: $15

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A Speedy, Theatrical Trip Back in Time

In honor of the town's 50th year of cityhood, a micro-play reenacts "Two Hundred Years in San Juan Capistrano in 20 Minutes." The historical drama even includes a whirlwind version of the Swallows Day Parade.

Zoomars Petting Zoo was a make-believe portal for time travel Saturday. With a stopwatch in hand, writer-director-narrator Gary McCarver led residents and visitors on a whirlwind theatrical journey that crammed 200 years of San Juan Capistrano history into 20 minutes. During the fast-paced play—performed in honor of the city's 50th anniversary of incorporation—the audience witnessed local actors zip through the Spanish mission era, the California rancho period and the Gold Rush before reaching present-day San Juan. “It even includes a small version of the Swallows' Day Parade," said Jim Leone, who played a Spanish soldier and Bouchard privateer. The play was acted out by people who “love San Juan and know San Juan,” explained McCarver, …

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Summer Camps for Kids in San Juan

School is almost out for summer, so consider registering for one of the numerous summer camps being offered in San Juan Capistrano.

With Memorial Day weekend over, corn and watermelon on farmers' market stands and sunshine in the forecast, the signs point toward summer. As the last day of school quickly approaches, it's time to reserve your kid a spot at a local summer camp: WHEN: Varies WHY GO: LEARN MORE: All participants must be pre-registered using a summer camp form. For more information call 949-234-1306. WHEN: 7:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m. June 20-Aug. 19 WHY GO: All children ages 5 to 14 are welcome. The camp includes daily excursions to places such as Disneyland and the Newport Lagoon, in addition to offering science, sewing and knitting lessons. There are also sports clubs and daily devotions. Weekly tuition is $200; discounts are available for siblings. LEARN MORE: …

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Photos: Concert for Japan

About 700 people turned out Sunday for a benefit concert in downtown San Juan Capistrano.

After intial worries that a low turnout might thwart attempts to raise money for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan, fundraiser organizers reported Monday morning that about 700 people attended their benefit concert—more than enough to break even. Ten percent of the proceeds will also go to the Camino Real Playhouse, a nonprofit that organized the event. The turn-out was "much smaller than we had hoped for, but those who were there enjoyed an incredible show, great food and a spectacular day in beautiful San Juan Capistrano," said playhouse president Tom Scott.

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