NNPN in San Diego: TuYo Theatre & Diversionary
NNPN’s national impact is made possible by the extraordinary Member Theaters bringing bold, adventurous new work to communities across the country. Throughout this campaign, we’ll be spotlighting Member Theaters from our hub cities to celebrate the incredible diversity of theaters, audiences, and stories that make up our network.
Through June 30, 2026, all gifts will be matched up to $20,000 thanks to the generosity of NNPN founder David Goldman and Carol Dweck - extending the reach of every contribution in support of new plays and the theaters that champion them.
This week, we’re excited to feature two San Diego-based Members: TuYo Theatre (Core) & Diversionary Theatre (Associate).
Tell us a little about your theater and your role in the local arts community.
TuYo: TuYo Theatre produces theatre in the San Diego area that tells stories from and by Latinx perspectives. We produce stories that reflect authentic Latinx experiences, as well as uplift upcoming theatre artists by our many different programs.
Diversionary: Diversionary Theatre is the third-oldest LGBTQ+ theatre in the country and a home for bold, queer storytelling. As Artistic Director, I steward that legacy while pushing it forward by championing new work, building long-term artist relationships, and ensuring our stage reflects our community's urgency and complexity. In San Diego, we’re both an artistic hub and a space of belonging.
What makes the theater scene in your city or region unique?
TuYo: San Diego has a great diversity in its population, and it's reflected in the wide breadth of theatre companies of our region. Additionally, being so close to the US-Mexico border, we have the opportunity to create relationships between artists across the border as well as Mexican cultural institutions.
Diversionary: San Diego is deeply collaborative, with a rare blend of major institutions and agile, artist-driven companies. Our proximity to the border and our diversity of voices create work that feels immediate, expansive, and distinctly our own.
How does your theater contribute to the development of new plays or playwrights in your area?
TuYo: TuYo almost always produces new work, and often that work is based on the local history of our hometown, San Diego. By producing stories focused on the community, history, and places that are significant for the town, we are able to create a very specific representation, uplifting the Latine community and San Diego, and honoring its history and the people who contributed to it.
Diversionary: New work is central to our mission. Through commissions, workshops, and rolling world premieres, we invest in process, not just product, supporting playwrights over time and giving their work the rigor and resources it needs to fully land.
How has being part of NNPN influenced your theater’s work or approach to new play development?
TuYo: We've been able to expand our collaboration outside of San Diego, showcasing our Artists and finding new stories to bring to our town and expand collective stories.
Diversionary: NNPN has strengthened our commitment to collaboration over competition. It’s expanded how we think about a play’s life, encouraging shared investment, multiple productions, and deeper support for artists.
What role do regional partnerships play in sustaining new work and supporting artists?
TuYo: It allows theaters to expand and look for new work and artists, and find new voices or stories that link to our community that we might not have been exposed to.
Diversionary: They’re essential. Partnerships extend the life of a play, expand audiences, and give artists momentum beyond a single production.
What is one NNPN-supported project, production, or collaboration that best represents your theater’s impact in your region?
TuYo: Our forthcoming collaboration project with Urbanite to develop a new immersive play celebrating and critiquing our 250th US anniversary, Flag Day.
Diversionary: Full Contact by Ariel Estrada. As a Rolling World Premiere, it exemplifies how we support bold, form-breaking work while ensuring it has a life beyond our stage by connecting with audiences across communities.
How does being part of a national network like NNPN strengthen the work happening locally?
TuYo: It allows the regions' work to be more diverse and open to the conversation happening around the country, artistically and politically. It exposes folks to different artistic styles and themes that they might not find locally.
Diversionary: It connects our artists to a national ecosystem by amplifying their work, increasing opportunity, and ensuring San Diego voices are part of a larger conversation.
Have you collaborated with other theaters or artists in your region through NNPN? If so, what has that experience been like?
TuYo: In 2025, we produced our first Rolling World Premiere with "The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latine/Latinx Vote." It was an amazing opportunity to create new partnerships where we can uplift each other's companies as well as the artists' voices.
Diversionary: Yes and those collaborations are deeply generative. There’s a built-in trust that allows us to take bigger risks and support artists more holistically across institutions.
If you could share one message about your theater and your region’s creative community with NNPN supporters and donors, what would it be?
TuYo: San Diego is a champion for new plays. Theatres here are always looking for new and innovative work to bring to the area. Additionally, it's been a place where a lot of new immersive works are happening, pushing the boundaries of what new work can look like.
Diversionary: When you invest here, you’re investing in artists telling vital stories that don’t just live in one place-they grow, travel, and endure.
NNPN Member Theaters in San Diego:
TuYo Theatre (Core)
Diversionary Theatre (Core)
MOXIE Theatre (Associate)