With another warm San Diego summer upon us, locals and foreigners alike flock to the Old Town Historic State Park to enjoy it’s many restaurants, shops and cultural attractions. Cygnet has been an integral part in bringing San Diegans back into the park but with all the extra people visiting, the parking situation can become a challenge. Avoid the circling and frustration by reading up on my top 5 Old Town Park Parking Secrets:

5) Hacienda Hotel. The Hacienda Hotel offers paid parking in their garage (just up Juan Street) for a minimal charge.

4) Theatre Parking Only. There is a small parking lot adjacent to the Old Town Theatre that is held for theatre patrons only starting two hours before the show. You can park there, but be aware that it does fill up fast.

3) Go To Dinner/Lunch Before The Show. If you arrive two hours before a show with dinner plans, feel free to use our small theatre lot; pick up your tickets, go to dinner and return for the show. This has proven successful for many patrons so far in my experience.

2) Trolley Station/Cal-Trans Lot. If the parking lot is full near the theatre, give up! Don’t keep circling and circling, you need to make alternative parking plans. There are two HUGE parking lots in the area which are each less than a 5 minute walk to the theatre. The Trolley Station lot is located at the north east corner of the park on Taylor Street and Pacific Coast Highway. Unless there is a baseball game downtown, there is usually plenty of space. This also offers a nice, short walk through the State Park to get to the theatre. The new Cal-Trans administration building is hiding an enormous 600 stall parking lot behind it. At the intersection of Juan Street and Taylor Street, this lot is available in the evenings and on weekends.

1) Why not skip the car all together? Public transportation is the best way to avoid the challenge of parking your car in Old Town. We have the advantage of having on of San Diego’s major Transit Center’s in our backyard! You can catch the Blue, Green and Orange Trolley lines from Old Town as well as the Coaster or the numerous bus-lines that stop there. Check www.sdcommute.com for more information about routes and schedules.

Welcome to the Cygnet Theatre’s Official Blog.  We’re always trying to find new ways to connect and engage with our audience and we’re hoping that this blog will become a fun and informative place to share behind-the-scenes looks at our productions, insights into the rehearsal and design process, musings from the artists and staff, announcements of upcoming events, and whatever else we think you may find interesting. The postings will also be made available through our pages on Facebook and MySpace.  If you haven’t already visited them, they are both great opportunities to get acquainted and become a fan.

Over the years, our Friday Night Forums have been so successful because of the interaction between our artists and our audience. These evenings have been fun and vigorous discussions about the productions, their themes, the performances etc. We are just expanding that conversation. Perhaps a thought or observation occurs to you days later or on the drive home after you have seen a production and you want to share it with the artists or your fellow audience members. Perhaps you’ll find the insight of another audience member on this blog that adds to or revises your interpretation of what you saw. It is our hope that you will find the discussion interesting and that it enhances your enjoyment of the productions you see on our stage.

You will have the opportunity to respond with your own comments, as well as read and respond to the comments of other Cygnet audience members. We encourage all kinds of feedback to our posts, but please refrain from the use of excessive profanity and inappropriate subject matter or personal attacks. We may remove comments with unsuitable content. Our wish is to initiate a conversation, one in which you have access to both the artistic decision-making process of the theater, and, to one another in your responses to the work.

So here is your first opportunity to make your creativity heard. We are still trying to decide on an official name for this blog. Give us your suggestions by posting them below and we’ll decide on one giving the person with the selected name two free tickets to an upcoming show!

This is new for us and are are excited about seeing where this virtual conversation leads us. We’ll, no doubt, develop it as we go. We hope you join us frequently and stay in touch. Whether you’re a lurker, just reading what others say, or a full-on participant, we welcome you to Cygnet’s new adventure!