Kristianne Kurner Directs One Last Show on State Street, and It Plays Through the Village's Busiest Fall
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
"I'm thrilled to return to the Forest of Arden for my final show as a director with New Village Arts," Kristianne Kurner said in a statement ahead of this fall's production of As You Like It, as reported by Carlsbad Current.
The key words there are "as a director." Kurner founded New Village Arts in 2001. Its 25th anniversary season, which runs from August 2026 through July 2027, is her last as Executive Artistic Director. Her goodbye covers the whole season, and she will stay with the company through June 2027. Of the five shows that season, As You Like It is the only one she directs. She is also designing its scenery. The show runs October 16 through November 29, 2026, at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center, 2787 State St.
So if you want to see a show that is Kurner's work from start to finish, these six weeks are the time. They also happen to overlap every major Village event between Halloween and the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
As You Like It has history with this company. Kurner told the San Diego Union-Tribune it was New Village Arts' very first Shakespeare in the Park production, staged in 2001 at Carlsbad's Stagecoach Park. The company did it again in 2010 at Vista's Moonlight Amphitheatre.
It was not the company's first production, though. According to Kurner's own history in the NVA magazine, the company officially launched in April 2001. Its first public performance was "Four Play," an evening of play readings at the Carlsbad Cultural Arts Center that September. Its first full production was "Brilliant Traces," staged in a converted chicken coop at the Granary in Magee Park. Five years in the Jazzercise corporate studio came next. Then the company won approval to use the old Bauer Lumber building on State Street and opened there in June 2007 with Sam Shepard's "True West."
That lumber warehouse is the building you walk past today. The City of Carlsbad owns it. In January 2023 it reopened after a six-month, $2.5 million renovation as the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center. The name honors the local playwright and arts philanthropist. "We didn't name this building in Dea's honor because of money donated," Kurner told the Union-Tribune. "We did this because we thought 'Who is the most deserving person in San Diego theater to have a name on the building?'"
This fall's version moves Shakespeare's story to Southern California. The court becomes image-conscious Hollywood, and the Forest of Arden is modeled on Joshua Tree. The cast plays piano, guitar, ukulele, cello, cajón, drums and bass live onstage. Johnisa Breault plays Rosalind. The musical adaptation is by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery, with music and lyrics by Tony winner Taub. Angela Parrish is music director and Nikki Antoine is choreographer.
Some announcements have called this Kurner's "final NVA production." The company's own leadership page is more precise. As You Like It is her last directing project. Her last season as producer ends with In the Heights. "What better for my last production at New Village Arts than to take us to this fantastic celebration of community?" she said of that finale.
That means the rest of the season is still a farewell, just a different kind:
The company says Kurner has directed more than 40 productions and produced more than 130 plays and musicals. She says she plans to go back to New York, where she earned her graduate degree at the Actors Studio Drama School. The company puts that move in the fall of 2027.
On its usual schedule, the show has matinees at 2:00 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Evening shows are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Opening night is Saturday, October 24, with a champagne reception and Handel's Ice Cream. Line those times up against the Village calendar and almost every big fall weekend lands inside the run.
| Date | In the Village | At New Village Arts |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 17 | Pumpkin Plunge, 5–8 p.m., Alga Norte Aquatic Center | Second day of previews |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Opening night | |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Halloween in the Village, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Día de los Muertos, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Leo Carrillo Ranch | Usual 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. shows |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Carlsbad Village Street Faire, 8 a.m.–4 p.m. | Usual 2:00 p.m. matinee |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Woman's Club Holiday Market, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.; Native American Heritage Festival, 1–4 p.m. | Usual 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. shows |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Next to last day of the run |
Halloween is the busiest of those days. Trick-or-treating runs throughout the Village, and carnival games are at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Carlsbad, 3115 Roosevelt St. The costume contest is at Village Faire Shopping Center, 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, from noon to 1 p.m. On the same morning, the city's free Día de los Muertos celebration takes place at Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park, 6200 Flying Leo Carrillo Lane. The 2:00 p.m. matinee starts while the Village festivities are still going, so the 7:30 p.m. show is the easier one to pair with the daytime events.
The Street Faire on Sunday, November 1, needs a little more planning than usual. Kennedy Faires lists more than 750 vendors and free shuttles. The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce says the city's free bike valet is not available in 2026. The faire closes at 4 p.m., two hours after the matinee starts. Plan on a crowded State Street that afternoon.
Small Business Saturday on November 28 is moving to the Village Faire Shopping Center courtyard at 300 Carlsbad Village Drive, with more details still to come. The show closes the next day.
If an evening out in the Village was already on your list, it may be too late. Taste of Carlsbad Village on Thursday, October 8, sold out in 33 minutes, according to the Carlsbad Village Association.
Kurner told the Union-Tribune that around year 15 she "started to dream of being able to get New Village to a place where it could survive and thrive without me." Several of the programs she started or grew show what she meant.
The Mainstage Players program serves neurodiverse teens and young adults. Mindful Theatre offers creative classes for seniors and for people living with Alzheimer's or dementia. The Dea Hurston Fellowship creates opportunities for women, BIPOC and other underrepresented theater artists and students. The Mainstage Players are part of the As You Like It production. Under the same roof, the White Family Next Stage hosts smaller events like comedy, opera, spoken word and salsa.
Families with an older parent nearby may want to know about Mindful Theatre. It is one of the few programs at a professional theater in the Village designed for people living with memory loss and the people who care for them.
No successor has been named. The board of directors has formed a search committee. Kurner will help with the search and train whoever is chosen. "The 25th Anniversary Season will be a celebration of everything New Village Arts has accomplished under her leadership and the strong foundation she leaves for the future," said Milena Sellers-Phillips, who chairs the board.
Craddock Stropes, the City of Carlsbad's Cultural Arts Manager, called her work "absolutely transformative for the organization, the city and the arts community across the region." The new leader will start out in the same 100-seat theater where Kurner staged "The Ferryman" in 2023, the play's first U.S. production outside Broadway.
Tickets for As You Like It are on sale through New Village Arts. The last performance is Sunday, November 29.
Big changes go best with time to plan and people who care, at a theater or at home. If your family is thinking about what comes after a long chapter in a Carlsbad home, the Chintz Team can help you sort through the options patiently and in confidence. Request a free home valuation and senior transition consultation whenever the timing feels right.
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