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<\/a>Who wants to tackle a Nicole Kidman role? (Publicity photo)<\/p>\nGrief is freezing. And frozen things get brittle. A husband and wife navigate the loss of a child in David Lindsay-Abaire\u2019s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Trinity\u2019s space is intimate, which should add to the intensity. Sure, they made it into a movie<\/a>, and movies are famously bigger than life, but plays can get up close and personal without close-ups. You\u2019re in the room.<\/p>\n Where: Trinity Theatre Company, 1640 Camino Del Rio North, Suite 129, San Diego<\/p>\n When: Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm, Sundays at 2 pm<\/p>\n Cost: $30<\/p>\n More info<\/a><\/p>\n Artist talk: Atiba Jefferson<\/p>\n Canon Ambassador and sports photographer* (and documentary director<\/a>) Atiba Jefferson<\/a> sits down with Dr. Neftalie Williams for a career retrospective that will also offer insight into the future of skateboarding, media industries, entrepreneurship and opportunities for meaningful social change. In short, influencing. Dr. Williams will also sign copies of his new book<\/a> on skateboard culture.<\/p>\n *Plus a lot of other things<\/a>.<\/p>\n Where: 011 Storm Hall West, San Diego State University campus, San Diego<\/p>\n When: Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 6:30 pm<\/p>\n Cost: Free, but RSVP required<\/p>\n More info<\/a><\/p>\n Gospel choir concert<\/p>\n Dag nab it, your humble correspondent can\u2019t remember which comedian offered up his favorite line about gospel music: \u201cYou walk by a church and you hear it and it\u2019s so good you wish it weren\u2019t bullpucky.\u201d Or words to that effect. Of course, a lot of folks who sing gospel music think it isn\u2019t bullpucky, which may just be part of what makes it so good. Here\u2019s a chance to hear some of that good stuff<\/a> for free without getting up on Sunday morning, courtesy of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Choir of San Diego. Reception to follow!<\/p>\n Where: First United Methodist Church of San Diego, 2111 Camino Del Rio South, San Diego<\/p>\n When: Saturday, February 21, 2026, from 4 pm to 6 pm<\/p>\n Cost: Free<\/p>\n More info<\/a><\/p>\n Tortured Hearts Ball<\/p>\n Sometimes, you just have to hand it over to the promo copy: \u201cYou\u2019re invited to this celebration of the bizarre and exotic, our ode to the bitter and the lonely, the bound and the broken, at a fantasy masquerade almost too bold for San Diego. Expect two DJ dance spaces, a ballroom dance hall, specialty vendors, a karaoke salon, a hidden speakeasy, side quests, a gaming den, a performance room, and more! Be engrossed in our demented world inspired by your most beautiful nightmares. Costumes are mandatory and necessary for entry. Casual attire is not allowed and entry will be denied into the Dark Realm.\u201d Honey, are we still in Hotel Circle?<\/p>\n Where: Handlery Hotel, 950 Hotel Circle North, San Diego<\/p>\n When: Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 8 pm<\/p>\n Cost: $65.87 \u2013 $161.90<\/p>\n More info<\/a><\/p>\n Roustabouts Theatre\u2019s Celebration of New Writers<\/p>\n Novels may get written by solitary souls wrestling with The Muse, and screenplays may get noted into oblivion by money-minded studio execs, but plays? Plays get workshopped. I attended a recent local production (at one of our bigger theaters) where I got to talking to the show\u2019s casting director and learned that the actors had received 43 pages of new material just one week previous. That\u2019s an extreme case, but theaters work with playwrights all the time to shape new works<\/a>. Here\u2019s your chance to be part of that process. We\u2019re sensing a theme for this year\u2019s presentation and discussion of short plays from local writers. Check out this list of titles: The Devil\u2019s Dish, Lasagna, Bananas, The Burger and the Duck, and Snailed. Checks out! Co-directed by co-directed by Matt Thompson and Carla Navarro.<\/p>\n Where: Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego, and Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3598 Talbot Street, San Diego<\/p>\n When: Monday and Tuesday, February 23 and 24, at 7:30 pm<\/p>\n Cost: $22<\/p>\n More info<\/a><\/p>\n A visit from the creator of Craft in America<\/p>\n Anybody else come away from watching all those AI commercials for AI engines making AI products during the Big Game feeling just a little bit of unease? Amazing stuff gets made, sure, but who\u2019s making it? You don\u2019t have to be a Luddite to feel just a twinge of longing for getting your hands on some raw materials and, you know, making stuff. Carol Sauvion\u2019s Craft in America<\/a> won a Peabody Award; there are worse places to start when looking for a sense of what\u2019s possible. And worse ways to get into the right headspace for the show than to go spend some time in the presence of Sauvion herself. Now that we\u2019re all instantly connected everywhere, maybe what\u2019s special about actually being there will become more clear.<\/p>\n Where: SDSU Student Union Theatre, Aztec Circle Drive, San Diego<\/p>\n When: Tuesday, February 24, 2026, 6:30 to 7:30 pm<\/p>\n Cost: Free<\/p>\n More info<\/a><\/p>\n Birding basics<\/p>\n Speaking of actually being there: it\u2019s easy to pull up pictures of every bird in existence on your smartphone. And thanks to the aforementioned AI bonanza, it\u2019s even easy to pull up pictures of birds not yet in existence. But here\u2019s something you learn after a while: effort gives value, just like scarcity. How much more precious is an actual sighting of a godwit or bushtit<\/a>? Start on the road to finding out and join MTRP Trail Guide and experienced birder Winona Sollock for an educational bird identification class. Learn how to use a field guide, plus five simple techniques to identify birds at a glance. Seating is limited to the first 15 people, but if it\u2019s full, don\u2019t despair. The class is held every month.<\/p>\n Where: Mission Trails Regional Park, One Father Junipero Serra Trail, San Diego<\/p>\n When: Saturday, February 28, 2026, from 1 pm to 2:30 pm<\/p>\n Cost: Free<\/p>\n<\/a>The Center for Skateboarding, Action Sports, and Social Change! (Book cover)<\/p>\n<\/a>Weeping may endure for a night\/ But joy comes in the morning (Photo courtesy of Getty Images\/kali9)<\/p>\n<\/a>Tortured hearts, not tortured heels (Event image)<\/p>\n<\/a>Not nearly enough balled-up pieces of paper. (Event image)<\/p>\n<\/a>Welcome to SDSU, Ms. Sauvion (Photo courtesy of Getty Images\/gregobagel)<\/p>\n<\/a>Birding: collecting without capturing (Photo courtesy of Getty Images\/andreswd)<\/p>\n