In this month’s column about the different areas of Balboa Park, we will take a deeper look at the Casa del Prado and its adjacent Junior Theatre. Directly across from the Casa de Balboa on the Prado walkway, not surprisingly, Casa de Prado and its theater are historic reconstructions of buildings from the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. You can see it in the details in the Spanish Colonial art and architecture from the era of Spanish conquistadors.
On the Friday afternoon that Rich and I explored the Casa, theater crowds were gathering and waiting for the doors to open for the evening’s performance of “Mean Girls.” I did a double take when I read the smaller print on the bottom of the poster noting that the script had been written by Tina Fey. One of the ladies selling tickets to the play said, “Yep, that’s right. And ‘Mean Girls’ is one of this theater’s favorite productions. Always a good run.”
Turns out that the San Diego Junior Theatre is the oldest continuous-running youth theater program in the nation. Established in 1948, it boasts high-quality plays and productions throughout the entire year. Children ages three to 18 can also take classes in drama, voice, dance and theater production.
Casa del Prado houses a number of youth arts organizations, such as the San Diego Youth Ballet and Symphony, the Park & Recreation Dance Program, and the San Diego Botanical Garden Foundation and Library. It is a fun place to be on weekends if you like plants and flowers. Some of the most popular sales are the Orchid Show, the Rose Society, Plumeria Society and—believe it or not—the Carnivorous Plant Society.
On the weekend that Rich and I visited the Casa, we lucked out with watching people set up for the weekend’s show of carnivorous plants, namely the pitcher plant. Rows and rows of tables covered with the exotic flora were ready for the next day’s crowd perusing and purchasing the plants.
Up close, the pitcher plants have a nefarious appearance, the top leaves of the plant shaped like an evil smile. You can almost imagine an eerie laugh. In fact, those alien-looking leaves are a prey-trapping mechanism called pitfall traps. When the bugs are lured in by the sweet scent and taste of the nectar, they fall into the trap where they get drawn in deeper and deeper into a cavity filled with digestive liquid. The bug’s life is then forever forgotten.
After our close encounter with carnivorous plants, we needed a breather and explored more of the Casa. We walked up one of the elegant stairwells with wrought-iron railings to the second floor. There we found a couple of small, attractive metal benches; we sat down for a spell, watching the color and angle of sunlight make intriguing shapes and forms on the walls.
A family of crows that has made the palm trees surrounding the Casa one of their favorite hang-outs cawed out to each other. After watching the small murder of crows gather, we looked down from our perch on the second floor and saw a man walking around downstairs. He talked on his cellphone while watching a California Ground Squirrel sit and snack on a tidbit somebody had dropped or tossed to him.
Music was coming from the opposite corner of the Casa, so we ambled over there to take a peek into the room. A youth ballet class was taking place there. From there, we descended the stairwell to explore more of the rooms. We found the Senior Lounge in Room #105 where people can chat and have coffee with their peers.
The Poetic Legacy also meets in the Senior Lounge led by a man known simply as Christophver R. The monthly workshops focus on the work of famous and lesser-known poets. All are welcome to come and listen to, read and recite the month’s featured poet’s work. Stay to write a poem of your own and share it if you’d like.
As Rich and I made our way back to our car, a young man holding a violin case rushed up to us. “I’m late, but I can’t find the Junior Theatre. Can you tell me where it is?”
We felt good being able to show him the way. All because we’d just explored Casa del Prado. I’ll be coming back for at least one of these groups, such as the Poetic Legacy which meets on the last Friday of each month, from 3 to 5 p.m. and the Plumeria Society show in the Majorca Room on Sept. 7 and 8.
