LMDA’s 40th Anniversary
San Diego/Tijuana
In-Person
Conference
June 26-28, 2025
Dramaturgy and Creative Infrastructure
Wish You Were Here? Join Us!
If you haven’t been to an LMDA Conference before, this would be a great time to see how your work can synergize with
the efforts of others. Each year, theater practitioners and artists from all disciplines gather with fellow
educators, scholars, librarians, and other creative partners to help shape the future of performing arts at this
collaborative conference. Our committee encourages presentations, panels, workshops, and performances from a wide
range of ages, backgrounds, cultures, identities, and abilities.
This will be LMDA’s first binational conference. We have created a conference experience that is
flexible. The opening ceremony and keynote conversations on Thursday will be video streamed to
connect both sides of the border at SDSU and CECUT. Friday, our main conference hub will be at CECUT in Tijuana and
Saturday, our main conference hub will be at The Old Globe in San Diego. But you could also elect not to cross
the SD/TJ border and still have a full and engaging experience. We have optional events at SDSU or CECUT and
additional suggestions for cultural experiences as well as performances for those who choose not to attend the
events at the main conference hub.
Danielle Ward
LMDA In-Person Conference Coordinator
conferencecoordinator@lmda.org
“Impressions of a Bad Churro Spy”
To Cross or Not to Cross?
A Dramaturgical Question
When we announced our 40th anniversary conference as a binational event that would take
place on both sides of the San Diego-Tijuana border, we knew the location would be resonant. Since then, political
developments in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have made crossing borders not only relevant but much more
fraught than we hoped.
Our Beautiful Border Region
Two Cities Intertwined
Our host cities, San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico, provide the
perfect site for this bi-national conference. These two cities share the busiest land border in the Western
Hemisphere, with over 150,000 pedestrians and passenger vehicles crossing daily. Tijuana has become one of
the most visited cities in the world, known for nightclubs, restaurants, beaches, and the famous Caesar
Salad. San Diego is known for its cultural heritage sites, richly diverse neighborhoods, and an abundance of
craft breweries. While there are barriers, both physical and governmental, this region is interconnected by
a shared cultural and environmental ecosystem. Did you know: 1 in 4 people in Tijuana speak English and half
of the San Diego population speaks Spanish?
The diversity of the area encompasses the Kumeyaay people and Chicanas/os whose lineage in the area goes back
six generations (or more) to communities who trace their origins to places all over the globe. Some of the
diverse communities in the San Diego area also include: the Filipino community numbering more than 200,000,
one of the largest populations of Iraqis outside of Iraq, the Sudanese community, and military service
members from multiple branches. This region understands how to build consensus and work across divides of
various kinds.
Host Sites
This year’s conference will be hosted by San Diego
State University, the oldest higher education system in San Diego which continues to
make a significant impact on the region; the Old Globe Theatre, a Tony-Award winning theatre in its ninetieth
year, located in historic Balboa Park which features eighteen museums as well as the San Diego Zoo; and Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT),
an essential part of artistic life in Tijuana, including presentations of work from 16 states of the Mexican
Republic and more than 19 countries around the world.
FAQ
Accessibility
LMDA strives to create fully accessible programming at all of our events and gatherings. If you have
accessibility needs that have not yet been addressed, please reach out to our Accessibility Coordinator at
accessibility@lmda.org so that we can ensure your needs are met
at the conference.
Conference Bars
Want to keep the conference fun going after the day’s sessions have ended? Join us at one of the conference
bars!
- In Tijuana, check out the lively atmosphere and enjoy connecting over a drink at Stock Bar at Hotel
Real Inn located in one of the conference hotels at Plaza de los Héroes 9902, Zona
Urbana Rio Tijuana, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico - In San Diego, folks can take in food, libations, and good conversation at Eureka!
SDSU at 5140 College Avenue Suite 111, San Diego, California 92115 (619)
220-2400 .
Meals
The only meal included with full conference registration is Saturday evening’s banquet at the Mingei Museum
in Balboa Park. However, there are plenty of places nearby to grab a bite to eat throughout the conference
on both sides of the border. Check out this resources page. (link or include info from
things to do)
If you purchased a regional lunch with your registration, volunteers will direct you where to go on Friday
afternoon at CECUT. If you didn’t pre-purchase a regional lunch in advance, you can do so at the Information
Desk for $15-20. (as supplies last)
Slack
LMDA has had great success using Slack as a communication platform for the membership and we are happy to
provide a Slack channel specifically for keeping in touch before, during and after your time at the 2025
conference.
We hope that Slack can be a useful tool for conference registrants to receive conference announcements as
well as communicate with one another about ancillary activities like carpooling/ridesharing, tourist
activities, photo sharing, and emergent events.
As a member benefit, you should have received information on joining our Slack channel in the welcome letter
you received when purchasing or renewing your membership. If you did not receive the letter or have
questions about our Slack community, you can contact Heather Helinsky, LMDA’s VP of Membership, at
membership@lmda.org.
Land Acknowledgements
SDSU: Kumeyaay Land Acknowledgement created by Mike Connolly
Miskwish
For millennia, the Kumeyaay people have been a part of this land. This land has
nourished, healed, protected and embraced them for many generations in a relationship of balance and harmony. As
members of the San Diego State community we acknowledge this legacy. We promote this balance and harmony. We find
inspiration from this land; the land of the Kumeyaay.
Old Globe
We are making theatre matter to more people on the ancestral home and unceded lands of
the Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai, a tribe of Indigenous peoples who live at the northern border of Baja
California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the United States. Their Kumeyaay language belongs to
the Yuman–Cochimí language family. The Kumeyaay have stewarded through generations the lands and waterways of what
is now known as San Diego.
Conference Sponsors
