The boards trod, the time traveled

San DIEGO’S thriving theater scene is more than a hometown thing. La Jolla Playhouse and the Old Globe Theatre, both Tony Award winners for best regional theater, and more recently San Diego Repertory have launched world premieres and revivals that have migrated east for Broadway and off-Broadway runs -- among them “The Who’s Tommy,” “The Full Monty,” “Big River,” “Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues” and “Into the Woods.”

Lamb’s Players and Sledgehammer are two of several other San Diego theaters that have earned respect for eclectic offerings.

Photographer Ken Jacques, who has watched San Diego’s theatrical renaissance develop since 1982, has recorded some of that history in his new book, “The Play’s the Thing: A Photographic Odyssey Through Theatre in San Diego,” from Sunbelt Publications.

“I’ve shot over 1,200 plays,” Jacques says. “When I first started, it was kind of the rebirth of theater here.” Now, he says, “San Diego theater is much larger than people realize, and we contribute so much more to New York.”

As much “visual journey” as historical retrospective, the 200 or so color and black-and-white photos in the book are accompanied by anecdotes and comments from artistic directors, designers, actors, directors and playwrights.

Jacques, who had been working in archeological photography, discovered a passion for theater when a friend asked him to take photos of a play she was doing.

“We did a run-through and some setups,” he says, “and I didn’t sleep until the next night. I was higher than a kite.

“I love watching the actors when they’re taking control of their roles and that emotion is coming at you full force. I just love to be a part of that and capture those moments.”

“It’s been interesting to watch Ken grow as the theater community has grown,” says Robert Smyth, artistic director of Lamb’s Players, whose production of “Hamlet” provided the book’s arresting opening image.

“I think his background in wildlife photography gives him [the ability] to capture energy in a still moment, which is what the essence of the theater is,” Smyth says.

Excerpts

“Where else is theater like this going to happen?... We claim a territorial imperative that is ours by right from 65 years of continuity, that rivals anyone’s in the world.” -- Jack O’Brien, artistic director, Old Globe Theatre

“We have made a difference to San Diego audiences by giving them an opportunity to experience great works before they move on to New York and beyond and having them get to know major theatre artists who now see the Playhouse as their ‘creative sandbox.’ ” -- Des McAnuff, artistic director, La Jolla Playhouse