Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

Panelists Announced for "L.A. Playwrights: Writing for a Changing World"

Center Theatre Group — Tue, 19 May 2020 12:32:00 -0700

PANELISTS ANNOUNCED FOR “L.A. PLAYWRIGHTS: WRITING FOR A CHANGING WORLD” THURSDAY, MAY 21 AT 3 PM

Jeremy O. Harris Joins Local Playwrights Luis Alfaro, Bekah Brunstetter, Aleshea Harris, Molly Smith Metzler and Dominique Morisseau for Next L.A. Theatre Speaks Discussion

Center Theatre Group is announcing panelists for “L.A. Playwrights: Writing for a Changing World,” on Thursday, May 21 at 3 pm PT, including local writers Luis Alfaro, Bekah Brunstetter, Aleshea Harris, Molly Smith Metzler and Dominique Morisseau. They will be joined by one-time Los Angeles resident Jeremy O’ Harris whose Broadway debut “Slave Play” was recently announced as part of the upcoming season at the Mark Taper Forum. Part of the L.A. Theatre Speaks series meant to help theatre creators come together to share ideas, strategize and support each other in these unprecedented times, the conversation will be hosted by Center Theatre Group Managing Director/CEO Meghan Pressman and moderated by Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director/Literary Director Neel Keller.

The biweekly series will continue with “A Theatre Fundraising: Inspiring and Cultivating Support in a Time of Uncertainty” (June 4). Other upcoming discussions include “Artist and Company Resources: Navigating the Field of Artist Relief,” “L.A. Actors: Who is the Audience? Where is the Stage? What is the Part?” and “L.A. Designers: Finding Inspiration.” Schedule and panelists will be announced at a later date.

Presented as part of Center Theatre Group’s Art Goes On project, the L.A. Theatre Speaks series draws on artistic directors, actors, directors, playwrights, designers and administrators. All discussions will begin at 3 pm PT and include a question and answer session – audience members who wish to participate must register in advance at CTGLA.org/LATheatreSpeaks. The discussions will also be live-streamed and archived at Facebook.com/CTGLA. For more information, please visit CTGLA.org/LATheatreSpeaks.

Born out of the search for new ways to inspire conversation and build community around art — and what that can look like while stages are dark, the Art Goes On project gives audiences an opportunity to get to know members of the artistic community on a personal level. In addition to the L.A. Theatre Speaks series, the Art Goes On project includes the Artists Create series of videos produced in this time of social distancing by Center Theatre Group’s family of artists and Scenes from the Vault, a series of videos highlighting favorite moments from Center Theatre Group’s history across its three stages. Both series are available to view online at CTGLA.org/ArtGoesOn or at youtube.com/CTGLA with the hashtag #ScenesFromTheVault and #ArtGoesOn.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, which, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Ritchie, Managing Director Meghan Pressman and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, programs seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2100-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.

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May 19, 2020

Center Theatre Group Accepting Submissions for 2021 Sherwood Award

Center Theatre Group — Mon, 18 May 2020 14:33:00 -0700

CENTER THEATRE GROUP NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2021 DOROTHY AND RICHARD E. SHERWOOD AWARD

June 17 is the Deadline to Apply for $10,000 Award for Innovative L.A. Theatre Artists

Center Theatre Group is now accepting submissions for the 2021 Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood Award. The deadline to submit an application is June 17, 2020, at noon.

The Sherwood Award is an annual $10,000 prize that supports innovative and adventurous theatre artists and engages them in a professional relationship with Center Theatre Group. The award is presented to one theatre artist each year at the Ovation Awards ceremony produced by LA Stage Alliance. Two additional Sherwood finalists will also receive a $2,000 honorarium.

“Dorothy and Richard Sherwood understood that, while theatre is an ancient artform, the art of making theatre is in a perpetual state of evolution,” said Center Theatre Group Artistic Director, Michael Ritchie. “In this current moment, as we are unable to bring audiences together, it is more important than ever to seek out and engage with artists that are innovating and imagining the ways that theatre can continue to adapt and respond to an ever changing world.”

Center Theatre Group invites individual theatre artists to submit an application if they have resided in Los Angeles for at least two years and have developed or collaborated in at least two fully produced projects in Los Angeles. Sherwood awardees demonstrate leadership qualities, push existing boundaries and are dedicated to improving the future of their respective artistic fields. Artists are not limited by title, role or genre, but they must have a relationship to contemporary performance rooted in theatre.

Center Theatre Group will be hosting an Artist Statement Workshop via Zoom for interested applicants on Saturday, June 13 at 11am. Previous Sherwood recipient Miranda Wright, Center Theatre Group Line Producer for Artistic Projects Patricia Garza and Sherwood Fellow Brianna Saranchock will answer questions related to the application process and lead applicants through a series of exercises that will help them craft a captivating artist statement for the application and future endeavors. This session is recommended but not required. To RSVP please email Sherwood@CTGLA.org by Thursday June 11, 2020.

Created in memory of Richard E. Sherwood in 1996 and renamed in 2018 following the passing of his wife Dorothy, the $10,000 award aims to cultivate theatre artists working in Los Angeles who push formal and aesthetic boundaries and demonstrate dedication to improving their artistic fields. Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood were patrons of the arts with a special appreciation for artists who are in the vanguard of theatre. Richard served on the Center Theatre Group Board of Directors including as President and Chairman until his passing in 1993. The award is established as an endowed fund at Center Theatre Group by their family, friends, colleagues and fellow board members, to honor the family’s passionate commitment to theatre. Dorothy Sherwood was deeply involved in the curation and selection process, hosting salons at her home for many of the artists, traveling to theatres around Los Angeles to support new work and ensuring that the award would truly help recipients.

Past recipients of the Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood Award include performance maker Mat Diafos Sweeney, performance artist Kristina Wong, projection designer Hana S. Kim, lighting designer Pablo Santiago, Miwa Matreyek of Cloud Eye Control, Sean Cawelti of Rogue Artists Ensemble, Miranda Wright of Los Angeles Performance Practice, Lars Jan of Early Morning Opera, lighting designer Christopher Kuhl and costume designer Ann Closs-Farley, among others.

For more information about the Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood Award, please visit www.CenterTheatreGroup.org/Sherwood. For questions or concerns about the application process or to RSVP to the Artist Statement Workshop, please contact Sherwood@CTGLA.org.

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May 18, 2020

Announcing Theatre Skills @ Home

Center Theatre Group — Thu, 14 May 2020 12:00:00 -0700

CENTER THEATRE GROUP ANNOUNCES THEATRE SKILLS @ HOME ALLOWING THEATRELOVERS TO LEARN THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE FROM LOCAL EXPERTS.

Part of the Art Goes On Program, Theatre Skills @ Home Launches with Tutorials in Stage Fighting and Costume Design

Center Theatre Group is announcing the newest addition to the Art Goes On project with Theatre Skills @ Home, a new series that taps into the deep pool of local theatre artists to offer brief theatre tutorials. Directors, designers, artists, artisans and crew will give tips on how to inject a little stage magic into the home. The opening videos feature fight director Edgar Landa (“Homebody/Kabul,” “The Nether”) teaching the art of stage fighting and costume designer Ann Closs-Farley (“Zoot Suit,” “Women Laughing Alone With Salad”) creating a fairy costume out of odds and ends that can be found at home. Each week a new video will be posted at CTGLA.org/SkillsAtHome.

“My social media newsfeed is filled with colleagues and friends trying new things,” said Center Theatre Associate Artistic Director Lindsay Allbaugh. “They are giving themselves haircuts and trying new hair colors, baking sourdough bread (all the talk about starters!!), making soups, gardening and growing their own vegetables. And as a mom, my feed is also filled with parents looking for fun projects to do with their home-schooled children. So, as people seek to expand their horizons, who better to turn to than the theatremakers who have made a career of transforming bare stages into new worlds and letting us experiences lives we might have never lived.”

Born out of the search for new ways to inspire conversation and build community around art — and what that can look like while stages are dark, the Art Goes On project gives audiences an opportunity to get to know members of the artistic community on a personal level. In addition to the Theatre Skills at Home series, the Art Goes On project includes the Artists Create series of videos produced in this time of social distancing by Center Theatre Group’s family of artists, L.A. Theatre Speaks discussion series meant to help theatre creators come together to share ideas, strategize and support each other in these unprecedented times and Scenes from the Vault, a series of videos highlighting favorite moments from Center Theatre Group’s history across its three stages. These series are available to view online at CTGLA.org/ArtGoesOn or at youtube.com/CTGLA with the hashtag #ScenesFromTheVault and #ArtGoesOn.

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May 14, 2020

Panelists Announced for "L.A. Theatre Goes Digital: Creating Online"

Center Theatre Group — Tue, 05 May 2020 13:32:00 -0700

PANELISTS ANNOUNCED FOR
“L.A. THEATRE GOES DIGITAL: CREATING ONLINE”
PUBLIC DISCUSSION THIS THURSDAY, MAY 7 AT 3 PM

Part of the Art Goes On Project, the Second Talk in the L.A. Theatre Speaks Series Features Representatives from Local Theatres Including Deaf West Theatre, Fountain Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, IAMA Theatre Company and The Industry with Outside Innovators from Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Situation

Panelists have been announced for “L.A. Theatre Goes Digital: Creating Online,” this Thursday, May 7, at 3 pm PT. The second in Center Theatre Group’s bi-weekly discussion series L.A. Theatre Speaks, the talk will feature local artistic directors DJ Kurs (Deaf West Theatre), Stephen Sachs (Fountain Theatre) and Yuval Sharon (The Industry) as well as Katie Lowes (IAMA Theatre Company Co-Artistic Director) and Amy Levinson (Geffen Playhouse Associate Artistic Director). They will be joined by Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Nataki Garrett and Situation President and Founder Damian Bazadona to offer a national perspective. The discussion will be moderated by Center Theatre Group Managing Director Meghan Pressman and ASL-interpreted live by John Arce and Francine Stern.

There have been a surprising number of bright spots for theatre lovers these past few weeks, from star-studded digital celebrations and hilarious viral videos to live-streamed performances and new commissioned works from some of our favorite playwrights. Many theatre companies have created new initiatives and programs from scratch in what feels like days; some have seen existing online projects become vital to realizing their missions. How are Los Angeles theatres moving their work to the digital space, and where do we fit into the national and international landscape? Will any of these experiments change how we create once live theatre is up and running again? We’re excited to welcome local and industry innovators and leaders to our next L.A. Theatre Speaks discussion.

Meant to help theatre creators come together to share ideas, strategize and support each other in these unprecedented times, the series will continue with “L.A. Playwrights: Writing for a Changing World” (May 21) and “A Theatre Fundraising: Inspiring and Cultivating Support in a Time of Uncertainty” (June 4). Other discussions to be scheduled include “Artist and Company Resources: Navigating the Field of Artist Relief,” “L.A. Actors: Who is the Audience? Where is the Stage? What is the Part?” and “L.A. Designers: Finding Inspiration.” Panelists will be announced closer to each discussion.

All discussions will begin at 3 pm PT and include a question and answer session – audience members who wish to participate must register in advance at CTGLA.org/LATheatreSpeaks. The discussions will also be live-streamed and archived at Facebook.com/CTGLA. For more information, please visit CTGLA.org/LATheatreSpeaks.

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May 5, 2020

Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

Panelists Announced for "L.A. Playwrights: Writing for a Changing World"

PANELISTS ANNOUNCED FOR “L.A. PLAYWRIGHTS: WRITING FOR A CHANGING WORLD” THURSDAY, MAY 21 AT 3 PM

Jeremy O. Harris Joins Local Playwrights Luis Alfaro, Bekah Brunstetter, Aleshea Harris, Molly Smith Metzler and Dominique Morisseau for Next L.A. Theatre Speaks Discussion

Center Theatre Group Accepting Submissions for 2021 Sherwood Award

CENTER THEATRE GROUP NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2021 DOROTHY AND RICHARD E. SHERWOOD AWARD

June 17 is the Deadline to Apply for $10,000 Award for Innovative L.A. Theatre Artists

Announcing Theatre Skills @ Home

CENTER THEATRE GROUP ANNOUNCES THEATRE SKILLS @ HOME ALLOWING THEATRELOVERS TO LEARN THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE FROM LOCAL EXPERTS.

Part of the Art Goes On Program, Theatre Skills @ Home Launches with Tutorials in Stage Fighting and Costume Design

Panelists Announced for "L.A. Theatre Goes Digital: Creating Online"

PANELISTS ANNOUNCED FOR “L.A. THEATRE GOES DIGITAL: CREATING ONLINE” PUBLIC DISCUSSION THIS THURSDAY, MAY 7 AT 3 PM

PANELISTS ANNOUNCED FOR
“L.A. THEATRE GOES DIGITAL: CREATING ONLINE”
PUBLIC DISCUSSION THIS THURSDAY, MAY 7 AT 3 PM