News And Blogs

Critical Mass Performance Group has produced a range of critically acclaimed historical and experimental epics for Los Angeles audiences for over 30 years.

Setting the Stage for Historical Exploration

Boni B. Alvarez brings the mythical aswang of the Philippines to life in Bloodletting (onstage at the Kirk Douglas Theatre March 29 – April 8, 2018 as part of Block Party). Alvarez has described the aswang as a Filipino witch, but there are many different variations....

What’s an Aswang, Anyway?

Entering its 26th year, Playwrights’ Arena is the only theatre company that continues to exclusively produce and promote Los Angeles playwrights.

A Filipino American Los Angeles Story

The following letter is excerpted from Reflections, The Taper at Twenty, a publication produced by Center Theatre Group in recognition of the Mark Taper Forum’s 20th Anniversary. In this section, Spalding Gray reflects on his time developing Swimming to Cambodia through Taper, Too. Taper, Too launched in 1983 at the John Anson Ford Theatre in Hol...

Memories of the Taper Also

Costume designer Raquel Barreto had a unique opportunity to dive headfirst into the work of a playwright she loves when Center Theatre Group tapped her to design both Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (onstage January 27 – February 25, 2018) and Water by the Spoonful at the Mark Taper Forum (onstage January 31 – March 11,...

Costume Designer Raquel Barreto Talks All Things Elliot Trilogy

Before her internship at Center Theatre Group, Talin Abadian didn’t know careers in dramaturgy existed; now, she’s dramaturging a play on the refugee crisis at California State University, Northridge, where she is a graduate student in theatre. Before her internship, Jocelyn Lopez had never traveled on her own; inspired by a Center Theatre Grou...

How Do You Make An Arts Professional?

The cast members of Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (onstage at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through February 25, 2018) took time out from their performance schedule to discuss their inspiration, the wonder of playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes, and the joy of working with this company and crew....

The Cast of 'Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue' Opens Up

As a writer you write in isolation, but theatre is all about community, playwright Deborah Stein told a group of donors on November 30, 2017 at a special Artists and Educators Forum event at the home of Jody and David Lippman. She went on to explain the value of Center Theatre Group’s L.A. Writers’ Workshop, which creates a community for a grou...

Donors Go Inside the L.A. Writers' Workshop

When was the last time you talked to a playwright? How about someone at Center Theatre Group who wasn’t helping you out with a ticket? Playwrights, patrons, and theatre company come together in some configuration every night that we operate, yet we rarely have a chance to engage in meaningful dialogues with one another.

Triple Play Puts Playwrights, Patrons, and Theatres in Conversation

In March 2018, the Kirk Douglas Theatre opens its doors for the second year of our annual Block Party program, a celebration of Los Angeles theatre featuring three recent productions from local companies. Over the course of months, 50 staff members across seven departments ranging from the Box Office to Artistic Development to Education painstaking...

The Block Party is Back at the Douglas

The cast members of Water by the Spoonful took a break from rehearsals to tell us what drew them to this play and these roles, their experiences in Los Angeles theatre, and where they’re finding inspiration.

The 'Water by the Spoonful' Cast Spills