Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

The Shop celebrates a successful pilot year

Mon, 24 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0800

The Shop celebrates a successful pilot year

In its first year, Center Theatre Group’s The Shop initiative demonstrated how bringing the craft of theatre to local residents can make a positive impact in the community.

Having resided in the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights since 2005, CTG expanded its prop and costume workspace in 2013 to encompass the creative needs of the local community. By partnering with nearby libraries, arts organizations and community organizations, CTG, through its new program The Shop, shared the craft of theatre with the neighboring residents of Boyle Heights. From organizing a literary tour that brought renowned playwright Luis Alfaro to a local library, to offering workshops that range from costume design to stenciling, the CTG staff members who ran The Shop had much to say about their year of engagement. Program Manager of Community Partnerships Jesus A. Reyes and Director of Institutional Support Jean Kling are CTG staff members who were instrumental in the development of The Shop Project. Read more about their personal experiences working on the initiative.

Research provides evidence that live theatre is vital to student learning

Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0800

Research provides evidence that live theatre is vital to student learning

Should attending the theatre be as much a priority as improving math and reading scores in our schools? Do students emerge from the theatre more empathetic and tolerant of other peoples?

To address these questions, educational researchers conducted the first randomized study of its kind in collaboration with Theatre Squared in Arkansas. The study reaffirmed that students who see live theatre emerge with an enhanced capacity to not only understand plays but also tolerate other viewpoints and better read the emotions of others.

The study divided groups of students in grades 7-12 into two different sets of groups based on a lottery.

While the controlled groups would not see a live performance, the groups selected from the lottery would view either Hamlet or A Christmas Carol. After these performances, both sets of groups were tested through a number of novel methods that managed to quantify results outside the system of standardized testing. One such method, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, measured how much a student could comprehend the feelings of another.

"The version of RMET we employed was developed for use with adolescents and has 28 photographs cropped to show only people’s eyes. Subjects are asked to pick one of four words that best describes what the photographed person is thinking or feeling," said four project collaborators.

The RMET and other techniques showed students who attended live productions like A Christmas Carol or Hamlet increased their knowledge of plot and vocabulary, scored higher tolerance levels and were ultimately better able to comprehend the emotions of others in comparison to students who did not attend a performance.

Even though students may have already read A Christmas Carol or Hamlet or seen filmed versions before viewing the plays, the experiment also demonstrated that live theatre provides additional benefits for students.

"And adding controls for reading or watching films of these works did not substantially change the estimated effect of seeing the live performances. The intensity and immediacy of live performance appears to have conveyed this ability to recognize what other people are thinking and feeling in a way that watching a movie or reading a text could not."

By providing evidence that theatre-going is an educational resource that produces measurable benefits for students, the experiment reinforces that “not all learning occurs most effectively within the walls of a school building.” The walls of a theatre, too, can be a space of learning.

Encuentro 2014: One fellowship to rule them all

Wed, 12 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0800

Encuentro 2014: One fellowship to rule them all

Encuentro 2014, a Latina/o theatre festival held at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, brought together 19 theatre companies and more than 150 theatre artists to perform 17 plays in a month. In addition, The Los Angeles Theatre Center partnered with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to provide fellowships for emerging arts leaders to take part in Encuentro 2014. Sylvia Blush was one such fellow.

When I first heard about the Mellon Artistic Leaders Fellowship, I couldn’t help but think of a famous line from Lord of the Rings, ‘one ring to rule them all’. The comparison was not far off: this experience is EPIC!

I witnessed the Los Angeles Theatre Center successfully auction a glass of water for $2,000 at their 8th Annual Gala; I met Edward James Olmos (the granddaddy of everything Latino), Elisa Quintana (discovered Kepler), Sonia Nazario (Pulitzer Prize Author) and Magdalena Gomez (self-proclaimed sin vergüenza...look it up); I’ve watched eleven plays, met over 100 theatre artists from across the country, participated in new work devising sessions with ten incredible giving artists, including Rosalba Rolón (look her up); got a private tour of Placita Olvera, which included the history of painter David Alfaro Siquieros’ América Tropical; danced long and hard more times than my muscles care to count; took a panoramic view of Los Angeles from atop the 26th floor of City Hall after the council proclaimed October as Encuentro 2014 month! Can someone tell me if any of this is the norm? Better yet, don’t.

The work hours have been long, the tasks are never-ending and sometimes you have to put out a few fires. Yet, I’d do it again in a heartbeat because art is happening here. Families are bonding here. Life lessons are happening here in theatre with multi-generational Latino theatre artists. Even if it is the norm, I will need my own trilogy to encapsulate all the lessons I have learned and yet to learn.

Encuentro 2014: Gathering of Latina/o artists makes impact in LA

Tue, 11 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0800

Encuentro 2014: Gathering of Latina/o artists makes impact in LA

Whether the recollection of a violent murder expressed through spoken word or dance, a dialogue exchanged inan online recovery community, or a creative response to our nation’s understanding of the illegal “alien,” Encuentro 2014 celebrated Latina/o narratives and exposed audiences to their experiences through theatre.

Encuentro, a month-long Latina/o theatre festival that ran from October 12 - November 10, drew from a vast number of artists both within and outside the United States. With over 19 theatre companies, 150 artists from the U.S. and Puerto Rico and 19 works, the festival was the first of its kind.

The realization of a festival like Encuentro was ultimately due to figures like Jose Luis Valenzuela, founder and artistic director of the Latino Theater Company, and his efforts to create a Los Angeles theatre scene that better encompasses and reflects the diversity of its inhabitants.

"This city will define theatre for the 21st century because of its diversity," said Valenzuela.

The majority of Encuentro, with the exception of two performances, took place at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, which is operated by the Latino Theater Company. With a mission to be a “laboratory where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed; a place where the convergence of people, cultures and ideas contribute to the future,” the Los Angeles Theatre Center remains a location where a multifaceted range of peoples can ideally come together, perform and expose audiences to a vaster range of experiences. Such a goal is still a working effort for the Latina/o community.

“We are still somehow the invisible people. … In the entertainment mainstream, we do not exist,” said Valenzuela.

He hopes that Encuentro instigated a legacy of dynamic and creative Latina/o theatre.

"It's quite an exciting moment to begin building those bridges for future generations, said Kinan Valdez, one of the ten fellows chosen to work on Encuentro. "The demographics in the country are changing and audiences are changing. Part of this is to place Latino theatre into the larger context of American theatre."

Read reflections about this historic event from Encuentro Fellows:

Encuentro 2014: Reflecting upon a month of Latina/o theatre

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0800

Encuentro 2014: Reflecting upon a month of Latina/o theatre

Encuentro 2014, a Latina/o theatre festival held at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, brought together 19 theatre companies and more than 150 theatre artists to perform 19 plays in a month. Alexandra Meda, the executive producing director for Teatro Luna, is one such artist.

She said: “So What Are We Going To Do To Infiltrate The American Theatre,” and suddenly a potent and energy filled quiet fell over the 90+ artists that sat around in a circle around Evelina Fernandez. Questions of this magnitude have filled our heads for 30 days relentlessly.

I couldn’t help but want to stand up and shout. I wanted to say we are doing exactly the thing that will empower people all over the country to pick up the baton from the two generations that have been fighting for an expanded notion of who the American Theatre belongs to, the expansion of stories reflected, and a desire to keep the fire for equity and social justice lit in the hearts of artists everywhere.

This Encuentro has been life-changing. Presenting our productions has been in fact, the smallest (but hugely valuable) aspect of this endeavor. As artists, we have been tasked to present our work, view each other’s work, and make new work with artists we have never worked with before. This is how we are expected to encounter both audience, artists, and ourselves. And so yes, Evelina’s question has been sitting with me all month. What is my role in moving our Latina/o Theatre movement forward? Am I working towards a polycultural norm in the American Theatre? What will I inherit and take forward from the generations that came before me and what will I change and leave behind for those that come after?

All I know is that this festival is a symbol, a catalyst-- not an end-game. I encourage you to come and participate in this incredible moment in history that will launch many more moments of inspiration and hopefully social change.

About the Author: Alexandra is the Executive Producing Director for Teatro Luna- America’s only all-female all-women of color organization producing a full season of original work. She is a deviser, director, producer, and in general a really big bossy pants slash know-it-all. She is addicted to coffee, gossip, bad pop music, and currently lives on the road touring with Luna in what she calls - a #rebelwoman manner-- (which is a nice way of saying she almost never does laundry). She believes in the power of theatre as a tool for social change.

A Latina perspective: My encounters with Encuentro 2014

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0800

A Latina perspective: My encounters with Encuentro 2014

Encuentro 2014, a Latina/o theatre festival held at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, brought together 19 theatre companies and more than 150 theatre artists to perform 17 plays in a month. In addition, The Los Angeles Theatre Center partnered with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to provide fellowships for emerging arts leaders to take part in Encuentro 2014. Adriana Gaviria was one such fellow.

Today, I celebrate my grandmother’s birthday and remember her by placing a photograph of her on the beautiful Día de los Muertos altar inside the Los Angeles Theatre Center lobby created by one of the artists of Encuentro 2014.

This is just one of the many special moments I have experienced during the festival. Nineteen theatre companies and over 150 artists have converged at the Los Angeles Theatre Center to share their work and collaborate with each other. From the late-night lounges to the free panel discussions between shows, and from the post-show discussions to the shows themselves, each experience has left me invigorated. Even at this very moment, I am sitting in awe watching the many talented artists perform during open-mic at one of our late-night lounges. There has been no shortage of inspiration and creativity pulsing through the different spaces of this building throughout the last three weeks. The national theatre festival is now entering its final week, and I am already feeling nostalgic.

Not only have I been viscerally moved by the plays themselves and by the way the different companies incorporate different elements in telling their stories but also by the conversations that I have had with the theatre patrons, members of the community and other artists. Being challenged on a daily basis with my LATC Mellon Fellow duties and being a part of such a historic event has been such a unique opportunity that I find myself trying to soak in as much as I can. This creative space...this community that has been created during this festival, is something that I will miss.

Last week, at hearing the news of the loss of one of the company’s musicians back home, we gathered together in one of the theatres and formed a circle, holding hands with one another. We stood in silence, and after a few minutes, we sang a song celebrating the life that was lost, some of us having met each other only a week ago. But in that moment, as I looked around the room, we were there not only as collaborating artists but also as family, sharing the grief and supporting each other.

And for me, that’s what this festival is about and what I will take away with me. It’s about community and connecting with each other on a human level.

BIO

Adriana Gaviria, LATC Mellon Foundation Artistic Leader Fellow, is an actress of theatre, television and film with an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. She hopes to somehow blend both her artistic and business minds into a creative money-making slurpee. And most importantly, she had her first gordita ever at the Grand Central Market.

Remembering Phyllis Frelich at the Mark Taper Forum memorial service

Wed, 05 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0800

Remembering Phyllis Frelich at the Mark Taper Forum memorial service

Phyllis Frelich, who earned a Tony Award for her portrayal of Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God, has remained a landmark figure, especially within the deaf theatre community. On Monday, October 20, the Deaf West Theatre honored this legendary woman by hosting a memorial service at the Mark Taper Forum, the location where Children of a Lesser God was originally developed and had its world premiere.

The memorial featured numerous speakers from the original play and the deaf theatre community. These included playwright Mark Medoff, Frelich’s co-star, John Rubinstein, the artistic director of Deaf West Theatre, Ed Waterstreet, and a key figure in the creation of the National Theatre of the Deaf, Bernard Bragg.

Frelich passed in April from progressive supranuclear palsy at the age of 70. She was the oldest of nine deaf children born to deaf parents. While at Gallaudet University in Washington, Frelich studied library science but remained active in theatre. She later met her future husband, Robert Steinberg, at the National Theatre of the Deaf where he worked as a scenic and lighting designer. This relationship, between a deaf woman and a hearing man, inspired Medoff to write the Tony Award-winning play, Children of a Lesser God.

“I was the first deaf person he had known," Frelich told The Associated Press in 1988. "I told him there were no roles for deaf actresses. He said, 'OK, I'll write a play for you.' He did. He went home and wrote Children of a Lesser God. He wanted to write a good play. He was interested in me as an actress and he wasn't trying to write a message play."

“She was so animated and vivid, she made me immediately want to be able to converse with her,” Medoff said. “I was swept away. Within 20 minutes I told her I was going to write her a play.”

Children of a Lesser God, which centers on the relationship between a speech teacher and his deaf student, was originally directed by the Taper’s former artistic director, Gordon Davidson. When it made its Broadway debut, the Taper earned three Tony’s — for Frelich, her costar John Rubinstein and the play. The play was also later made into an Oscar-winning film.

In addition to Children of a Lesser God, Frelich went on to appear and star in numerous other roles on stage and television including _In the Hands of its Enem_y, also written by Medoff.

But if anyone can best attest to Frelich’s talent and impact, it’s the man who also inspired the creation of Children of a Lesser God.

“She was extraordinary, the finest sign language actress there ever was," Steinberg said. "We were married for 46 years. I would have been happy with 46 more."