April

In Immediate Family, emotions boil to a crisis point over a game of cards. The Bryants sit down to play Bid Whist as an alternative to arguing. At first, the trash-talking is done in good fun and with love. As the game progresses — although the words they use are about the game — it starts to get personal. They end up attacking and ganging...

We all have biases, and often without being aware of it. Unconscious prejudices, while they aren’t as combative as out-right bigotry, become blind spots that take away our ability to truly see those around us, to recognize and respect them as individuals.

Change is a constant, and mysterious, part of life. We are always changing, growing, and learning, even when we don’t feel it happening. Everything around us can stay exactly the same (our home, our town, our family or friends), but change will happen inside of us as we mature and grow. Or, the exact opposite is true. Everything outside of u...

Change "Walking the Tightrope"

Clowns have been a part of human storytelling for thousands of years. Clowning has existed in many cultures and has served a variety of purposes. The oldest clowns date back to 2500 B.C. in ancient Egypt. Clowns from Italy’s Commedia Del Arte theatre tradition appeared around 1550 A.D. Chou, the clown from China’s Peking Opera, has been ar...

Clowns "Walking the Tightrope"

Participants of our Student Ambassador Program recently sat down with Mike Kenny, the playwright behind the 24th STreet Theatre production of Walking the Tightrope. Student Ambassador Interviewers: Genesis Arana, Alen Anuran, Alexis Raygoza, Jake Contreras, Tyaira Daniels and Mollie Grubman

Readers gets a sense of the devotion to honesty and authenticity in the work of 24th STreet Theatre Artistic Director Debbie Devine in Steven Leigh Morris' profile for American Theatre. Young audiences are not to be underestimated and sugar-coating is frowned upon. "Make it real. Make me believe it," Devine urges playwright Bryan Davidson on their...

Actor and playwright Paul Oakley Stovall found his voice early. By high school he was a published poet, an accomplished debater and self-assured actor. However, his drive to achieve, he admits, was set in motion by a looming, inner-tension: A secret.

When you welcome over 1,500 fourth and fifth grade students to the Ahmanson Theatre with the promise of magic, you know it is going to be a good day. From the sparkling on the plaza floor, to the sparkle in their eyes, the true magic of the theatre was ever present at our Young Audiences Program student matinee performance of Rodger’s + Hamm...

Post-its to Possibilities: A Day at the Theatre

The library I grew up visiting doesn’t exist anymore. My refuge was Benjamin Franklin Library in Boyle Heights and that’s where I got lost in The Chronicles of Narnia, I indulged my teenage angst with The Chocolate War and was profoundly moved by the epic East of Eden. The library was a place to catch up on homework, do some research or be...

As part of Center Theatre Group’s The Shop project, dozens of Boyle Heights residents diligently attended their local library on Saturdays to learn skills and tips every wardrobe and costume designer knows to execute and maintain a show. They wowed at the detail in the costume designs and were excited to figure out via their new knowledge...

Center Theatre Group is very fortunate to have cultivated deep relationships with some of the nation’s preeminent playwrights. Playwrights like Luis Alfaro, Carla Ching, Jason Grote, Kinan Valdez, Sheila Callaghan, Dan O’Brien and David Adjmi. These playwrights have also agreed to lead Free Writing Workshops at The Shop as part of The Shop...

News:

Bid Whist

Blind Spots, Bias, and Bigotry

Change "Walking the Tightrope"

Clowns "Walking the Tightrope"

Interview with playwright Mike Kenny & CTG's Student Ambassadors

American Theatre Examines ‘Debbie Devine and 24th STreet Theatre’s Tightrope Act’

Family Matters: A Conversation with Paul Oakley Stovall

Post-its to Possibilities: A Day at the Theatre

The library I grew up visiting doesn't exist anymore: The Shop Chronicles

Boyle Heights ticket to the theatre: The Shop Chronicles

One word leads to another, leads to another: The Shop Chronicles