Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

A Call to Protect Funding for the Arts

Michael Ritchie — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 16:47:00 -0700

From those earliest days, theatres across the country were championing new voices and provocative ideas, which can be a risky effort. And yet, the belief was strong that a great city wasn’t possible without great theatre. We cannot let the baton drop. We must continue to provide a forum for debate, conversation, and yes, entertainment.

Los Angeles is home to more live theatre than any other city in the world, and that wouldn’t be possible without generous support on all fronts. As the current political climate puts the future of organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities into question, we must not let our leaders forget the importance of art.

Symbolically, for the federal government to say that the arts or the humanities are not worthy of support is a major statement and one that I do not support. So, we join our fellow cultural organizations around the country in demanding that the arts be protected. We encourage you to do the same by taking a few simple actions.

Go to Americans for the Arts #SaveTheNEA action page.
Enter your zip code.
Your elected representatives will appear and the pre-filled message—or, even better, your personal message—will be emailed to their offices when you hit "Send."

Your voice matters.

Sincerely,

Michael Ritchie
Artistic Director, Center Theatre Group

‘Fun Home’ Teaches the Power of Adaptation

Marcos Nájera — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 12:28:00 -0700

In this edition of Classroom Connections we brought three teachers who could easily combine their powers to make their own musical to Zoot Suit (at the Mark Taper Forum through April 2, 2017), three teachers from the Los Angeles High School of the Arts (LAHSA, for short—located on the RFK Community Schools Campus in Koreatown) joined me: Annie Simons, Jessie Martinez-Wilton, and Elizabeth Mora. I asked them very simply to share what excited them about the show—including content that might resonate with students, scenes they liked, and how they might be able to introduce technical elements of the show to their classes.

Zoot Suit offered many levels of personal connection for Elizabeth Mora. As a Latina, Mora could easily identify with many of larger topics introduced in the show: discrimination, women’s roles in society, and language. Mora, who teaches cultural geography and AP government, struggled with learning Spanish as she was growing up. Like many second- and third-generation Latinos (myself included), her parents wanted her to fully participate in mainstream American society. That meant the English language came first, and Spanish was to be left at the wayside. Mora can easily understand how many of the characters in Zoot Suit felt for risking their display of Latino-ness. “I think my students would absolutely identify with the story. A lot of these challenges are part of their lives,” said Mora. “Having students study the play can offer a lots of ways to talk about these themes openly.”

Jessie Martinez-Wilton is LAHSA’s current Head of Theatre Design & Technology. She believes finding personal connections between students and curriculum content is key. Martinez-Wilton is not only a teacher; she’s also a working professional theatre designer who carries the special designation of a CTE (Career Technical Education) instructor—which basically means she has a foot in both the school and the stage. Martinez-Wilton said the costumes of Zoot Suit as well as the story told by writer/director Luis Valdez, co-founder of groundbreaking Chicano theatre company El Teatro Campesino, present a perfect opportunity to explore how personal style and communication mixes with a designer’s task to fuse form and function onstage. “The purpose of wearing a zoot suit is to make a change. And the purpose of El Teatro Campesino is to talk about something that people couldn’t talk about,” she said. “The beautiful thing about this play, it’s about historical events, but it’s hard to find this in a history textbook. But I can find it in a fashion textbook!”

When her students reach their junior year, Martinez-Wilton assigns fashion history projects that focus on how men’s and women’s silhouettes change through the decades. “I’d be so excited for my students to see Zoot Suit onstage, because we talk about the tacuches [suits] and the drapes in class!” she explained. “I ask them to think about why styles are changing based on things that are happening politically and socially. What was happening in these Latino communities that gives rise to this type of suit for men? We talk about how it was in protest and because of tension on both sides. On one hand, soldiers were angry because the amount of fabric it took to make a zoot suit—there was supposed to be rationing of materials during the war. They also thought [the zoot suiters] were anti-government. On the other hand, we study how the zoot suiters were in defiance of white authority and discrimination. This costume or silhouette intentionally went against the norm. The zoot suit gives me and my students the chance to explore the markers of ‘I am my own person.’”

“That is theatre!” added an enthusiastic Annie Simons. “Theatre in its basic, most humble form is bare communication: I have something to say—I hope this story helps you hear it.”

Simons noted her observation echoed the central message of Zoot Suit’s El Pachuco, the mystical alter ego of the protagonist of the play who also serves as a sort of master of ceremonies of the action happening onstage. Ultimately, he tells us that each person carries an individual power to communicate a story inside them that needs to be told.

The four of us talked about the journalist character who tried to summarize the protagonist, Henry Reyna, and his legacy by describing how he “went back to prison…and died of the trauma of his life.” But the Pachuco quickly punches back with his line: “That’s the way you see it, ese. But there’s other ways to end this story.”

“What a perfect idea to bring back to our students,” said Simons. “Their stories matter and can be told from their own perspective. I want to help people find a voice and find a community and find confidence and risk. It’s why I teach. I teach to give back. I teach to communicate. I teach to give permission.”

A Journey of a Century Begins With a Single Student

Center Theatre Group — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 13:00:00 -0800

Before taking the stage of the Mark Taper Forum, all 12 regional finalists received medals and gift cards from the Center Theatre Group Affiliates in honor of their achievements. Regional finalist Ehvinny Mora (front) is congratulated by Affiliates Vice Presidents (L–R) Janice Wallace, Ilene Eisenberg, and Sheila Poncher. Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

The road to the competition begins with an after-school workshop where students learn about Wilson’s American Century Cycle. Teaching artists led this year’s group in acting exercises, introduced them to Wilson’s plays, and guided them through audition techniques.

“These workshops are an opportunity to bring together students from all over Southern California for a common goal—to immerse themselves in the work of August Wilson,” said Center Theatre Group Director of Social Strategy, Innovation and Impact Leslie K. Johnson.

On November 5, 2016, these 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grade students from 34 high schools and five counties convened at Center Theatre Group’s headquarters for preliminary auditions. Fifty-three students advanced to the semi-finals, where they performed for judges and received written feedback on their auditions before the 12 regional finalists were selected.

“The amount of time and hard work these students put into their monologues is emblematic of the fact this competition is not about who wins or loses. It is about giving young people an opportunity to find themselves and their communities in Wilson’s work,” said Johnson. “The training sessions are not about preparing students to win. They are about allowing students to tap into the depths of their humanity.”

For regional finalists Joey Aquino, Luke Baxter, Kelly Bouslaiby, Hollis Dohr, Asa Ferguson, Hannah Franklin, Elija Hall, Habin Lee, Arjang Mahdavi, Ehvinny Mora, Alexander Villaseñor, and Aryana Williams, this meant digging through personal experiences to understand characters whose lives are often very different from their own. To do so, they underwent 16 hours of training with Program Advisor Andi Chapman. They received one-on-one coaching in text analysis, character study, and vocal and physical technique. They also worked together as an ensemble, learning how to collaborate and support one another as artists.

“The competition is a continuation of the idea that Center Theatre Group is here to support great art and great artists. We pass the torch to a new generation of artists. Each year, I am amazed by the complexity, emotion, and understanding this new generation brings to Wilson’s characters,” said Center Theatre Group Artistic Director Michael Ritchie.

This complexity and understanding was on full display throughout the regional finals. First-place finalist Aryana Williams took on the role of Louise from Seven Guitars, imbuing the character with raw, world-weary experience and cutting humor. Alexander Villaseñor, who took second place, brought to life Youngblood from Jitney, a character determined to provide for his girlfriend and family. And third-place finalist Elija Hall, who played Tonya from King Hedley II, shook the audience with her uninhibited depiction of a woman choosing not to have a child.

The top two performers will travel to New York later this spring to perform in the national finals at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway—a special honor for first-place finalist Aryana Williams. Having come in third in last year’s competition, Williams will finally have her chance to speak Wilson’s words on the Great White Way.

Her journey is representative of what the August Wilson Competition is all about: experience, understanding, and growth. Which is why the Center Theatre Group Affiliates have supported our August Wilson Program since its inception, and continue to serve as presenting sponsor. “We are thrilled that we can touch the lives of so many young and talented artists,” said Center Theatre Group Affiliates President Kim White Peterson.

Pablo Santiago Wins the 2017 Richard E. Sherwood Award

Center Theatre Group — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 15:09:00 -0800

The $10,000 Sherwood Award was established in 1996 in memory of longtime Center Theatre Group Board member Richard E. Sherwood to nurture innovative, adventurous Los Angeles theatre artists.

Santiago more than fits the bill with his "unusual" approach to lighting. "Sometimes people question whether what I’m doing is a good idea. But you have to create a way of working and telling a story that is particular to you. You have to find your own voice," Santiago said. "My mom reminded me recently that I’ve been at this for 22 years. Winning the Sherwood feels like a validation of the approach I have taken."

Santiago, who grew up in Chiapas, Mexico, had a roundabout entry into the world of live theatre. After graduating from UC San Diego with a degree in visual art, he worked in lighting design in film for 15 years. It wasn’t until his wife, a modern dance choreographer, enlisted his help because she couldn’t afford a lighting designer, that he "fell in love with how light works in a live performance." Determined to better understand live performance, he went back to school to earn a graduate degree from UCLA.

For Santiago, the differences between lighting for film and for the stage are striking. "In film you are tied to reality a lot more," he said. "The lighting is specific to that moment. Onstage, the opposite is true. You can be more unrealistic, architectural, or colorful. It can be more emotional. But you also have to be very careful about how you direct the eye and have to account for the whole play from the beginning. In theatre, you do one long take that is an act long." For him, that’s part of the fun of it. "In theatre, lighting acts like the editor in a movie. You create the cuts of the story."

Santiago is currently at work on Zoot Suit at the Mark Taper Forum. Good Grief presents the challenge and opportunity of being a totally blank slate. Zoot Suit has a different kind of pressure. Apart from the fact that Zoot Suit is mythic in its own right, that Luis Valdez—the legendary Chicano playwright and original director of the 1978 premiere at the Taper—is helming its revival, and that the original production is embedded in the national theatre narrative, Santiago has bigger challenges facing him than high expectations.

"Luis Valdez is very interested in the idea of the show functioning as a film noir movie, which requires a lot of contrast and shadow," said Santiago. "The story itself is also challenging. There is a mental space and a mythic space. There is reality and there is song."

Music is integral to Zoot Suit, which is a good thing for Santiago, who feels that lighting and music are closely connected.

"Lighting functions best when it has a musical rhythm. Timing is also very important. There is also something visceral about the reaction one has to how a space is lit and that is an interesting way for me to communicate," he said.

The 'Fun Home' Reading List

Center Theatre Group — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 15:56:00 -0800

'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger

Alison’s father, who is also her high school English teacher, assigns The Catcher in the Rye to his class. Bechdel writes, “Sometimes it was as if Dad and I were the only ones in the [class]room. The sensation of intimacy was novel.” Published in 1951, J.D. Salinger’s preeminent novel remains one of the best English-language works of fiction of all time, a symbol of teen angst, individuality, and the hardship of growing up.
'Remembrance of Things Past' by Marcel Proust

Bechdel’s father began reading Proust’s master work Remembrance of Things Past the year before he died, and Bechdel makes frequent references to Proust throughout the graphic memoir. Bechdel writes, “[Proust] would also fictionalize real people in his life by transposing their gender—the narrator’s lover Albertine, for example, is often read as a portrait of Proust’s beloved chauffeur/secretary, Alfred. My father could not afford a chauffeur/secretary. But he did spring for the occasional yardwork assistant/babysitter. He would cultivate these young men like orchids.”
'Ulysses' by James Joyce

Ulysses is one of those novels owned by just about every liberal arts school graduate, but only read by a select few. Ulysses was also Bechdel’s father’s favorite book. His delight when she takes a course on the novel while in college allows for another moment of intimacy in their relationship—and marks an important day in Bechdel’s life, as the day she signs up for the course, she realizes she is a lesbian.
'Earthly Paradise' by Colette

Known equally for her nonfiction and fiction, Colette is up there with the best French writers of the 20th century. Earthly Paradise is a year-by-year account of the author’s life, which Bechdel’s father gives her after she heads off to college—and signals that he might just understand what she’s going through as she tries to understand her sexuality. Bechdel writes, “Colette could write better than anyone about physical things; they include the feel of a peach in one’s hand. A man could only write in this way about a woman’s breast. One siren lead to another in an intertextual progression. I referred back to Colette herself, basking in her sensualism as perhaps the sea-ravaged Odysseus had in the ministrations of Nausicaa.”
'Word Is Out' by Nancy Adair and Casey Adair

In a pivotal scene in the musical, Alison tells Joan—whom she’s met at a meeting of their college’s Gay Union—that she realized she was gay after flipping through Word Is Out on a bookstore shelf. Written by Nancy and Casey Adair, the book contains interviews of 26 gay Americans. The book creates a domino effect of altering moments in Bechdel’s life—acknowledging her sexuality, falling in love with Joan, and coming out to her parents.
'Rubyfruit Jungle' by Rita Mae Brown

Published in 1973, Rubyfruit Jungle was considered revolutionary for its depiction of a lesbian protagonist. It is also one of the many works of queer literature Bechdel read in college as she comes to terms with her sexuality. She writes of this literary expedition, “If only I’d had the foresight to call this an independent reading. ‘Contemporary and Historical Perspectives on Homosexuality’ would have had quite a legitimate ring.”
'Flying' by Kate Millett

In Flying, sculptor and author Kate Millet looks back on her strict Irish-Catholic, Midwestern upbringing and the discovery of her sexuality. It delves into her bisexuality, her involvement in the women’s movement, and the pressure from that movement when she publicly reveals that she is bisexual. Bechdel writes, “Kate Millet appeared to be a latter-day Colette, with the libertine aristocrats exchanged for conceptual artists and radical feminists. I checked the book out, riveted by the avalanche pace and shameless name-dropping.”
'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

After Bechdel’s mother sends her husband a biography of Fitzgerald while he is in the Army, he begins to devour Fitzgerald’s fiction. Bechdel writes that her father saw himself in various Fitzgerald characters, most prominently the title character of The Great Gatsby. “Gatsby’s self-willed metamorphosis from farm boy to prince is in many ways identical to my father’s. Like Gatsby, my father fueled this transformation with ‘the colossal vitality of his illusion,’” Bechdel writes.

Civil Rights, Memoirs, and a World Premiere Playwright

Michael Ritchie — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 13:07:00 -0800

After making its World premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in 1978, Luis Valdez’s 50^th Anniversary Season, and continues to be a vital story of our city and nation.

Over the past decade, Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir Good Grief at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, we’re carrying on a long Center Theatre Group tradition of supporting new work and new voices. This is Anyanwu’s first professionally produced play, and it’s been a pleasure for us to help develop and nurture it.

We’re also excited to share 50^th Anniversary timeline in this issue, which highlights 1988–1997, and explore more content—including photos, video, music, and newspaper clippings—on our full digital timeline at CenterTheatreGroup.org.

Putting 2017 Oscar Nominees to the ‘Fun Home’ Memoirist’s Bechdel Test

Center Theatre Group — Fri, 03 Mar 2017 11:48:00 -0800

It has to have at least two women in it;
who talk to each other;
about something other than a man.

Thus, the Bechdel test—or the Bechdel-Wallace test—was born. (Bechdel credits her friend Liz Wallace and Virginia Woolf for coming up with the idea.) It doesn’t seem, at a glance, that it’s a hard test to pass; after all, in real life, women talk to each other all the time, mostly about things other than men. And it’s been over 30 years since the test was originally created (though it’s risen to pop culture fame in the 21^st century).

Over the years, some Bechdel test devotees have added the additional qualification that the female characters must be named or that the conversation must total at least 60 seconds. In 2013, four Swedish movie theatres announced that they would give “A” ratings to movies that pass the test; today, 20 theatres in Sweden feature the rating, which also appears on DVD covers. It’s also inspired other “tests” of movies, including the Chavez Perez test (do two non-white characters speak about something other than crime?) and the Vito Russo test (is there a significant LGBT character?).

So how did the movies nominated for Best Picture at the 2017 Academy Awards do on the Bechdel test? With Fun Home onstage at the Ahmanson through April 1, 2017, and a historic Best Picture win by Moonlight, we’ve listed the nominees in order, from the ones we see as passing the Bechdel test with flying colors to those that don’t even come close…

'Hidden Figures'

Three great female characters anchor Hidden Figures, and we get to sit in on their conversations about space, science, race, and more…and in a scene or two, the men in their lives.
'Arrival'

With Amy Adams in the lead and an only very subtle (spoiler alert!) romantic subplot, Arrival feels like it should be a no-brainer pass. But Adams’ scientist character mostly talks to men, except her unnamed mother (by phone) and her daughter, whose name we eventually learn, eking out a full pass for Arrival.
'Fences'

Thanks to one conversation between Viola Davis’ Rose and Saniyya Sidney’s Raynell about shoes, Fences earns a Bechdel test pass. Otherwise, they talk to and about men. (But as a bonus, Viola Davis is a Center Theatre Group alumna who has performed at the Taper!)
'La La Land'

La La Land squeaks by thanks to one number where the female lead, Mia, played by Emma Stone, gets talked into (or rather sung into) going to a party by her friends. Her friends don’t seem to have names, though (except in the credits), and a big motivation for attending the party? To meet guys.
'Moonlight'

Despite two excellent performances by Naomie Harris and Janelle Monáe (playing important, named characters), Moonlight is a miss. Presumably these characters—a mother and a mother figure to the main male character, Chiron—talk…but it’s off-camera, and probably about Chiron anyway.
'Lion'

Alas, Lion centers too heavily on a male character (Saroo, played by Sunny Pawar and Dev Patel) to pass all three requirements. Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara (who play his mom and girlfriend, respectively) do share one scene.
'Manchester by the Sea'

Manchester by the Sea, a movie all about the relationship between an uncle and nephew doesn’t have much of a shot, and though two named female characters have a conversation…it’s about one of the men.
'Hacksaw Ridge'

Hacksaw Ridge is a World War II movie with a poster depicting one man carrying another on a battlefield. Need we say more? (Fine, it does have two named female characters, though they don’t interact in any meaningful way.)
'Hell or High Water'

Hell of High Water is a heist movie, so we’ve got female bank tellers, waitresses, ex-wives…and that’s about it.

Eight Graphic Memoirs for Fans of ‘Fun Home’

Center Theatre Group — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 10:08:00 -0800

'Blankets'

The much lauded 2003 graphic memoir from artist Craig Thompson tells the story of Thompson’s early childhood, his strict evangelical upbringing, and his first romantic relationship. Weighing in at an impressive 600 pages in length, Blankets is exhaustive without actually being exhausting. In fact, through whimsical flashbacks, driving wit, and truly beautiful artwork, Thompson manages to imbue the banality of growing up in the Midwest with real panache and character.
‘Alan’s War’

In 1994, artist Emmanuel Guibert visited an island off the coast of France. While there, he asked a 69-year-old World War II veteran named Alan Cope for directions. This 15-minute exchange would lead to a five-year friendship. Cope was a fantastic storyteller, and a decade after his death in 1999, Guibert turned his friend’s stories about World War II into comics. In 2008, he published Alan’s War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope, which is best explained by Cope’s own words: "When I turned eighteen, Uncle Sam said he’d like me to put on a uniform and go fight a guy by the name of Adolf. So I did."
‘Persepolis’

Marjane Satrapi was born in Iran. But the Iran of her childhood was a very different place than the one we are familiar with today. That is because when Satrapi was nine years old, fundamentalist rebels overthrew the Shah, and began the quick and brutal process of transforming Iran into a totalitarian state. As the grip of government control grew tighter, Satrapi began to idolize American pop culture icons, from Iron Maiden to Michael Jackson, which she saw as symbols of a world where ideas were free. A small rebellions, perhaps. But a rebellion that would eventually threaten to break her family apart. Persepolis was published from 2000–2003 in France in four volumes, was translated into English, and was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated animated film in 2007 featuring Catherine Deneuve.
‘Stitches’

David Small was a sickly child. Plagued with respiratory issues, Small was constantly at the hospital, where his father (a radiologist) gave him weekly X-rays and radiation therapy—which were meant to improve his lungs but instead gave him a malignant tumor. The operation that saved his life also took one of his vocal chords—and with it, Small’s voice. The young Small turned to art and the power of stories to alleviate his sense of imprisonment. The result? Stitches, Small’s 2009 graphic memoir, which was published to considerable acclaim, standing atop The New York Times bestseller list.
‘Marbles’

Ellen Forney has bipolar disorder. Like many famous artists from history (Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Sylvia Plath to name a few), Forney lives her life on a roller coaster of manic highs followed by depressive lows. As she confronts the cliché of the "crazy artist," she works to understand her own disorder in history, science, and herself. Interspersed with actual pages from her diary, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me is a complicated portrait of illness, creativity, and the resilience of an artistic spirit.
‘Maus’

Perhaps the most famous graphic memoir ever published and the winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize, Maus is a Holocaust story unlike any other. As a young man, Art Spiegelman’s father Vladek led an ordinary life in Poland. He married the woman he loved, started a career in manufacturing, and started a family. But in 1939, the Blitz brought fascism and anti-Semitism to his door. Vladek and Spiegelman’s mother, Anja, ended up at Auschwitz, where they managed to survive through the end of World War II. Maus traces their story and that of the writing of Maus, as well as Art and Vladek’s relationship—using mice and cats as stand-ins for Jews and Nazis respectively.
‘Relish’

Lucy Knisley has led the foodie life that food bloggers would kill for. Her mother worked at the original Dean & Deluca in New York City, her godfather was a food critic, and—by her account—almost every night was a glorious dinner party that might make even Martha Stewart jealous. Relish traces Knisley’s life through the food she loves—from her mother’s fresh pesto to boxed mac ’n’ cheese snuck at friends’ houses. It tracks her time on a farm in the Catskills with her mother, her life as a cheesemonger, her college years in Chicago, and various other episodes along the way&mdahs;with recipes.
‘Are You My Mother?’—Bonus

Told in seven parts, this companion memoir to Fun Home focuses on Bechdel’s relationship with her mother, and tracks Bechdel’s life from events that occurred before she was even born all the way up to the time was editing Are You My Mother? itself. Peppered throughout are meditations on everything from the work of psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott to her mother’s relationship with Bechdel’s father.

Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

A Call to Protect Funding for the Arts

‘Fun Home’ Teaches the Power of Adaptation

A Journey of a Century Begins With a Single Student

Pablo Santiago Wins the 2017 Richard E. Sherwood Award

The 'Fun Home' Reading List

'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger

'Remembrance of Things Past' by Marcel Proust

'Ulysses' by James Joyce

'Earthly Paradise' by Colette

'Word Is Out' by Nancy Adair and Casey Adair

'Rubyfruit Jungle' by Rita Mae Brown

'Flying' by Kate Millett

'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Civil Rights, Memoirs, and a World Premiere Playwright

Putting 2017 Oscar Nominees to the ‘Fun Home’ Memoirist’s Bechdel Test

'Hidden Figures'

'Arrival'

'Fences'

'La La Land'

'Moonlight'

'Lion'

'Manchester by the Sea'

'Hacksaw Ridge'

'Hell or High Water'

Eight Graphic Memoirs for Fans of ‘Fun Home’

'Blankets'

‘Alan’s War’

‘Persepolis’

‘Stitches’

‘Marbles’

‘Maus’

‘Relish’

‘Are You My Mother?’—Bonus