Center Theatre Group News & Blogs

Meet the 2018 Richard E. Sherwood Award Finalists

Center Theatre Group — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 11:22:00 -0800

Tell me about your latest project

Gina Young: My latest project is Butch Ballet, a love letter to female masculinity that I created for REDCAT's NOW Festival this summer. It's a movement theatre piece created for and with a cast of butch, trans, gender-nonconforming and nonbinary performers. Most of the cast did not have a background in dance or theatre, so we created a gestural vocabulary unique to their experience, and explored their vulnerability and their power, butch eroticism and aesthetics. I also curate a monthly performance salon called SORORITY and lead a paradigm-shifting workshop called Feminist Acting Class.
Hana Kim: Back in October, I designed both the set and projection for Eva Trilogy, written by Barbara Hammond and directed by Loretta Greco at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco. The three plays in the trilogy revolve around a central character named Eva, a young woman who makes the irreparable choice of euthanasia when her ailing mother’s fate is placed in her hands. All three plays are written in distinctively different styles; the first play is a monologue orated by Eva alone on the stage. The second is a sonic collage of testimonies given by the individuals affected by Eva. The last is a visual collage where Eva, 30 years later, is now living in a forest with a nymph… The logistics of doing three plays in a row pushed me to present one bold idea for each play, creating three distinct gestures. 1.) A white out 2.) A landscape, fractured and mirrored 3.) An experimental film. Together they pose the important question: What is the true ownership of life?
Marsian De Lellis: I am fine-tuning Object of Her Affection, a puppetry performance focused on a woman who, in her search for true love, develops intimate relationships with inanimate objects. The performance follows Andrea Lowe after she has mysteriously fallen from a building. In the performance I am exploring the collision of objects and personalities through the lens of someone who experiences object sexuality (an actual romantic desire toward things). Object of Her Affection was the recipient of funding from the Jim Henson Foundation and I will be premiering it at Automata under the direction of Michele Spears. I am simultaneously developing Model Killer: Giant Crimes and Tiny Cover-Ups, which I was invited to workshop as an artist-in-residence at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

Who are your influences?

Gina: Split Britches, Karen Finley, and Holly Hughes made me think there could be a place for voices like mine. Lorraine Hansberry is an all-time hero too…in elementary school, A Raisin in the Sun made me want to make theatre way more than Shakespeare did. It was a perfect play that represented, to me, everything that theatre could (and should) do to make the world a better place. And Hansberry was also active in the civil rights, gay rights, and feminist movements. Contemporary interdisciplinary artists Young Jean Lee and Ryan Heffington also inspire me a lot right now.
Hana: One of the odd memories from my youth is watching The Wizard of Oz with my uncle in a tiny room in Seoul. It was a time when Korea’s political atmosphere was extremely volatile, and as a human right activist and documentary maker in South Korea in the 1980s, my uncle hardly ever managed to keep down a job. He had a lot of free time to watch films with me. His situation was pretty dire in many aspects, but he always kept a great spirit. Both my uncle and my father (an anthropologist turned filmmaker in his later years) had a fundamental influence on me. Through them I learned not to be afraid of the life of an artist and to embrace uncertainty. But I am constantly learning from my collaborators. It always amazes me to see how our different takes on a project can become a singular vision. If I am to name a few more influential people I would have to include Julie Taymor and Robert Lepage (for the way their singular visions are able to reach broad audiences), as well as Olafur Eliasson, Yaoi Kusama, and William Kentridge (for the unique experiences they create through their art).
Marsian: From an early age (maybe too early), I became enamored by the eccentric outsiders turned unlikely heroes in the films of John Waters. In middle school I was fixated on the playful deconstruction of femininity and celebration of dissociative identity disorder in the music videos of Annie Lennox. In high school, while reading Omni, a science magazine, I encountered an article on performance artist Rachel Rosenthal, (whom I later studied with). When I moved to Los Angeles, I studied with Janie Geiser at CalArts. But I also have found the community of puppet and theatre artists at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center to be a catalyst in developing my voice, especially Canadian marionettist and playwright Ronnie Burkett. My current body of work draws inspiration from offbeat characters whose private manias become public fodder for tabloids and reality television, and I would be remiss not to include My Strange Addiction and similar docuseries.

What excites you most about working in L.A.?

Gina: The weather, the dance scene, and the fine arts scene. The feeling that L.A. doesn't already have the kind of performance scene that I came up in—the more New York kind of scene—so that when I created my performance series, SORORITY, it felt like a needed new space; like nothing existed at quite that exact intersection here yet. I like that everyone I know here works in film and new media and doesn't necessarily understand the value of live performance or doesn't necessarily have a space for it carved out in their lives. That's something I enjoy challenging. Also the weather—for real.
Hana: The multi-centric aspects of L.A. allow for a vibrant cross-disciplinary cultural scene. I love encountering different corners of the city that I’ve never seen before. I keep getting surprised by the diversity of people and culture. Because it does take more effort to go out there and be together in a bigger space, when it does happen, it is more powerful and the reward is bigger.
Marsian: I once believed I had to move to New York to make it as an artist, but after arriving in L.A. 11 years ago I have found a home in this global capital of fantasy. Between the shadows of multibillion-dollar entertainment companies thrives a vibrant experimental theatre and art scene where people are creating some of the most adventurous and groundbreaking work. There’s something about working in L.A. that seems limitless and full of possibilities.

Tell me about the first theatre piece you ever worked on

Gina: Well, I was Peter Pan in seventh grade…but I guess the first theatre piece I can really call my own was a one-act punk musical I wrote and directed fresh out of high school, she cuts herself / she likes to write. It was about coming out, and self-injury, and the sort of darker side of the teenage years. It had a good run Off-Off Broadway. Then some local high school students wanted to produce it at their school and this strange censorship thing happened, where the administration got wind of it and canceled the show. They said the subject matter wasn't appropriate for high school students. Which was very strange because…it was about things my friends and I had experienced…in high school. So it was an eye-opener about who gets to be represented, and what it means to speak out against the dominant narrative. Thankfully, the high school students went rogue and did the play in a park, without school funding, so what started as a disheartening/disillusioning experience actually turned out pretty cool.
Hana: In college, I played the part of March Rabbit in an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland written by students. At the time, I knew that I wanted to get into the theatre club to do backstage work, but in order to be accepted you had to act at least once. But during that time, there was a new musical that all freshman HAD to be a part of. In it, I had to sing, dance, and act. Which turned out not to be my forté.
Marsian: My first foray into theatre was a musical adaptation of a book on dinosaurs. I designed and performed shadow puppets as a first grader in Mrs. Amidon’s class. In the process we explored our creative differences and worked with all kinds of people, including the musical director, Ms. Houk. Ms. Houk was strict and uncompromising. She ruled the piano and glockenspiel with an iron fist. Mrs. Amidon also had us write and illustrate our own stories. Years went by and the stories evolved into screenplays that spawned installations and time-based visual narratives that became ever more elaborate. Fast forward to my adult life at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I created my first performance art piece, The King of Pop’s New Clothes—a surrealist nightmare in which a reclusive pop star’s drug-fueled attempts at being loved through reinvention go horribly wrong.

What are the first three questions you ask a new collaborator?

Gina

What images come to mind when you read this?
How do you see it?
What references does it evoke for you that are not overtly mentioned in the text?

Hana

Why do you want to work on this piece?
What is the world you hope to create?
How do you want people to feel?

Marsian

How many personality disorders do you have? It's important to have a sense of humor about yourself and I admire people who have been able to flourish with and capitalize on their neuroses…like Martha Stewart.
Have you seen anything problemagic in your newsfeed lately? In the social media sphere labeling something as problematic has become a shortcut—a way to brush off further discussion of something complex, potentially triggering, or that falls outside a binary—or to label something as oppressive without actually doing any of the work to think about what the problem is or why it exists. But where some see problematic, I see problemagic—an opportunity to welcome dialogue and generate new ideas and solutions in a world where tweets have all too often supplanted discourse.
Often I don't even have to ask any questions. There’s something about working with dolls and puppets that occupies a precarious border between beauty and terror. People volunteer information. They seem to go to their darkest places right away—recounting their most creepy and macabre moments with inanimate objects. They tend to disclose a lot. And while I try to keep their secrets, sometimes they’re just too juicy, and I have to fictionalize them.

Songs to Get You Pumped for 'Spamilton'

Center Theatre Group — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 16:14:00 -0800

From the fairytale chorus of Into The Woods and the show tunes of Cats to the East Coast hip-hop of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the most popular songs of musical theatre and pop culture fall prey to the sweeping parody of Spamilton, which is at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through January 7, 2018. Whether you’re a Broadway buff or a theatre newbie, you’re going to have fun with these spoofs.

Make sure you don’t miss a reference with our #SetTheScene playlist—a collection of the most famous songs you’ll hear in Spamilton (that aren’t from Hamilton). Listen closely at the Douglas if you want to find them all!

Hamilton provides Alessandrini ample ammo (Hammo?), but he still manages to roast other musicals during the speedy 80-minute show: A Sondheim-themed section pits one notorious lyricist against another …and divas like Barbra and Liza get some face time, too.

Marielle Wakim, Los Angeles magazine

When Hamilton mania swept the country, Gerard Alessandrini (the creator of the long running hit Forbidden Broadway) decided that a spoof of a song or two wasn’t enough this time. So, working quickly, he turned out Spamilton, a mash-up of Hamilton parodies and new takes on some of his Forbidden Broadway favorites. Actors playing Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and his colleagues reappear as Stephen Sondheim, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and, yes, some very, very desperate ticket-seekers.

Barbara Isenberg, Los Angeles Times

Center Theatre Group Hits The Road

Center Theatre Group — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 10:23:00 -0700

Center Theatre Group frequently partners with theatres around the country on co-productions. Recent partnerships include this summer’s Block Party at the Douglas. But in fall 2016 and fall 2017, we embarked on a more unusual endeavor for a nonprofit regional theatre: producing our own small tours, first for Arthur Miller’s Bright Star.

As the original producer of these tours, we don’t hand off the play to the next theatre, said Center Theatre Group Producing Director Douglas C. Baker. Instead, we remain the producer and employer of the show and its cast and crew. Doing so can help us defray the cost of producing a show, including production and rehearsal costs, while getting our brand out into the world.

After playing the Ahmanson, A View From The Bridge headed to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Bright Star heads to San Francisco’s Curran Theater and Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theatre Company after L.A.

(L-R) Capathia Jenkins, Ramona Keller, Tracy Nicole Chapman, Marva Hicks, and (foreground) Tonya Pinkins in Caroline, or Change. Photo by Craig Schwartz.

I stay in touch with colleagues scattered around the country who produce or present large-scale work, explained Baker. Through those relationships, I discover we have a mutual interest in a show or artists. That’s where the kernel of an idea to tour a production begins.

In many cases, these shows might not make it beyond New York or Los Angeles otherwise. Many of our partner theatres typically present national tours that are produced by New York or London commercial producers, said Baker. They know they can rely on Center Theatre Group to bring them a show that’s every bit as high-quality. And since we are producing, the artists are comfortable with the project proceeding, too.

Producing tours also helps Center Theatre Group create and sustain long-term relationships with artists.

Baker pointed to Caroline, or Change, which we remounted as a Center Theatre Group production at the Ahmanson in 2004 and then toured to the Curran after it closed on Broadway. Caroline, or Change was a continuation of book and lyrics writer Tony Kushner and director George C. Wolfe’s long histories at Center Theatre Group and also helped set the stage for composer Jeanine Tesori to return to the Ahmanson with Soft Power. It was challenging to produce, but a powerful, wonderful show, said Baker. Had we not done it, it wouldn’t have been seen on this coast with a full-scale Broadway physical production and with original Broadway star Tonya Pinkins.

Baker also pointed to Neil Simon’s Ivo van Hove’s first time on the West Coast, said Baker. And we’re very fortunate to be working on Bright Star with two more of the best artists in the world in Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.

Center Theatre Group Partners with East West Players on 'Soft Power'

Center Theatre Group — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 15:44:00 -0700

Not only does this World premiere bring together two of the most well-respected artists in the American theatre for the first time, it also reunites Center Theatre Group and East West Players (EWP). Center Theatre Group last partnered with EWP in 2007 on our production of Hwang’s Community Conversations leading up to the play’s premiere.

Both Hwang and Tesori are recent Center Theatre Group collaborators. Taper audiences may remember Hwang’s 2002 Tony^®-nominated revival of

Center Theatre Group — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 13:23:00 -0700

What is it about that attracts you as a story to adapt for dance?

It’s the story that Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger fashioned around Hans Christian Andersen’s story of The Red Shoes for their seminal 1948 movie that really attracted me. The Andersen fairy tale is a little difficult to relate to today with its themes of the "sin" of vanity and religious redemption. However, the image of the red shoes that once put on, will not allow the wearer to stop dancing, has long been a potent one for creative minds from Powell and Pressburger to Kate Bush to Emma Rice and her memorable theatre production for Kneehigh.

I have loved the film since I was a teenager with its depiction of a group of people all passionate about creating something magical and beautiful. It seemed to be saying that art was something worth fighting for, even dying for, if the rather melodramatic conclusion is to be believed. It was a world full of glamour, romance, and creativity populated by larger than life personalities. In short, it was a world that I wanted to be part of!

The film’s genius though was to take that highly theatrical world and turn it into a highly cinematic, and at times, surreal piece of film-making. My challenge has been to capture some of that surreal, sensuous quality within the more natural theatre setting.

Ashley Shaw and Sam Archer in Matthew Bourne’s production of “The Red Shoes.” Photo by Johan Persson.

What are the main themes of the story?

The main message of The Red Shoes is that nothing matters but art. As Michael Powell said, The Red Shoes told us to go and die for art. Whilst acknowledging the exaggeration here, I believe it was a piece that asked us to take art seriously as a life-changing force: something that gives intense joy but also asks for and requires sacrifices. It is the love story of two young artists—one, a dancer, Victoria Page; and one, a composer, Julian Craster—and the fight between that love and the lure of the highest artistic achievement as represented by Boris Lermontov, the dance company’s legendary impresario, who believes that you cannot be a great artist if distracted by human love. Lermontov sees art (or more specifically ballet) as something close to a religion. This is both his strength and his tragedy. Even Vicky and Julian would not have found their love if it were not for their shared artistic success. It is only the thrill of creation that brings them together, after a fairly rocky start. However, when they are starved of their creative lives their relationship becomes messy and they find themselves missing something.

I’m also exploring how the fairy-tale world of ballet and the stories it tells can actually blend into the real-life tale of love, ambition, artistic, and personal fulfilment, until the two are barely distinguishable.

How does it speak to the audience of today?

In today’s culture there seems an obsession with what it takes to become a great performer or artist. The two most popular shows on television [in the U.K.] are about finding someone with star quality (The X Factor) or watching someone aquire the skills and dedication to become a great dancer (Strictly Come Dancing). Katherine Hepburn was once asked what star-quality was and she replied, I don’t know, but I’ve got it. It’s an indefinable thing but we seem fascinated by it. The Red Shoes gives us a glimpse into that world, an insight into the art form of dance, a revealing backstage story into the minds of artists and the creative life.

However, the heart of the story is a tragic, real-life, triangular love story like no other. Two men in love with the same woman but in very different ways, and all tied up with their combined artistic achievement. When Julian, the composer, accuses Lermontov of being jealous of his relationship with Victoria Page he answers Yes, I am, but in a way you would never understand.

Ashley Shaw in Matthew Bourne’s production of “The Red Shoes.” Photo by Johan Persson.

What are the differences between a dance company in 1948 and today?

The Red Shoes is a story about dance and dancers, something that we in New Adventures know a thing or two about! However, a dance company in 1948 was very different to dance company life today. When The Red Shoes was released in 1948, ballet was a relatively new and mysterious art form and the film was a genuine insight into a rare and extraordinary world of flamboyant personalities, glamorous women, fey men, and obsessive, uptight creative figures with strange names and a range of international accents! Most, if not all of this has changed, of course, but I did see a similarity between the life of a hard-working touring company, full of slightly eccentric personalities and the world of New Adventures today. I don’t think a contemporary ballet company today would necessarily create the right atmosphere to re-create the company we see in the 1948 film. The family atmosphere of New Adventures with its group of talented, highly individual performers, who tour around the U.K. and the world as a tight knit community, seemed the right company to portray the fictional Lermontov company of yesteryear.

The performances and personalities in the famous film are legendary. How have the New Adventures dancers approached playing these characters?

Who can imagine The Red Shoes without Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann, Léonide Massine, and perhaps most of all, Anton Walbrook? This is something that we have all had to contemplate and boldly address. I think the New Adventures dancers, whether they knew the film before or not, have all fallen in love with these unique performers. Our task has been, I think, to honour them with the odd little tribute but then to create our own characters as dictated by the story we are telling. Trying to recreate special performers or performances is always a mistake and I’ve encouraged the dancers to find their own way. That has not stopped us, however, from delving into countless biographies and YouTube clips to look for inspiration into the flavour of the period in which we are working and to gather anecdotes about dancers and dancing in the 1940s and 50s. All our ensemble dancers were given a famous dancer of this era to study and the clues are in their given names in the program!

Liam Mower in Matthew Bourne’s production of “The Red Shoes.” Photo by Johan Persson.

You have chosen the music of celebrated Hollywood composer, Bernard Herrmann rather than the original Oscar-winning score from the film. Why?

I have a great affection for Brian Easdale’s very fine score for The Red Shoes ballet in the film. It’s an impressive achievement by any standards and a first for a mainstream film to include an unheard of 15-minute ballet as its central story-telling device.

A feature film that includes a featured ballet is very different from a full-length wordless dance piece in which the music not only has to serve the ballets that the company perform but also the backstage life of the company and most importantly, the emotional story of Vicky Page, Julian Craster, and Boris Lermontov. I found this variety of ideas in the work of one of my favourite Hollywood composers, Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann is probably most famous for his work with Alfred Hitchcock but Terry Davies (who is brilliantly arranging the music) and I decided to concentrate on the pre-Hitchcock music and have uncovered some real gems. Various concert pieces and suites from his earlier films have proved very rich sources of material. Who knew that Citizen Kane was full of dance music? And has there ever been a more bittersweet and moving film score than that for The Ghost and Mrs. Muir? These both feature heavily, as does the one post Red Shoes era piece. The score for the 1966 movie Fahrenheit 451 is both magical and unsettling and the perfect sound world for The Red Shoes Ballet. It also gives us the sense that the Ballet Lermontov are creating something new and slightly futuristic.

I’m very proud to be presenting much of this music in the theatre for the first time. There is so much to enjoy musically here. I think it will be one of the revelations of this piece.

Design always plays such a big part in New Adventures productions. What have been the challenges on this project?

My Associate Designer, Lez Brotherston, has taken on another enormous challenge with this production. Firstly, to create an adaptable theatrical space depicting scenes both on-stage and backstage, as well as a range of locations from Covent Garden to Monte Carlo, but also to allow for those flights of fancy that take us out of the literal theatrical world and into the sensuous and surreal world of artistic endeavour. For this, Lez and I also rely heavily on the brilliance of our lighting designer, Paule Constable, who always manages to surprise and thrill me with her own vision of what we are all trying to achieve.

Do you relate personally to any of the characters in the story?

Perhaps not surprisingly I have found myself agreeing with much of what Lermontov says in the movie. I am nothing like him, of course, and I do acknowledge that some of his views are a little extreme today, but I do understand his particular kind of love for Vicky and his love of his company and dance in general. Nothing else seems as important to him. As I get older, I recognise that sentiment more and more.

Sam Archer (left) and the cast of Matthew Bourne’s production of “The Red Shoes.” Photo by Johan Persson.

A Day in the Life of Toby the Rat

Center Theatre Group — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 15:57:00 -0700

What is the first thing you do with Toby?: The first thing I do with Zeus (that’s his real name; he plays the part of Toby) is open up the cage to give him morning cuddles and scratches. He looks like he’s smiling when he gets his scratches behind his ears.
What do you think Toby likes so much about being Christopher’s companion?: Toby adores Christopher because Christopher feeds him good rat pellets, takes excellent care of him, and thinks to include him in his space travels.
Who does Toby look up to?: He looks up to Christopher, obviously. Some of the adults in Christopher’s world are questionable role models. Toby is a discerning fellow. Maybe that’s why he has no lines in the play. Imagine what he would say!
What are Zeus’ favorite things to do?: He loves to sleep and then eat, in that order. He soaks up attention and love from his favorite people, too. Oh, and he likes to read. Mostly biographies.
What has been the biggest highlight of being the animal wrangler?: One would be getting the opportunity to work with rats and discovering how wonderful they are. I have also really enjoyed all the people I’ve met on the road, and I adore my crewmates and the rest of the company. Maybe the biggest thing is seeing our country, our larger cities, and the people in them, and learning that we aren’t really that different.

A post shared by #CuriousIncident (@curiousbroadway) on Mar 2, 2017 at 9:44am PST

Inside the Writers Room

Center Theatre Group — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 10:55:00 -0700

Founded in 2005, the L.A. Writers’ Workshop invites seven local playwrights to participate in a year-long development cycle with the aim of supporting their artistry. Participating playwrights gain research assistance, dramaturgical support, a reading with professional actors, and (most importantly) a community.

This May, playwright Tracey Scott Wilson (FX’s The Americans, The Good Negro) was named the Center Theatre Group 2017 Fadiman Awardee, an award which supports the commission of a new play from the recipient as well as a one-week residency at Center Theatre Group. That night in June, the Writers’ Workshop alumni were gathered to celebrate Wilson, to catch up on recent goings-on, and (of course) to discuss the state of American theatre.

While Los Angeles is perhaps best known as a film town, the truth is that the city has a robust theatre scene and is home to many renowned playwrights. And these playwrights are not only responsible for creating exciting theatre, but also some of the most exciting (and award-winning) serialized television shows.

It hardly needs to be stated that we are living in a television renaissance. The exploits of networks such as Netflix and Hulu are so well documented that it has almost become cliché to mention them. But it should be noted that this content revolution has been fueled, largely, by playwrights. In the relatively small rolls of the L.A. Writers’ Workshop alumni association, there are over 40 writers who have worked in the television industry, including Jessica Goldberg (Hulu’s The Path), Marco Ramirez (Marvel’s Daredevil and The Defenders, and Netflix’s Orange is the New Black), Sarah Gubbins (Amazon’s I Love Dick), and Carly Mensch (Netflix’s GLOW).

Of the workshop's nearly 80 participants, over 60 have had their plays produced at regional theatres around the country. Theses theatres have included the meccas of new play development such as the Actors Theatre of Louisville and Playwrights Horizons, as well as founders of the American regional theatre system including Center Theatre Group. Recent notable plays include Pipeline by Dominique Morriseau (Lincoln Center Theater), Vietgone by Qui Nguyen (Manhattan Theatre Club), and The Nether by Jennifer Haley (Royal Court Theatre, Kirk Douglas Theatre).

At Center Theatre Group, we have a long history of fostering new plays. Some of our most notable World premieres have included Angels in America, and first season, that Center Theatre Group is already planning a second season, which is set to begin this fall. The intention of Chisme y Queso was to allow Center Theatre Group to meet new people in our surrounding communities, to connect with our neighbors in a nontraditional setting, and to support emerging artists. But the program has hit an unexpected nerve with its audience.

The hybrid of comedy and theatre is new to the venue and yet people keep coming back to see that, said Center Theatre Group Community Partnerships Director Jesus Reyes. There is a communal and cultural need for laughter, for theatre that tells bitingly honest stories, whether they are taken from our own lives or ripped from the headlines.

The value of the stories told at Chisme y Queso caused Reyes and Community Partnerships Associate—and Chisme y Queso director—Alejandra Cisneros, to invest more time in the development of the skits performed onstage. As a result, local playwrights will now work in a writers room with Center Theatre Group Resident Artist Naomi Iizuka and Literary Manager Joy Meads. This will increase the development time of each skit and the attention paid to each writer.

The writers room allows the playwrights to work more closely with each other and with the actors during the creative process. It’s been an amazing experience for all of us to see how vivid and alive the writing can be, said Iizuka.

Supporting the dramaturgical and play development components of the program has become a priority for Reyes, Cisneros, Iizuka, and Meads.

We didn’t realize we were essentially creating a playwriting incubator," said Reyes. "We are investing in playwrights at the inception of their careers. This investment ties into Center Theatre Group’s mission of cultivating new artists, and L.A.-specific artistic voices. It means that even though this program is location-specific, the impact will reach throughout our company and the city.

This is exactly why the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is supporting the program. Our Building Demand for the Arts grants fund the placement of artists at the center of institutional efforts to build meaningful, long-lasting relationships with communities, said Program Director for the Arts Maurine Knighton. At their best, these projects help artists and communities co-create cultural programs that reflect authentic relationships and mutual concern. Chisme y Queso does just that, weaving together playwriting, performance, and music into a rich tapestry that reflects the interests of local residents.

The relationship between community and artists is what makes Chisme a totally unique theatrical experience. The event begins with Community Liaison and emcee Alexis de la Rocha inviting the audience to write down their own chisme on coasters. Throughout the evening, chisme is chosen out of a jar, and the actors must transform the stories into performance, using the few props they have on hand. The writers’ short skits are interspersed among the improvised chisme. It’s a whirlwind performance as the actors shift in and out of a myriad of characters, from jilted girlfriends to arthritic old men. At the end of the evening, the writer of the best chisme is awarded tickets to a Center Theatre Group show and a large block of queso fresco—fresh Mexican cheese.

If there’s an overarching message we hope audiences take away, it’s that storytelling isn’t just what’s on a stage, said Cisneros. When you tell stories of your day, when you tell stories of your week, that is performance.

This project was made possible by a Building Demand for the Arts Implementation grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

From 'Zoot Suit' to 'Water By The Spoonful'

Diane Rodriguez — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 11:44:00 -0700

Hudes, who lives in New York City, saw our historic revival of Luis Valdez wrote about a combustible moment in our culture 40 years ago, and then to unearth that again…that moment still feels extremely combustible in how it is reverberating against the contemporary moment. And the audience knew what they were in for. The air was charged back then, the air is charged now, and these are the things that affect our lives directly. It could be fun and beautiful and artful and also significant and meaningful in that way, which was very exciting.

Zoot Suit has been a very West Coast phenomenon. The original show went to Broadway and opened and closed fairly quickly; there were various reasons why it didn’t work. Do you feel this kind of story is only for the audience in Southern California and the Southwest, or do you think a story like this could go farther and bigger?

I have no idea. The honest truth is, audiences are different from place to place. And one of the joys of having this career is that I go to different places and sit in the audience, and it’s the first time I’ve been in this place and sat with these people. One of the challenging things about New York is you feel a little bit too cool for school—we all take for granted that great work is just going to be delivered to our laps. It’s really nice to see different audience experiences. But I have no doubt Zoot Suit is very meaningful beyond Los Angeles; there’s no question about that.

You’ve had a lot of success early in your career. Has that changed the way you write, and the expectations you feel?

It was certainly a blessing. After the Pulitzer, Water by the Spoonful got more well-known, was put on more syllabi across the country. I’m very fortunate to have that happen with the piece. You can kind of celebrate for a minute, but you have to get back to the work, to the writing. I just finished editing the galleys of the second edition of Water by the Spoonful. The first edition was published after the first production. After that, I made some edits, especially around the intermission area. In returning to the text, I do recognize that this play is a little different, that something special happened when I was writing it. It was a kind of confluence of what was in the air culturally and some resources I discovered that felt very charged and energized in my writing life.

When there’s something in the air you become a conduit for, that elevates the work. You become the voice of that moment in your genre. You’re always wanting to be open for that. I think you’re really going to enjoy having Water by the Spoonful at the Taper, where the audience wraps itself around the play, and it becomes a very intimate experience.

And I’m thrilled to have Lileana Blain-Cruz, who’s a really muscular director. It’s a challenging piece; there’s this heightened language that’s Shakespearean and this vernacular. In the right hands, really interesting visual ideas happen.

I love the visual element that your play ends on. It’s so beautiful. I think she’s going to be a great match. And at the same time that Water by the Spoonful is at the Taper, we’re going to have Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue at the Douglas. Is this the first time they’ve been onstage together?

The trilogy has been done at two theatres, but not concurrently—the plays have been done over the course of one or two seasons, so you wouldn’t necessarily get a chance to go in the course of one weekend and experience them back-to-back. I’m going to be very involved in the productions, and it’ll be interesting to see if there will be any writing shifts to be made that reflect on the proximity.

Building a Brighter Future For California Educators

Leslie K. Johnson — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 12:21:00 -0700

This is in part a matter of inequity and access; some schools have great and well-funded theatre programs while others don’t have the resources to offer anything at all. In response to this survey, createCA is calling for school districts to adopt a Declaration of the Rights of All Students to Equity in Arts Learning.

But these statistics are also a reflection of how our country and our state value the arts and theatre in particular. Some of this can be seen at the national level, in the fight to sustain funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. But it is also deeply entrenched at the state level. Until recently, there has not been a theatre or dance teaching credential in our great state. California was one of just two states in the country that did not offer teaching credentials in theatre and dance, thanks to the much maligned Teacher Preparation and Licensing Law of 1970, known as the Ryan Act. That has meant that teachers leading instructions in those subjects have had to obtain their credentials in another subject specialization in order to teach in local schools (English and physical education, respectively). It was like telling science teachers that their body of knowledge did not warrant a clear credential and that they could simply get a degree in math…close enough, right?

Participants explore Zoot Suit in our 2017 Zoot Suit Educator Conference.

Last year, Governor Brown set the course for a brighter future for California’s students by signing SB 916 into law, legislation establishing single-subject teaching credentials in dance and theatre. And while this victory was hard fought and won by theatre and arts education advocates, the historic absence of a state-awarded credential resulted in years of systemic vulnerability for theatre programs that will take concerted effort to rebuild and institutionalize in schools and districts.

The percentage of students enrolled in theatre classes and participating in school productions isn’t going to skyrocket overnight. At Center Theatre Group, we’re doing everything we can to support theatre educators in bringing equity and access to more students, and to providing young people in California with the highest quality theatre education.

Educators have always been our most essential partners in making theatre education possible for the widest range of students. We see educators as instructional leaders, change agents in their schools and communities, innovators and artists, and fellow theatre-lovers. Annually, we partner with hundreds of educators to make learning in theatre a part of students' basic education. We regularly collaborate with teachers to bring students to our three theatres. We work together to make connections between the work on our stages, their students’ studies, and their lives. And teachers serve as our most important bridge to meet the young people in our community and help them get connected directly to our theatre through programs such as the Student Ambassadors, and the Summer Theatre Immersion for Educators—an intensive four-day workshop immersing high school teachers in the work of a single playwright. In 2016, it was August Wilson. In 2017, we’ll be diving into the work of