News And Blogs

“Art is a great way to connect people,” said high school student Cielo Valenzuela. “It can be easy to spend your whole day doing something that isn’t really valuable to you, but making art helps you feel better, and it helps bring people together.” Which is why Saturday, March 21, 2020 found Valenzuela glued to a screen...but still connec...

Making that Virtual College Connection

At Center Theatre Group, we believe in the value of bridging what students learn in the classroom with what theatre professionals do every day. Enter our Teaching Artists, creative professionals who integrate their art form, perspectives, and skills into our educational programming.

Bringing the Class to the Stage, and the Stage to the Class

With a dream of becoming a lighting designer or master electrician, East Los Angeles College (ELAC) student Stephan Azua has always relished learning. But he never really imagined that experience would take place in a college classroom.

Working to Make Grad School an Opportunity for All

Do you remember your first real payday? The work leading up to it probably (hopefully) involved some kind of learning experience and skills acquired, but probably didn’t teach you event planning and production, marketing, and audience engagement, plus offer professional development opportunities in group consensus, time and budget management, mee...

The Next Generation of Arts Leaders Starts Here

How do you become a carpenter at a theatre company? What union does a box office staff belong to? When do most dancers get their big breaks? What kind of degree do you need to be a projection designer?

Welcome to the Working in Theatre Portal

A recent survey by statewide arts education coalition createCA found that only 26 percent of middle and high school students in California have access to music, theatre, dance, and visual art—access that is required by state law. The numbers for theatre in particular are bleak: just 4 percent of students across the state are enrolled in theatre c...

Building a Brighter Future For California Educators

A typical college student would seize the moment to binge watch a show on Netflix in bed all day during Easter break, but not I. For my Easter break, I was a Company Management Intern as a part of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers Diversity Initiative.

A Backstage Shadow on "Into The Woods"

Southern California’s high schools, colleges, and universities abound with aspiring artists, artisans, and arts administrators. And Southern California is full of people who have forged successful arts careers. But connecting them to one another, and creating paths for young people in the field, is a challenge not just for students but also for t...

Building Theatre's Professional Pipeline

“Where do cultural leaders come from?” asked Center Theatre Group Director of Social Strategy, Innovation and Impact Leslie K. Johnson. “They’re not just born; they’re made.” Yet training for young people in the arts—especially at the high school and college undergraduate level—typically focuses on transforming them into artists, no...

A Pipeline For Young L.A. Arts Leaders

Center Theatre Group Carpenter Kate Harrow builds, loads in, repairs, and strikes scenery for shows at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Downtown Culver City. Watch her review plans, work with wood, and handle a pretty big saw in our latest Working in Theatre video. She also talks about her education at USC, her big break in summer stock, and what it’s...

The Carpenters who Set the Scene

Disgraced is a play that everyone seems to be talking about across the country, from my family in Chicago to many friends here in L.A. I had heard about how the play dealt with contemporary faith and religion head-on. So when I received an email about Center Theatre Group’s Youth Theatre Forum for Disgraced on June 17, 2016, I got excited. Who do...

Students Discuss Faith, Identity, and ‘Art Activism’