News And Blogs

“It was great because it wasn’t just for me–this is for us. This is for Black people. I hear a story that I see myself reflected in, and it’s right here. And that’s really special.” —Bruce Lemon, Co-Artistic Director of Watts Village Theater Company

In Not a Moment, But a Movement, 3 Theatres Join in the Pursuit of Elevating Black Artists

For Kemp Powers, 2021 has already been quite the year—and it’s only February. After over two decades of writing, Powers has finally had the chance to experience what so many aspiring creatives can only dream about with the celebration of two debut screenplays. “It’s been surreal, to be honest. It’s weird to have your work out there in th...

Playwright Kemp Powers takes Hollywood by storm before turning to our Digital Stage

In Elephant Room: Dust from the Stars, an eclectic triad of magicians turned astro-nots take you on a virtual trip through time and space. You’ll arrive in the distant year 2020 against a dystopian backdrop of near total planetary collapse—a mysterious plague ravages the earth, temperatures are heating up, chaos rules the streets, democracy han...

The Journey to the Elephant Room

“I’m trying to hook up my headphones. They’re being a little testy,” says actress Sabina Zúñiga Varela during the first virtual rehearsal of Mojada, one of the three Greek plays Chicanx playwright Luis Alfaro has adapted. “This is going to be part of the process,” replied Juliette Carillo, the director. “Dealing with our little tech...

From the Streets of L.A. to the Digital Stage

Happy National Hispanic Heritage Month! Throughout the years, Center Theatre Group has produced many shows that celebrate Hispanic, Latinx, and Chicano history in California, including Zoot Suit (1978, 2017), Chavez Ravine (2003, 2015), Valley of the Heart (2018), and more. These particular productions were presented in partnership with our artisti...

Scenes From the Vault—Popol Vuh: Heart of Heaven

Before its Academy Award-nominated film adaptation in 1984 and its Broadway debut in February this year, A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller opened the Mark Taper Forum’s 16th season in 1982....

Scenes From the Vault—A Soldier's Play

Soft Power was the latest in David Henry Hwang’s long-running relationship with Center Theatre Group, which includes the World premieres of Flower Drum Song in 2001 and Yellow Face in 2007 at the Mark Taper Forum....

Scenes From the Vault—Soft Power

In 2009, Center Theatre Group produced Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s Parade at the Mark Taper Forum....

Scenes From the Vault—Parade

When the World premiere of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was produced at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in 2009, an exciting artistic partnership between Center Theatre Group and Rajiv Joseph was born. Not only was it Joseph’s first large-scale production at a major regional theatre, but the following year, the show was trasnferred to the Mark Taper...

Scenes from the Vault—Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

When Center Theatre Group’s Founding Artistic Director Gordon Davidson met with Luis Valdez to commission a play that was quintessentially Los Angeles—what came from their meeting redefined theatre history. When Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit first premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in association with Teatro El Campesino in 1978, it made history as...

Scenes from the Vault: Zoot Suit

With America preparing for its annual 4th of July celebration—albeit in a physically distanced way, perhaps unlike any time before—it must be remembered that the meaning of independence has never been equally applied to all Americans. This point is clearly taking center stage in the national dialogue, especially leading into this year’s Indep...

Exposing America's History Onstage