L.A. Writers' Workshop Festival 2018

Celebrate the unrivaled diversity and excellence of the playwrights who call Center Theatre Group and Los Angeles home at our inaugural L.A. Writers’ Workshop Festival: New Plays Forged in L.A.

We're proud to showcase bold and original new works by L.A. Writers’ Workshop participants that represent some of the freshest voices and impulses in the modern American theatre.

The Festival will feature three readings onstage at the Kirk Douglas Theatre followed by a celebration of our local playwriting community. We’ll open with Sylvan Oswald's A Kind of Weather, a tragi-comedy exploring gender transition, family relationships, and how we learn to be who we are. Next up is Dan O'Brien's New Life, which follows a war reporter in Syria and a playwright in treatment for cancer as they join forces to sell an entertaining TV show about war and trauma. The Festival will close with Zakiyyah Alexander's How to Raise a Freeman, which asks the question: how does a middle-class black family keep their teenage son alive in a world like ours?

Join us for a thrilling glimpse into the process of new play creation in Los Angeles, where many of the world’s most exciting theatre artists work and live.

Buy a $30 Festival Pass and Save $15

Spend the day with us. Experience three brand-new plays, join in discussions with local theatre artists, and stay fueled throughout the day with breakfast, coffee, and a post-show reception—all for just $30.

Apply the promo by clicking below, then add all three readings to your cart for your Festival Pass price of $30 ($10 per reading—reg. $15).

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About the Plays

'A Kind of Weather'

By Sylvan Oswald (2015/2016 L.A. Writers' Workshop Member)
Directed by Eric Hoff

When Kid’s grieving father shows up at his Brooklyn doorstep and asks to move in, it kinda puts a cramp in his sex life. An obsessive-compulsive time-jumping tragi-comedy exploring gender transition and its effect on family relationships, A Kind of Weather is about how we learn to be who we are.

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'New Life'

By Dan O'Brien (2010/2011 L.A. Writers' Workshop Member)
Directed by Neel Keller

The war reporter in Syria, the playwright in treatment for cancer—together they endeavor to sell a TV show. The tragicomic conclusion to O'Brien's trilogy of poetic memoir-for-the-stage, with The Body of an American and The House in Scarsdale, New Life dares to dream of healing after trauma, and of telling the truth of war as entertainment.

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'How to Raise a Freeman'

By Zakiyyah Alexander (2012/2013 L.A. Writers' Workshop Member)
Directed by Monty Cole

Every 28 hours a black man is killed by law enforcement. How does a middle-class family keep their teenage son alive in the world we live in? How to Raise a Freeman is a dark comedy that asks us to take a look at how we got here, where we're going, and what it truly means to be free.

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Special thanks to the many talented L.A. Writers' Workshop participants from the past 13 years of the program who submitted their work for our consideration, and to fellow Workshop members who served on our selection committee.

About the L.A. Writers' Workshop

Since 2005, we have invited seven local playwrights to spend a year at Center Theatre Group researching and writing a new work with the feedback of their fellow writers and artistic staff. Membership in the L.A. Writers' Workshop begins with this residency year and continues with events and activities designed to build community and support professional and artistic development. The L.A. Writers' Workshop is designed to inspire playwrights to create their best work, foster important voices, encourage bold writing, and build relationships among local playwrights, Center Theatre Group, and the L.A. theatre community.

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For more information about how you can support the L.A. Writers' Workshop and other artistic development programs, contact Donor Engagement at 213.972.7564.