Start Writing Your Letters Now

It hasn't been officially announced yet, but inside sources have confirmed that the new Artistic Director at the Center Theatre Group is planning to terminate all of CTG's new play development programs. This is horrible news. CTG, which runs the Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson theater and recently acquired the Kirk Douglas Theater with the specific intention of having a venue in which to develop new works, is planning on terminating all of its Labs, which include the Asian American Theatre Workshop run by Chay Yew, Blacksmyth's Theater Lab run by Brian Freeman, and the Latino Theatre Initiative run by Luis Alfaro. These are important LA artists and their projects do an amazing job at fostering new work. CTG was a major force in the development of Angels in America and Anna Deveare Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles among other things. A reading at CTG was an important developmental step for Cherrie Moraga's The Hungry Woman. And the Taper has premiered several of Lanford Wilson's plays. They have an amazing history of supporting and premiering important new works and most importantly a commitment to fostering diversity. They need to continue this work, and it looks like the new Artistic Director doesn't understand this mission. It's up to us as audience members to protest how boring and white their 2006 season is looking (Annette Bening in the Cherry Orchard! Come on!). LA expects better than this, and we need to let them know. Join me and speak out about this in whatever way you can. People need to know. It should be in the LA times and all over the place.