Center Theatre Group’s $10,000 Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood Award for theatre artists is given annually to nurture innovative and adventurous theatre artists working in Los Angeles. Two additional finalists will each receive a $2,000 honorarium.
The Sherwood Award nurtures the selected artists and invites them to engage in a professional relationship with Center Theatre Group. Sherwood Awardees demonstrate leadership qualities, push existing boundaries, and are dedicated to improving the future of their respective artistic fields. Artists are not limited by title, role, or genre, but they must have a relationship to contemporary performance rooted in theatre.
Originally created in 1996 as an annual fund to support innovative, adventurous theatre artists from Los Angeles, the Sherwood Award was established in memory of Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood. Both of the Sherwoods were patrons of the arts with a special appreciation for the energy and talent of artists at a catalytic moment in their career who are vanguards in theatre. Richard Sherwood was president of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and president and then chairman of Center Theatre Group’s Board of Directors from 1980 until his death in 1993. Dorothy Sherwood created the award to honor her husband and helped shepherd the award process since its inception before her passing in 2018. The award is endowed by the Sherwood family and honors the Sherwoods’ passionate commitment to theatre.
2021 Sherwood Award Applications
The application for the 2021 Sherwood Award is now live. The deadline for the initial application is June 17, 2020 at 12pm. Select candidates will be invited to submit full applications. Full applications, along with letters of recommendation and work sample material, will be due no later than August 14, 2020. The awardee will be announced at the LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards.
Since 2011, when he first joined Sierra Madre Playhouse (SMP), Christian Lebano has produced, directed, or acted in over 43 shows. As an actor, he has played major roles at theaters across the country, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and American Players Theater.
In 2014, he became artistic director of SMP. Under his leadership, it has earned two Ovation Awards out of thirteen nominations for eight different shows and many awards from other critic’s groups. Six years ago, he initiated the Theater for Young Audiences (TYA) series of plays for schools; the program has drawn 14 school districts and over 13,000 students. He started the Off the Page free monthly reading series which has performed 44 readings to date. Three have moved to full productions, and another is slated for 2021. In 2019, he launched the Off the Screen movie series which is screened with and supports each new production. Christian is currently recovering from COVID-19 but nonetheless made time to interview in April 2020.
Brighid Fleming and Christian Lebano in “To Kill a Mockingbird” – Photo by Gina Long
Tell us something about the history of your theater. When did your theater begin its long career? What is your mission?
Christian Lebano: The building was built in 1910 as a furniture store and was converted to a silent movie theater and limited vaudeville in 1923. It continued as a movie house until it closed in 1970 when the building was chopped up and used for many different purposes. In 1980, a community theater took over the building and became the Sierra Madre Playhouse. The building underwent major renovations to make it look as it does today. In 1996, we started using Equity actors and began professionalizing our offerings. In 2014, we had a major reorganization and mission change. That was the year I became the first artistic director in over 10 years.
Lee Chen and Grace Shen in “The Joy Luck Club” – Photo by Gina Long
The Sierra Madre Playhouse is a nonprofit, award-winning 99-seat theater. With century-old ties to our community; we are dedicated to fostering an appreciation of live performance in people of all ages and backgrounds by illuminating the diversity of the American experience.
I was not involved from the beginning. I first came to SMP as an actor in 2011 and then joined the board in 2012. I became artistic director in 2014.
When did you close the theater due to COVID-19? Were you in the middle of a run?
CL: We closed on March 5. At the time, we had a rental in the house, and they cancelled their remaining performances. We had cancelled our sold-out production of Charlotte’s Web a few weeks earlier because of the added costs incurred due to AB5 – specifically, the redefinition of independent contractors – so we were spared having to shut down a production.
Over the past weeks, how has COVID-19 impacted your theater?
CL: Of course, we have canceled all programming: our film series, our reading series, and all our productions through the end of 2020.
Aaron Shaw and Katie Franqueira in “Dames at Sea” – Photo by Gina Long
Are you doing anything right now to keep your live theater going? Streaming? Having virtual meetings? Planning for your next show when you reopen? Auditioning? Fund Raising?
CL: We have not yet streamed anything for our audiences, but we are considering the best ways to stay connected to them, including live streaming performances. We have just launched a newsletter and continue to send email updates. We are also on Facebook. Our marquee has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, LA Times, CNN, and MSNBC. Pretty soon we’re going to need an agent! We have been updating our marquee messages weekly.
We’re having lots of virtual meetings with staff and our board. We’re planning on our grand reopening production for April of next year. We haven’t set a date yet. Given our uncertainty about the opening date, we haven’t yet scheduled auditions.
In terms of fund raising, we haven’t made any direct appeals for support at this time. We feel that – with so many people struggling – it isn’t the right time to ask for money. However, we have received several unsolicited donations from patrons, all with notes telling us how important we are to the community and how much they hope we will survive the shutdown. WE WILL!!
Brad David Reed and Jack Sundmacher in “The Odd Couple” – Photo by Gina Long
What do you think will be the impact of COVID-19 on live theater in general in Los Angeles? Do you foresee any permanent changes?
CL: I imagine that quite a few intimate theaters will be forced to close. I see a contraction of offerings looming. COVID-19 comes on the heels of the disastrous AB5 law which changed the definition of independent contractors and thus added thousands of dollars to the cost of productions. The uncertainty of the future makes it very difficult to plan. It is our opinion that we won’t be allowed to gather until 2021 and that, even then, audiences will be wary until there is a vaccine. That is why we are not planning to produce in 2020 and will only begin later in 2021.
Alan Blumenfeld and Katherine James in “The Gin Game” – Photo by Gina Long
What do you need right now to keep going forward? What would you like from the theater public?
CL: We definitely need patience and fortitude. Obviously, we also need donations as we try to keep paying our small staff through these dark times. We love hearing from our patrons. Knowing that they are rooting for us and looking forward to our reopening keeps our spirits strong and makes us determined to come back better than ever.
Most importantly, very soon we will be announcing ways that the audiences can reach out to their State Senators and Assembly persons to help rethink and rewrite AB5. This law has had a great impact on our ability to produce shows at the high level we’ve come to be known for. That’s why we are planning only a four-show season, which is down two shows from our past production schedules.
Susane Lee and Christian Prentice in “4000 Miles” – Photo by Gina Long
What are some of your future plans?
CL: We plan a four-show season in 2021 which will include three of the cancelled productions from 2020 – Lauren Yee’s King of the Yees, Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky, and a return of our Christmas classic, A Christmas Story. We will be announcing one more show which will open the season. We are ready to announce our Silent Film Festival which will be in the spring. Our reading series, Off the Page, will be back with its monthly offering. We will include a full month of four new plays in June or July, and we’ll launch our Story Telling events (to be named) with two dates. AND we have a few more ideas in the works.
We are also using this time to make many long-needed upgrades to our theater. These changes, large and small, will make our producing capabilities stronger, our actors better supported, and our audiences happier. I am very excited to share them with our patrons when we reopen.
This Spotlight focuses on composer, conductor, lyricist, and producer Christopher Raymond who has won an NAACP, Stage Raw, and Broadway World Awards for his work in theatre. Chris has also music directed several Los Angeles area awards shows as well as 14 productions with DOMA Theatre Company in Hollywood, among many others. And in December 2018, he became Music Director for Valley Outreach Synagogue in Calabasas where Passover and Shabbat services are being LiveStreamed from home.
Shari Barrett (SB): What would you like readers to know about your professional background?
Christopher Raymond (Chris): I started my career at the age of 15 by playing in the band for Jason Robert Brown’s 13 The Musical at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and on Broadway.
(SB): I saw 13 The Musical at both the Kirk Douglas Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum and really loved the energy in the show. And all the teenage emotions bursting at the seams reminded me of many challenging days I experienced as a middle and high school teacher.
(Chris): I then went on to study music at CalArts, and am now a composer, lyricist and music director, and have won an NAACP, Stage Raw, and Broadway World Award for my work in theatre.
I co-wrote the theme song for the show, Troy (which opened at the 80,000-seat Beijing National Stadium in July, 2017), and music directed and orchestrated the Ovation Awards twice (at The Ahmanson Theatre and at the Theatre at Ace Hotel). I also music directed / arranged the LA Drama Critics Circle Awards twice.
I music directed, conducted and played piano for 14 productions with DOMA Theatre Company in Hollywood, including prominent revivals of Avenue Q, American Idiot, and Dreamgirls (which was awarded “Best Musical” by the LA Drama Critics Circle Awards and the LA Times Awards.)
I recently wrote the book, music and lyrics for Scarlet Letter: The Musical, which had a workshop production at Greenway Court Theatre. A highlights reel for the musical is available on YouTube here:
In December 2018, I became Music Director for Valley Outreach Synagogue in Calabasas. Working with Rabbi Ron Li-Paz, Cantor Michael Li-Paz, Chaplain Jennifer Eaves Nye and the rest of the VOS team is a continually inspiring experience.
(SB): How has COVID-19 affected your work at your Synagogue?
(Chris): The quarantine orders began in Los Angeles shortly before Passover. Due to this, we at VOS held two virtual Seders on our website. The Rabbi, Cantor, Chaplain, and myself LiveStreamed our Seders from our respective homes as our congregation joined us from their homes. It was a beautiful way to create joy and unity during a challenging time for the world.
We are currently LiveStreaming our Shabbat Services on Friday nights and all of our classes are being held online. We are grateful to live in a time when technology allows us to continue functioning and providing help as a Synagogue while our leadership and membership remain safely isolated at home.
(SB): How are you keeping the Arts alive while at home by using social media or other online sites?
(Chris): I have been recording / composing music in my home studio and I have also been making musical videos for Valley Outreach Synagogue’s website. I have also had an opportunity to watch and support many friends’ musical and arts-related projects online, which has been a joy.
(SB): What thoughts would you like to share with the rest of the L.A. Theatre community while we are all leaving the Ghostlight on and promising to return back to the stage soon?
(Chris): As a community, we are all going through uncharted waters, but I believe that at the end of the day we will be stronger and hopefully a bit wiser from the lessons we’ve learned during this pandemic. May we all stay safe and do our best to keep up our spirits/morale by continuing to learn, grow and create / appreciate art.
Today I spotlightKristin Towers-Rowles, an Award-Winning Director, Triple-Threat Actress, and Granddaughter of Screen Legend Kathryn Grayson.
Shari Barrett (SB): What would you like readers to know about your own theatrical background?
Kristin Towers-Rowles (KTR): I am a born and raised LA Arts girl, and grew up in and around the Theatre and Film industry. Some families have Law Practices, Accounting Firms, Car Dealerships—my entire family is a Performing Arts family who has made their living for generations because of Film, TV, and Theatre.
My grandmother was MGM leading lady Kathryn Grayson, who starred in over 20 musicals in the Golden Age of Hollywood. (“Kiss Me, Kate,” “Showboat,” “Anchors Away.”) She also took over for Julie Andrews as Guinevere in “Camelot” on Broadway, and played the role on the 1st National Tour. My Grandfather, Johnny Johnston, starred in movies (“Rock Around The Clock,” “Unchained”), was a recording artist, and was on Broadway in “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.” My father, Robert Towers, starred in “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button” and has played hundreds of character roles in Film, TV, and Theatre.
After attending Hollywood High Performing Arts, I went to AMDA in NYC and trained as an actress, singer, and dancer. Even after moving back to LA from NYC to focus on Film and TV. I never stopped doing theatre; in fact, it was truly all I cared about. Not only was it what I loved most but it was also where I found my chosen family. I was very active in L.A. theatre but also did 7 national tours, worked almost an entire year at Sierra Rep in Northern California, worked in Asia, Europe, on Cruise Ships. I was truly living the dream! I had an apartment I saw a few times a year that was little more than an expensive closet. I would come home, re-pack and be off again.
After sustaining a life-altering back injury on tour in 2002, I stopped performing for 7 years, got married and had 3 children, now all accomplished young artists in their own right. Since returning back to work as an actress, singer, and director in 2009, I have been very fortunate to be onstage playing incredible roles in musicals and straight plays. Since then, I’ve been splitting my time onstage with also being a director at the helm of many award-winning productions, both musicals, and straight plays.
As a woman in a field still dominated by men, it has been wonderful to have the many opportunities I have had to be on stage as an actress and to direct, and have often been employed doing both at the same time. For me, the two go hand-in-hand since I’m a better actress because of my 360-perspective as a director. My understanding of direction comes from being an actress and knowing, first hand, what actors need to hear. And, quite frankly, rarely having had a director that has known how to communicate what they want and how to get me there, I try to be that director to the actors with whom I work.
(SB): What production(s) were you involved with when word went out you needed to immediately postpone/cancel the show?
(KTR): We had just finished an insanely difficult tech week for Andrew Lippa’s “The Wild Party” at The Morgan-Wixson Theatre (MWT) in Santa Monica, which I directed. The entire production team, including Choreographer and Assistant Director, Michael Marchak, Musical Director, Daniel Koh, Stage Manager, Ryan Rowles, Producers Spencer Johnson, and Kristie Mattsson, and cast had been working ourselves sick to have a phenomenal show for opening night and we were more than ready. The show one of the toughest in the Contemporary Musical Theater canon and we had pulled no stops: gorgeous set design by Yelena Babinskaya, phenomenal lighting by Derek Jones, Jazz Age spectacular costumes by Ovation Award-winning Michael Mullen, Scenic Design by Orlando de la Paz, Props by Maggie Randolph, Intimacy Coordinator, Mia Schachter, a stage combat director, Amanda Newman–all designers new to the MWT–and we were excited our show was to be the flagship production for the new direction that theatre is moving in with more daring, broad, and diverse artistic choices. I have only directed one other show at The MWT before, “Company” in 2017, and was so elated to be back and entrusted with this rarely produced theatrical gem: a sexy, slick 20s musical for the 2020s. And everyone was ecstatic we would soon be opening.
(SB): How did you communicate the shutdown with your cast and production team?
(KTR): The President of the MWT Board, the wonderful Michael Heimos, along with a small group of invited friends and family, were present at our final dress rehearsal (for which we received a full standing ovation). Before that rehearsal, he chatted with our cast and team in a truthful and frank with us that the board was meeting that night to discuss the possibility of postponing the opening. This was March 12, [2020], and at this point, there was news every hour about new guidelines for public gatherings. Everything was changing all the time and the board wanted to make the correct call for everyone: the audiences, the cast, and in light of everyone’s safety.
At intermission, he told me the board had decided to halt the opening. I sat through the 2nd act with tears streaming down my face, watching the beautiful work we had all created, and then watching the audience jump to their feet at the curtain call. I wanted the audience to understand what they had just witnessed so I asked the President of the board to come up and tell the cast and the audience the news of our being postponed as I felt it would be better if we all heard this together to be able to support each other. Of course, everyone was in tears, the cast, the team, the audience, since we all were heartbroken that this incredible piece of theatre would have to wait. But mixed with that heartbreak was the feeling of joy for what we had all just experienced.
(SB): Are plans in place to present that production at a future date, or is the cancellation permanent?
(KTR): At this time, The MWT still plans on opening our show when the bans are all lifted and it is safe to do so. However, they have an entire season that will most likely need to shift so we have no idea what any of that will look like. It is surreal to think that our sets, costumes, lights, props–everything is just sitting there, frozen in time… waiting. Just like a Ghostlight awaiting our return to the stage.
(SB): What future productions on your schedule are also affected by the shutdown?
(KTR): I was supposed to be directing the North Carolina and National Tour productions of “The Lost Virginity Tour (TLVT),” a play by Cricket Daniel. I directed the L.A. Premiere last year at the McCadden Theatre and it was picked up by Jeanie Linders, creator of “Menopause The Musical,” and I was brought on to direct. I’ve been told the show’s tour will have to wait until at least November. I had turned down other acting and directing work to do “TLVT,” but now that we are in this crisis, none of it would have happened anyway since all theaters are dark.
I’m still in shock. I wake up and it takes me hours sometimes to wrap my head around the devastation to my own work and the work of all my colleagues. All of us are out of work. All of our projects are shelved. Everyone I know is suffering a collective grief. And I know that everyone is out of work right now, no matter what field you are in. But the devastation to the Arts, a field that constantly has to beg for money to stay afloat as it normally is, is just absolutely unfathomable. I know that many theatres I’ve loved and called home are hanging on by a thread and some may not make it through this. It’s just unbearable.
(SB): How are you keeping the Arts alive while at home by using social media or other online sites?
(KTR): I am not very savvy at Zoom or any of the online platforms but I have been happily supporting others. I’m part of an LA Arts Collective having virtual think tanks and meetings to figure out ways to get our work online. But in all honesty, I don’t think theatre transfers well to being filmed and I don’t enjoy the idea of taking something meant to be experienced live and reducing it to a flat-screen. Just my opinion.
That’s where my grief really comes into play. My heart breaks because what we do, as performing artists and performing arts designers, is meant to be experienced in person, with others in attendance. It is a meeting of human beings all creating that moment together, either as the performer or as the audience member. It’s symbiotic and that cannot happen watching something on a screen.
(SB): What thoughts would you like to share with the rest of the L.A. Theatre community while we are all leaving the ghost light on and promising to return back to the stage soon?
(KTR): As I said earlier, I was injured for seven years and was unable to work. It was hard, depressing, and felt like the end of the world. And then the seven years ended and I was back with my tribe; and for the last 11 years, I’ve been creating nonstop.
The LA Theatre Community has been through a lot and here we all are. We are the storytellers, the dreamers, the music makers, and the world is beige without the color we bring. We will get through this, and through our unique voices, we will be the ones to teach future generations about it. But in the meantime, stay safe, stay home, and wash your hands! Let’s make this end so we can all be back doing what makes our hearts sing.
The CRITIC OF THE YEAR Award goes to the critic who has done the most to advance the fine art of theater criticism. This critic sets a standard for partnering with the artists who bring LA theatre to life and the audiences that LA theatre serves.
Congratulations to Steven from all of us!
Steven Stanley is the editor of StageSceneLA.com and he is also the author of Moroccan Roll, available at Amazon.com.
Steven has been an ESL instructor in the English Language Program (formerly the American Culture And Language Program) at California State University, Los Angeles since 1979.
In the early 1970s, Steven Stanley taught English at Lycée Ibn Sina in Beni-Mellal, Morocco—an experience which led him to write Moroccan Roll (2007, iUniverse) , a multiple-plot novel which has received favorable comparison to Armistead Maupin’s Tales Of The City and TV’s Sex In The City.
Steven Stanley’s love for theater began at an early age, as a young audience member at L.A. Civic Light Opera productions. In 1993, he returned to acting for the first time since a number of teenaged appearances with a featured role in The Pajama Game at the San Gabriel Civic. This was followed by numerous appearances on Los Angeles area stages including the Lillian Theatre, the Actor’s Group Theatre, the Stephanie Feurie Studio Theatre, the Gardner Stages, the Sierra Madre Playhouse, and the Whittier Center Theatre.
StageSceneLA.com debuted in August of 2007, just as Steven Stanley was concluding two years as an Ovation Awards voter, during which time he attended and voted on over 375 productions. Each September, StageSceneLA.com presents the Scenies to the finest Southern California theater talents.
To view all of Steven’s review excerpts, visit his Better Lemons page HERE.
To view all the Registered Critics on Better Lemons who post their own review excerpts and give each show a LemonMeter rating, go to Better-Lemons.com/Registered-Critics.
All Registered Critics write theater and art reviews for their own publications and then rate registered shows on our website and add their LemonMeter rating. Please contact them through their own website to congratulate them and to get them to review your production.
And here are the previously announced 2019 Critic Award winners:
Actress, Comedian, and local Politician, Kristina Wong, will be presenting a “UndocuStories: Journeys of Justice and Freedom” workshop series at the Dream Resource Center in MacArthur Park, beginning September 3, 2019.
In the eighth year as recipient of this grant as Artist-in-Residence, Wong, who refers to her work as “mind-blowing social commentary with a little humor,” on a picture of her 2020 Census Form posted on her Facebook page, facilitated a similar workshop last year where DACA recipients, undocumented individuals, permanent residents, mixed-status families, and allies participated with a similar grant, which was increased this year from $8,000 to $12,000.
Participants in the “UndocuStories” workshops in 2018 in an exercise involving karaoke. (Photo courtesy of Kristina Wong/UCLA Dream Resource Center)
“Last year’s show was a combination of comedy sketches, poetry, movement work, first-person testimonials and a cover of Vanilla’s Ice Ice Baby called “ABOLISH Ice, Ice Baby,” she said. “This year’s workshop will specifically center on experiences of undocumented immigrants.”
Wong, who is a newly elected Representative for Sub-District 5 Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council, recently received the Center Theatre Group’s Dorothy and Richard E. Sherwood Award for her work as a “Boundary-Pushing Artist,” which was presented to her at the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards ceremony at this year.
“UndocuStories: Journeys of Justice and Freedom” is a twelve-week theater workshop facilitated by Wong, that will feature guest artists Yosimar Reyes (2nd Verse: The Rebirth of Poetry) and Kat Evasco (Working in the Theater) who will teach skills in comedy writing, Theater of the Oppressed (TO), movement, and performance, where participants will engage on issues that “impact the undocumented immigrant community, transforming those stories into an original theater piece for the public,” said Wong on the LAFPI site.
According to the Mandala Center for Change, TO is a form of community-based education that “uses theater as a tool for social change” that was developed by Augusto Boal. Theater of the Oppressed “is now used all over the world for social and political activism, conflict resolution, community building, therapy, and government legislation. It is also practiced on a grassroots level by community organizers, activists, teachers, social workers, cultural animators, and more.”
Per Wong, as a public elected official in Koreatown in “a small, unpaid position, but very mighty,” a lot of her constituency and neighborhood is undocumented. In her first 100 days in office, and while still working as an actress, comedian, and writer, she wrote a community impact statement about supporting the abolishment of ICE (Integrations and Customs Enforcement), and that process may make it into a future show. Since then she has made it her goal to work and educate toward achieving social justice through her comedy, where she discusses social issues affecting people of color—especially women of color—, white privilege, and how to be an armchair social justice warrior (or a better one on foot). A great example of her approach is one of her earlier productions titled the “Wong Street Journal.”
“Last year, our allies were really great about stepping up to support the storytelling of our undocumented participants and de-centering themselves when necessary to keep the focus of storytelling on the experiences of undocumented participants,” said Wong in her blog.
Each week, for twelve weeks, with information provided by the Dream Resource Center, participants will explore a new topic that specifically affects the undocumented community, such as “Know your Rights” or healthcare options for undocumented communities and unaccompanied minors crossing the border, along with theater games, a mix of improv and sketch writing exercises, and performance work.
For some individuals who might be concerned about giving their identities with regard to the workshop and performances, they will establish community rules at the top of each meeting so that “everyone is on the same page about how to work together,” according to the LAFPI article, so participants may not be required to give full names if they are undocumented.
“Just let us know if you don’t want your name published on materials or if there are limits as to what you want to share with the group or publicly,” Wong wrote on the LAFPI site.
With regard to any fears about ICE roundups, Wong said, “they would have to have a warrant” [for an individual] and that there are staff members present who are “super trained on how to address ICE” if they were to show. But she feels confident that would not happen or be an issue.
“To those who are not undocumented, it seems scary, but the “Know Your Rights” training in the workshop prepares the undocumented as well as the allies so that we are all ready to put the knowledge to the task,” Wong said. “But also they have to ring a doorbell to come in, so we’d at least be able to confront them at the door.”
The “UndocuStories: Journeys of Justice and Freedom” workshop is located at UCLA Downtown Labor Center at 675 S Park View St, Los Angeles, CA 90057, which will meet Tuesdays from September 3 – November 19, 2019, from 6 – 8 p.m., with the final performance on November 19th at 7 p.m. Participants do not need to be a UCLA student to attend, there are no age restrictions for the workshop, the workshop is free, and dinner will be provided at each session. For more information contact: dreamresourcecenter@gmail.com.
The 29th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards is Monday, January 28, 2019. The black-tie ceremony will be held at DTLA at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on Broadway at 7:30 p.m.
The Ovation Awards, created to recognize excellence in theatrical performance, production, and design in the Greater Los Angeles area, is the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles where nominees, their peers, and all L.A. theatre-lovers will join in the much-anticipated annual celebration of a year of excellence in Los Angeles theatre, issuing a wide variety of awards in categories that recognize the plethora of theatrical talent in Los Angeles and their art.
The 33 categories, listed from Best Production of a Play (Large) to Lead Actor in a Play, to Lead Actress in a Play to Fight Direction, along with Ovations Honors Winners. The awards season is September through August and concludes with a tabulation to determine the nominees in each of the categories, with several award winners from last year returning this year as nominees.
Center Theatre Group, who won three Ovation Awards last year for their productions, has a total of 18 nominations this year–with “Soft Power” receiving 12 nominations–including a nomination for Best Production of a Musical (Large Theater) for both “Soft Power” and “Spamilton.” Center Theatre Group is also nominated for Best Presented Production for “The Red Shoes.”
The East West Players, who won Best Production of a Musical (Large Theatre) for “Next to Normal” last year, has a total 13 different nomination this year in various categories, including for Best Production of a Play (Intimate Theater) for “Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin” co-produced with Rogue Artists Ensemble, who also is nominated for 8 productions co-produced along with the East West Players.
The LA. Stage Alliance just recently moved into the new home on 514 Spring Street in the heart of DTLA, late last year, on the fourth floor of the historic building and theatre that is owned by the City of Los Angeles and operated by the Latino Theatre Company. The landmark Greek-Revival with its iconic columns was constructed in 1916 and designed by John Parkinson, along with and G. Edwin Bergstrom, the former who also designed many of the city’s other landmark buildings in the area in the early 20th Century. The building later became the home to the Los Angeles Theatre Center in 1985, keeping the original 50-by-100-foot stained glass ceiling, ornamental bronze cornices, and marble walls featured in its lobby.
A stunning landmark itself, The Theatre at Ace Hotel is located at 929 South Broadway, in Downtown Los Angeles. Valet Parking is available 24/7 and there are pay lots in the surrounding area.
CENTER THEATRE GROUP NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2018 RICHARD E. SHERWOOD AWARD
June 5 is the Deadline to Apply for $10,000 Award for Emerging L.A. Theatre Artists
Center Theatre Group is now accepting submissions for the 2018 Richard E. Sherwood Award. The deadline to submit an application is June 5, 2017, at 11:59 p.m.
The Sherwood Award is an annual $10,000 prize that supports innovative and adventurous theatre artists and engages them in a professional relationship with Center Theatre Group. The award is presented each year at the Ovation Awards ceremony produced by LA Stage Alliance. Two additional finalists will receive a $2,000 honorarium.
Center Theatre Group invites individual emerging artists to submit an application if they have resided in Los Angeles for at least two years and have developed or collaborated in at least two fully produced projects in Los Angeles. Sherwood awardees demonstrate leadership qualities, push existing boundaries and are dedicated to improving the future of their respective artistic fields. Artists are not limited by title, role or genre, but they must have a relationship to contemporary performance rooted in theatre.
Center Theatre Group will also offer two information sessions to prospective applicants on Friday, May 12 at 6pm. (must RSVP by Wednesday, May 10) and Monday, May 22 at 7 p.m. (must RSVP by Thursday, May 18). To RSVP or to receive more information about the sessions, please email Sherwood@CTGLA.org. Both sessions will be held at The Music Center Annex building, 601 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Created in memory of Richard E. Sherwood, the $10,000 award aims to cultivate emerging theatre artists working in Los Angeles who push formal and aesthetic boundaries and demonstrate dedication to improving their respective artistic fields.
Richard E. Sherwood was a patron of the arts with a special appreciation for emerging artists who are in the vanguard of theatre. He was president and then chairman of the Center Theatre Group Board of Directors from 1980 until his passing in 1993. The 2018 Sherwood Award Accepting Submissions Through June 5 – 2 award is established as an endowed fund at Center Theatre Group by his family, friends, colleagues and fellow board members to honor Sherwood’s passionate commitment to theatre.
Past recipients of the Richard E. Sherwood Award include lighting designer Pablo Santiago, Miwa Matreyek of Cloud Eye Control, Sean Cawelti of Rogue Artists Ensemble, Miranda Wright of Los Angeles Performance Practice, Lars Jan of Early Morning Opera, lighting designer Christopher Kuhl and costume designer Ann Closs-Farley, among others.
Center Theatre Group, one of the nation’s preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles’ leading nonprofit theatre company, programming seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum and 1600 to 2000-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation’s leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.
For more information about the Richard E. Sherwood Award, please visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Sherwood. For questions or concerns about the application process or to RSVP to the information sessions, please contact Sherwood@CTGLA.org.
Last night was the 27th Annual Ovation Awards hosted by Alexandra Billings and held at the Ahmanson Theatre.
Celebration Theatre had a strong night taking home 7 awards. Looks like taking a bus to the awards was a great idea as the company had a lot to celebrate.
Host Alexandra Billings was a delight and gave a passionate speech about how now is the time to march. She also brought down the house with her rendition of Creep by Radiohead. Executive Director Steven Leigh Morris gave a wonderful speech about empathy. Luis Alfaro had us all up on our feet shouting “I AM”. The overall night had a political tone to it, but it wasn’t one of hopelessness and desperation. It was a call to action highlighting the transformative power of live theatre.
The winners in each category have asterisks *** by them. Congratulations to all the winners!
Best Season
CELEBRATION THEATRE
Bootycandy
Dream Boy
The Boy From Oz GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE
Barcelona
Big Sky
Guards at the Taj
In & Of Itself
Outside Mullingar
Sex with Strangers
Stage Kiss
These Paper Bullets! A Modish Ripoff of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Thom Pain (based on nothing) ***LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER Fool for Love HAM: A Musical Memoir Hit the Wall
Best Production of a Play (Intimate Theatre)
AMERYKA
Critical Mass Performance Group SPACE
Crooked Arrow Productions MY MAÑANA COMES
Fountain Theatre HIT THE WALL
Los Angeles LGBT Center HONKY
Rogue Machine CHURCH & STATE
Skylight Theatre Company ***DRY LAND The Echo Theater Company
Best Production of a Play (Large Theatre)
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF AMERICA (ABRIDGED)
Falcon Theatre BARCELONA
Geffen Playhouse ***GUARDS AT THE TAJ Geffen Playhouse MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES
The Getty Villa & The Theatre @ Boston Court
Best Production of a Musical (Intimate Theatre)
***THE BOY FROM OZ Celebration Theatre WE ARE THE TIGERS: A NEW MUSICAL
Heart and Flame Productions THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Best Production of a Musical (Large Theatre)
AMERICAN IDIOT
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts FIRST DATE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts ***HAM: A MUSICAL MEMOIR Los Angeles LGBT Center
Best Presented Production
A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER
Center Theatre Group ***1984 The Broad Stage JANE AUSTEN UNSCRIPTED
The Broad Stage
Acting Ensemble of a Play
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3)
Center Theatre Group AMERYKA
Critical Mass Performance Group ***THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF AMERICA (ABRIDGED) Falcon Theatre MY MAÑANA COMES
Fountain Theatre HIT THE WALL
Los Angeles LGBT Center FLY
Pasadena Playhouse
Acting Ensemble of a Musical
***THE BOY FROM OZ Celebration Theatre AMERICAN IDIOT
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts DREAMGIRLS
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts EMPIRE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts FIRST DATE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
The Al Dubin Musical/Corky Hale RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD
Theatre Planners
Choreography
ANNIE YEE
THE GOLDEN DRAGON
The Theatre @ Boston Court ***JANET ROSTON THE BOY FROM OZ Celebration Theatre TASHEENA MEDINA
THE SPARROW
Coeurage Theatre Company DANA SOLIMANDO
AMERICAN IDIOT
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts JOHN FARMANESH-BOCCA
TEMPEST REDUX
Odyssey Theatre Company & New American Theatre
Music Direction
BRYAN BLASKIE
THE BOY FROM OZ
Celebration Theatre PATRICK SULKEN
WE ARE THE TIGERS: A NEW MUSICAL
Heart and Flame Productions DAVID O
AMERICAN IDIOT
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts ***TODD SCHROEDER HAM: A MUSICAL MEMOIR Los Angeles LGBT Center GERALD STERNBACH
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
The Al Dubin Musical/Corky Hale
Book for an Original Musical
ROBERT HULL & CAROLINE SHERMAN
EMPIRE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts MO WILLEMS
ELEPHANT & PIGGIE’S: “WE ARE IN A PLAY!”
MainStreet Theatre Company ***MICHAEL SHAW FISHER SHAKESPEARE’S LAST NIGHT OUT Orgasmico Theatre Company
Lyrics/Composition for an Original Musical
***REBEKAH ALLEN WE ARE THE TIGERS: A NEW MUSICAL Heart and Flame Productions DEBORAH WICKS-LA PUMA & MO WILLEMS
ELEPHANT & PIGGIE’S: “WE ARE IN A PLAY!”
MainStreet Theatre Company MICHAEL SHAW FISHER
SHAKESPEARE’S LAST NIGHT OUT
Orgasmico Theatre Company
Playwriting for an Original Play
NANCY KEYSTONE
AMERYKA
Critical Mass Performance Group STEFAN MARKS
SPACE
Crooked Arrow Productions JULIE MYATT
JOHN IS A FATHER
The Road Theatre Company JASON WILLIAMS
CHURCH & STATE
Skylight Theatre Company ERIK PATTERSON
ONE OF THE NICE ONES
The Echo Theater Company ***LUIS ALFARO MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES The Getty Villa & The Theatre @ Boston Court JASON WELLS
THE ENGINE OF OUR RUIN
The Victory Theatre Center
Direction of a Musical
***MICHAEL SHEPPERD THE BOY FROM OZ Celebration Theatre OANH NGUYEN
A CHORUS LINE
Chance Theater BRIAN KITE
AMERICAN IDIOT
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts NICK DEGRUCCIO
FIRST DATE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts BILLY PORTER & KEN SAWYER
HAM: A MUSICAL MEMOIR
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Direction of a Play
ALAN MANDELL
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group JOSEPH CALARCO
THE SPARROW
Coeurage Theatre Company JERRY KERNION
THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF AMERICA (ABRIDGED)
Falcon Theatre TRIP CULLMAN
BARCELONA
Geffen Playhouse GIOVANNA SARDELLI
GUARDS AT THE TAJ
Geffen Playhouse ***KEN SAWYER HIT THE WALL Los Angeles LGBT Center KATHARINE FARMER
SEE ROCK CITY
Rubicon Theatre Company
Lead Actor in a Musical
ANDREW BONGIORNO as Peter Allen
THE BOY FROM OZ
Celebration Theatre JON JON BRIONES as Georges
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
East West Players DAVID LAMARR as James Thunder Early
DREAMGIRLS
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts MARC GINSBURG as Aaron
FIRST DATE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts ***SAM HARRIS as Multiple Characters HAM: A MUSICAL MEMOIR Los Angeles LGBT Center
Lead Actress in a Musical
RACHEL YORK as “Little” Edie Beale/Edith
GREY GARDENS
Center Theatre Group ***MOYA ANGELA as Effie DREAMGIRLS La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts BRITTNEY JOHNSON as Lorell Robinson
DREAMGIRLS
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts ERICA LUSTIG as Casey
FIRST DATE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts ALISON LUFF as Charlie Jane
BREAKING THROUGH
Pasadena Playhouse
Lead Actor in a Play
BARRY MCGOVERN as Clov
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group STERLING K. BROWN as Hero/Ulysses
FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3)
Center Theatre Group STEFAN MARKS as Kurt Finge
SPACE
Crooked Arrow Productions RAMIZ MONSEF as Babur
GUARDS AT THE TAJ
Geffen Playhouse ***SAM ANDERSON as John JOHN IS A FATHER The Road Theatre Company ERIK ODOM as Raleigh
SEE ROCK CITY
Rubicon Theatre Company ROB NAGLE as Charlie Whitmore
CHURCH & STATE
Skylight Theatre Company
Lead Actress in a Play
BETTY GILPIN as Irene
BARCELONA
Geffen Playhouse ***LILY NICKSAY as May SEE ROCK CITY Rubicon Theatre Company ANGELLE BROOKS as Ruth Younger
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Ruskin Group Theatre Co STARLETTA DUPOIS as Mama Lena Younger
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Ruskin Group Theatre Co KATE MORGAN CHADWICK as Holly
BED
The Echo Theater Company CONNOR KELLY-EIDING as Ester
DRY LAND
The Echo Theater Company DANIELLE TRUITT as Camae
THE MOUNTAINTOP
The Matrix Theatre Company
Featured Actor in a Musical
RYAN DRISCOLL as Cain/Japheth
CHILDREN OF EDEN
Cabrillo Music Theatre LEIGH WAKEFORD as Man #2
FIRST DATE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts JUSTIN MICHAEL WILCOX as Man #1
FIRST DATE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Art ***STANTON MORALES as Barfee THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE Sierra Madre Playhouse ELIJAH ROCK as Cab Calloway
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
The Al Dubin Musical/Corky Hale WILKIE FERGUSON III as Jesse Belvin
RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD
Theatre Planners MATT MAGNUSSON as Huggy Boy
RECORDED IN HOLLYWOOD
Theatre Planners
Featured Actress in a Musical
NATALIA VIVINO as Yonah
CHILDREN OF EDEN
Cabrillo Music Theatre KELLY LESTER as Marion Woolnough
THE BOY FROM OZ
Celebration Theatre ***BESS MOTTA as Judy Garland THE BOY FROM OZ Celebration Theatrere JESSICA PENNINGTON as Liza Minnelli
THE BOY FROM OZ
Celebration Theatre BETTY BUCKLEY as Edith Bouvior Beale
GREY GARDENS
Center Theatre Group MICHELE SPEARS as Ensemble
SONDHEIM UNSCRIPTED
Impro Theatre CRISTINA GERLA as Olive
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Sierra Madre Playhouse
Featured Actor in a Play
***MICHAEL SHEPPERD as Actor 4 BOOTYCANDY Celebration Theatre JAMES GREENE as Nagg
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group MICHAEL MCKEAN as Colonel
FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3)
Center Theatre Group LARRY POWELL as Homer
FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3)
Center Theatre Group RAY FORD as Gene Jefferson
AMERYKA
Critical Mass Performance Group ROBERT GOSSETT as Oz
WATCHING O.J.
Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA MATTHEW HANCOCK as Carson
HIT THE WALL
Los Angeles LGBT Center
Featured Actress in a Play
***PAULA CHRISTENSEN as Nicky COLONY COLLAPSE The Theatre @ Boston Court CHARLOTTE RAE as Nell
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group SAMEERAH LUQMAAN-HARRIS as Penny
FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3)
Center Theatre Group PATRENA MURRAY as Fourth/Odyssey Dog
FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS (PARTS 1, 2 & 3)
Center Theatre Group ROBIN PEARSON ROSE as Aoife
OUTSIDE MULLINGAR
Geffen Playhouse SHARON SHARTH as Mrs. Gill
SEE ROCK CITY
Rubicon Theatre Company VIVIS as Tita
MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES
The Getty Villa & The Theatre @ Boston Court
Lighting Design (Intimate Theatre)
KARYN LAWRENCE
COLONY COLLAPSE
The Theatre @ Boston Court ***ELIZABETH HARPER THE GOLDEN DRAGON The Theatre @ Boston Court MATTHEW DENMAN
BOOTYCANDY
Celebration Theatre TIM SWISS
DREAM BOY
Celebration Theatre ELIZBETH HARPER
AMERYKA
Critical Mass Performance Group MATT RICHTER
HIT THE WALL
Los Angeles LGBT Center KATELAN BRAYMER
THE HAIRY APE
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
Lighting Design (Large Theatre)
JARED SAYEG
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group JAPHY WEIDEMAN
BARCELONA
Geffen Playhouse LAP CHI CHU
GUARDS AT THE TAJ
Geffen Playhouse DANIEL IONAZZI
OUTSIDE MULLINGAR
Geffen Playhouse STEVEN YOUNG
AMERICAN IDIOT
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts MIKE BILLINGS
SEE ROCK CITY
Rubicon Theatre Company ***KC WILKERSON WICKED LIT 2015 Unbound Productions
Scenic Design (Intimate Theatre)
SARA RYUNG CLEMENT
SEVEN SPOTS ON THE SUN
The Theatre @ Boston Court STEPHEN GIFFORD
DREAM BOY
Celebration Theatre JOHN IACOVELLI
KINGDOM OF EARTH
Dance On Productions in assoc. w/Linda Toliver & Gary Guidinger JOHN IACOVELLI
THE MONEY FI$H
Cox Productions PETE HICKOK
RIO HONDO
Theatre of NOTE MICHAEL NAVARRO
MY MAÑANA COMES
Fountain Theatre ***JOHN VERTREES & ERIN WALLEY DEATHTRAP Sierra Madre Playhouse
Scenic Design (Large Theatre)
JOHN IACOVELLI
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group MARK WENDLAND
BARCELONA
Geffen Playhouse DEREK MCLANE
BIG SKY
Geffen Playhouse TOM BUDERWITZ
GUARDS AT THE TAJ
Geffen Playhouse ***TOM BUDERWITZ CASA VALENTINA Pasadena Playhouse MIKE BILLINGS
SEE ROCK CITY
Rubicon Theatre Company JEFF COWIE
THE CITY OF CONVERSATION
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Sound Design (Intimate Theatre)
JOHN NOBORI
COLONY COLLAPSE
The Theatre @ Boston Court ***JOHN NOBORI THE GOLDEN DRAGON The Theatre @ Boston Court JOSEPH CALARCO
THE SPARROW
Coeurage Theatre Company RANDY TICO
AMERYKA
Critical Mass Performance Group CHRISTOPHER MOSCATIELLO
THE HAIRY APE
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble DAVID B. MARLING
BIRDER
The Road Theatre Company MATT RICHTER
A GULAG MOUSE
Sacred Fools Theater Company
Sound Design (Large Theatre)
CRICKET MYERS
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group VINCENT OLIVIERI
BARCELONA
Geffen Playhouse VINCENT OLIVIERI
GUARDS AT THE TAJ
Geffen Playhouse PHILIP ALLEN
EMPIRE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts CRICKET MYERS
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
The Al Dubin Musical/Corky Hale BRUNO LOUCHOUARN
MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES
The Getty Villa & The Theatre @ Boston Court ***DREW DALZELL & NOELLE HOFFMAN WICKED LIT 2015 Unbound Productions
Costume Design (Intimate Theatre)
KERRY HENNESSY & LORI MEEKER
WOOD BOY DOG FISH
Bootleg Theater & Rogue Artists Ensemble ALLISON DILLARD
BOOTYCANDY
Celebration Theatre ***MICHAEL MULLEN THE BOY FROM OZ Celebration Theatre LENA SANDS & SARAH BROWN
AMERYKA
Critical Mass Performance Group HALEI PARKER
THE HAIRY APE
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble CANDICE CAIN
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Sierra Madre Playhouse A. JEFFREY SCHOENBERG
CLOUD 9
The Antaeus Company
Costume Design (Large Theatre)
MAGGIE MORGAN
ENDGAME
Center Theatre Group ANN CLOSS-FARLEY
WOMEN LAUGHING ALONE WITH SALAD
Center Theatre Group DENITSA BLIZNAKOVA
GUARDS AT THE TAJ
Geffen Playhouse JESSICA FORD
THESE PAPER BULLETS! A MODISH RIPOFF OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Geffen Playhouse KATE BERGH
CASA VALENTINA
Pasadena Playhouse ***CHRISTINE COVER FERRO WICKED LIT 2015 Unbound Productions VICKI CONRAD
THE IMAGINARY INVALID
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum
Video/Projection Design
***MATTHEW HILL MAN COVETS BIRD 24th Street Theatre DALLAS NICHOLAS
WOOD BOY DOG FISH
Bootleg Theater & Rogue Artists Ensemble STEPHEN EPSTEIN & RON WOOD
SPACE
Crooked Arrow Productions JONATHAN INFANTE
AMERICAN IDIOT
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts DAVID GALLO & BRAD PETERSON
EMPIRE
La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts ADAM FLEMMING
WICKED LIT 2015
Unbound Productions HANA KIM
THE CITY OF CONVERSATION
Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
Ovation Honors Recipients
Composition for a Play:
GREGORY NABOURS
THE SPARROW
Coeurage Theatre Company
Fight Choreography:
EDGAR LANDA
THAT PRETTY PRETTY; OR, THE RAPE PLAY
Son of Semele Ensemble
Puppet Design:
GREG BALLORA, SEAN CAWELTI, CHRISTINE PAPALEXIS, JACK PULLMAN, BRIAN WHITE
WOOD BOY DOG FISH
Bootleg Theater & Rogue Artists Ensemble Recipient of the 2017 Richard E. Sherwood Award
PABLO SANTIAGO
As January 20th approaches, I’m afraid that the world is coming to an end. It feels like I’m waiting for doomsday to happen, while trying to pretend in front of my boys that life is the best thing ever and every day is the “bestest day ever” as my son, Sydney (5 years), likes to say.
November 7th seems to have put me in a black hole. I have been avoiding friends and people in general. Even at my son’s school I have not been able to talk to people much and I’ve avoided running into people. If I see someone I know, I say a quick “hi” and usually I quickly turn my attention back to my boys. They are a great distraction!
If I talk to anyone, I have to make a concentrated effort to say something positive and if I can’t, I talk about the weather. Thankfully we have that now to talk about which also is a great distraction. If I don’t focus on the positive, I’m afraid that I will crack and start to cry and fall apart.
I’ve been searching for inspiration online. Articles about why the wig-man might be a good president fail to inspire me or lift me up. The petitions I’m signing daily seem pointless (though I keep on signing). Calling the White House or my representatives is depressing because people either hang up on me, or the tell me to call someone else, or they connect me to a black hole.
I have avoided social media because it’s full of bad news. Some people are outraged, some post articles that are not legitimate, and a lot of people share more and more petitions.
My email inbox has been getting little attention as well. I get emails about great deals on something that I don’t need. Emails to sign more petitions. Harassing emails from the Democratic Party to fill out survey after survey and “Why don’t I respond. Do I not care about the election?”
And as I’m trying to avoid everything, this past week finally inspiration found me when a friend of mine, Leonora Gershman Pitts, posted in her timeline in response to Meryl Streep’s Golden Globe speech. Leonora is is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She works as an actress and filmmaker, serves as a City Commissioner for the City of LA, and is the co-founder of the Los Angeles Women’s Film Collective. She is married, has two kids and two dogs and she lives in LA. Her post is very well articulated and call to action to artists. I needed this! I needed her post to finally be inspired to do something! To not sit at home and dwell on what is happening but to get up and inspire others around me with my art.
I want to talk about Meryl, about bubbles, about cities, and about makers.
The reaction from Conservative Twitter and our own President-Elect after Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes was swift and predictable. After she called on us to access and nurture our collective empathy, to protect and challenge our free press, and to continue to create create create, the Right called the rest of us “elitists”, said that actors should stick to acting, that we West and East Coasters live in a bubble.
First, let’s quickly recognize and then release the irony of this relatively small group of Americans decrying the idea that actors/performers/entertainers should hold political opinions and say them out loud; this is the same group of people who worship Reagan, wanted to change the Constitution to allow Schwarzenegger to run for president, and just put a reality show blowhard idiot in the White House.
Secondly, don’t come at me with this idea that Trump wasn’t mocking the disabled reporter, which seems to be a common right-wing response on Twitter. Own that you voted for the guy who made fun of someone’s disability. Own it. You know full and well he was, there is no other excuse. Also, if you think asking people to choose empathy over bullying is political, examine your life and make some changes, I beg you, for the betterment of our fragile world.
On to the generalization that Hollywood, or the coasts, or cities, or any diverse area is stuck in a liberal “bubble”. I live in the second largest city in the United States. Before I lived here, I lived in the largest city in the United States. Before that, I lived in a small city in a vast but tiny-populated state. So, I have a little experience with white, rural America, and a little experience with diverse, urban America.
Here in Los Angeles, my family and I are surrounded by immigrants, transplants, and homegrown Angelinos of every imaginable ethnicity, class, race, and religion. My kid goes to public school, so we have seen first hand how a group of racially, ethnically, socio-economically, academically, and behaviorally diverse little people can come together and immediately form a little society. My white kid is a minority at her school. This isn’t a bubble. It couldn’t possibly be – we are all so very very different from one another.
Just because our experiences are diverse and co-existing humans has led us to be more collectively progressive in our views doesn’t mean we live in a bubble. It means, as they say, that the arc of human thought and action bends toward progress. Always has. The more we work to get through each day together in a large city, the more we realize that we are all in this together, that we need to exist and protect and align with one another: that’s progressivism in a nutshell. We co-exist in this city, sharing our experiences, our ideas, our troubles, our triumphs. We come together when we know someone is in need, we create micro-communities within our communities, we know each other’s names. That’s not a bubble.
A bubble is being surrounded by people who look and think exactly like you. That’s a bubble. If you lack the intellectual curiosity to suss out the difference between fake news and real news – and then just automatically doubt the reporting of the real news, you’re in a bubble. If you have convinced yourself that a man who uses the kind of bullying, hurtful language that our president-elect uses, is worthy of our higher office: bubble. Bubble. Bubble. If you think his cowardly and cruel heart is somehow honorable, bubble. Awful bubble.
To Hollywood, specifically, being an “elitist” bubble, I invite any of you to please come visit a set. Nearly every single person on that set belongs to a union. Nearly every single person, save maybe the very biggest stars (who have earned their money and acclaim are shouldn’t be excluded from the conversation just because they happened to succeed) are working- and middle-class. Electricians, grips, sound designers, hair and makeup artists, PAs, most actors, costume designers, editors, line producers, location managers, camera ops, DPs, casting directors, set dressers and designers — most of us are just independent contractors working from job to job. Union workers, just like a mason or a police officer or a plumber.
Lastly, to the point that Meryl should shut up, that actors / entertainers / performers / makers / creators / artists shouldn’t speak about politics or current affairs – this might be the point that pisses me off the most. The entire reason art exists, in every single form, is to illuminate, explore, dissect, and attempt to explain the human experience. Since the dawn of man, since people could speak, artists – STORYTELLERS – have helped us understand ourselves. When a movie makes you cry or a TV show makes you laugh or a painting has taken your breath away or a piece of writing has made you blink in disbelief at its beauty or a song has given you goosies from head to toe – even if it is escapist art – it is because some part of you recognizes yourself within the art. Maybe not even you, personally, but yourself as a member of the human race.
Actors, creators, artists, we are all just storytellers. It’s our one job. Art is inherently political, and it always, always, always has been. So to the people on the right who want us to shut up, nice try. We’ve never been able to shut up – it’s precisely why we, even the shyest among us, became artists in the first place. So, as we say in California: yeah, no. We aren’t shutting up. We’re turning up, now more than ever. Make your own shit if you don’t like it. Dare ya.
Artists: let’s get to work. It’s annoying them. That means it’s working.
If you feel like I felt the past few months, I hope you will find inspiration to create art. Don’t wait for others to invite you to create. Start on your own. And if you are inspired to create something, let us know what it is. We would love to hear it.
As for me, neighbors, inspired by my edible forest front yard, came over today. I gave them a tour of our garden and told them how we are harvesting and storing water with Hügels and ditches, with drought tolerant plants and native flowers. I showed them what vegetables and herbs we have planted and how we are protecting our plants from the scorching sun with arches and plants that will grow in during spring. They are inspired to have a garden like ours and I offered to help.
This will be the year for me where I can put my knowledge and pass it on and who knows, maybe these next four years I will work toward transforming our neighborhood into a sustainable community.
If you feel like I felt the past few months, I hope you will find inspiration to create art. Don’t wait for others to invite you to create. Start on your own. And if you are inspired to create something, let us know what it is. We would love to hear it.