Lisa Dring

Founded in 1993 by Adilah Barnes and Miriam Reed, the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival holds the distinction of being the oldest Annual Solo Festival in Los Angeles celebrating powerful women performers. The 31st annual Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson, has a roster of accomplished co-hosts as well as performers during its six programs March 28-31, beginning with a Gala on Thursday night. I decided to speak with Jessica to find out more about the event and the honor being bestowed upon her at the event’s Gala.

The Lucille Lortel Theatre has announced several artistic initiatives that further expand the historic theater’s impact on the Off-Broadway community and the field nationally. Learn more about the upcoming programming here!

Rogue Artists Ensemble presents a unique, interactive, in-real-life sonic experience that guides audiences through a twisted collection of love stories, meditative romance and lost connections.

Michael Alvarez, Artistic Director of The Muse Collective, has announced its inaugural presentation of Peter Gray's poetic new play, Salem: Post-Mortem. Directed by Alvarez, Salem: Post-Mortem will stream on the company's website from Thursday, October 29th thru Thursday, November 12th starting at 7 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Hero Theatre has announced the full company of Velina Hasu Houston's Tea, directed by Rebecca Wear. The play will run from April 10 through May 17, 2020 at the Atwater Village Theatre complex.

The MacDowell Colony has awarded fall fellowships to 79 artists, including Jeanine Tesori and Sarah DeLappe, according to American Theatre.

Lauren Yee's Hookman is a horror fairytale brought to life by the trauma of sexual assault. a?oeYee is one of the most important new voices in American playwriting today; her recent LA productions of Cambodian Rock Band and King of the Yees showcase her brilliance in telling family dramas in virtuosic and comedic waysa??, says Artistic Director Jeff Janisheski.

East West Players (EWP), the nation's longest-running professional theatre of color in the country and the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, is pleased to announce the second cohort of its Playwrights Group, providing space and artistic support over the course of a year for six writers of color. The 2019 program is led by playwright Alice Tuan and composed of writers from diverse backgrounds as part of EWP's 54th Anniversary Season.

New year, new Kilroys! For the past five years The Kilroys, an LA-based collective of playwrights/producers continuing the fight to achieve gender balance in the American theater, have been advocating for equal representation on our American stages, and have released an annual list of under-produced plays by women, trans, and non-binary writers. Despite some measurable progress, we still have a long way to go before we strike that balance. So, as we approach 2019, we are beyond thrilled to introduce a fresh new gang of fearless badass leaders. These women will seize our reins and continue the fight for equality, creating random acts of disruption along the way, while the OG Kilroys will serve as an advisory board supporting the current class. 

Kirsten Vangsness has a most fertile imagination. Her creation, a new play called Cleo, Theo & Wu, is a wild and crazy spaceship-ride through the annals of time as a way for her character Lucy to empower her own life back on earth. The World Premiere, Directed by Lisa Dring, and written by Kirsten Vangsness is a verbal wonderland of dialogue that is smart, funny, poignant and immensely clever and fast-paced.

Hero Theatre announced the full cast of their upcoming staged reading of Tea by Velina Hasu Houston which is part of their anticipated Future Classics Series.

Theatre of NOTE completes its 2017-2018 season with the World Premiere of CLEO, THEO & WU, written by Kirsten Vangsness and directed by Lisa Dring. CLEO, THEO & WU will preview Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27 at 8pm, and will open on Thursday, November 1 at 8pm and run through Saturday, December 8 at Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd (just north of Sunset) in Hollywood.

Theatre of NOTEcompletes its 2017-2018 season with the World Premiere of CLEO, THEO & WU, written by Kirsten Vangsness and directed by Lisa Dring. CLEO, THEO & WU will preview Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27 at 8pm, and will open on Thursday, November 1 at 8pm and run through Saturday, December 8 at Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd (just north of Sunset) in Hollywood.

The critically acclaimed and award-winning Rogue Artists Ensemble is proud to launch its inaugural Rogue Lab, a new works incubator for playwrights based in Los Angeles who dream of creating plays that stretch the boundary of what is currently being done onstage, including immersive experiences, interactive design, puppet plays, and genre-bending pieces that fit within the Rogues' Hyper-theater aesthetic.

Puppets and monsters and freaks, oh my. Shoreside has an abundance of them in WOOD BOY DOG FISH and they don't play well together at all. This fictional seaside town, home to the terrifying Dogfish Adventure Ride, is a miserable place. Populated with morally repugnant characters and a darkness that seeps into your very soul, it sets the stage for a somber night out at the usually sunny Garry Marshall Theatre.

May 19th, May 21st & May 22nd, The Vagrancy announces BLOSSOMING: a new play reading series. The Vagrancy annually selects five playwrights with diverse perspectives to join their playwright's group. Beginning each fall, the writers meet regularly as they craft their plays. The Vagrancy hosts two development workshops wherein the plays are explored with the playwright, actors and a director in a rehearsal setting. BLOSSOMING is the first public reaching of the five original plays. Come be inspired, have a glass of wine, and help the play's development along with post-reading audience talk-backs.

Rogue Artists Ensemble's 2015 world premiere of WOOD BOY DOG FISH, their unique retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio, will be receiving a spiffy remounting at the Garry Marshall Theatre beginning May 12, 2018. We had the most opportune opportunity to talk some serious talk with the co-writer of both WOOD BOY DOG FISH editions - Chelsea Sutton, as she shared her histories with the Falcon Theatre, Rogue Artists Ensemble and the late Garry Marshall.

Award-winning artists' collective Rogue Artists Ensemble brings a new-and-improved version of its acclaimed, Ovation award-winning Wood Boy Dog Fish to Burbank this summer. A mature and delightfully macabre reimagining of Carlo Collodi's "The Adventures of Pinocchio," the colorfully twisted world of Wood Boy Dog Fish takes over the Garry Marshall Theatre as part of its 2017-18 inaugural season, opening May 18 and running through June 24.

BOOTLEG THEATER is thrilled to announce the world premiere of THE WILLOWS, written by Kerri-Ann McCalla and directed by Jessica Hanna. THE WILLOWS will preview on Friday, April 6 & Saturday, April 7 at 7pm; Sunday April 8 at 2pm; will open on Thursday, April 12 at 7pm and run through Saturday, May 5 at 7pm at the Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles.