2023 PLAY LA NEW WORKS FESTIVAL to Take Place Over Two Days This Summer
PLAY LA, in partnership with Humanitas and Stage Raw, develops five original plays by local writers from the ground up and pairs them with local theatres.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jun. 20, 2023
A two day festival of new plays and theater-themed symposia is being presented by Stage Raw and Greenway Arts Theatre on Friday, June 30, 11:00 AM-10:00 PM, & Saturday July 1, 11AM-6:00PM, at The Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. All events at the festival include refreshments and are free to the public.
Now in its tenth year, PLAY LA, in partnership with Humanitas and Stage Raw, develops five original plays by local writers from the ground up and pairs them with local theatres for production opportunities. The four plays presented in this year’s festival are ROOST by Zharia O'Neal (reading produced by Playwrights' Arena); ST RAGE by Adam Esquenazi Douglas (reading produced by Ammunition Theatre Company); PALM OF HER HAND by Weston Gaylord (reading produced by Circle X Theatre Company); and RED TAR by Morgan Smalley (reading produced by The Road Theatre Company).
Each of the writers was selected in a competitive application process co-administered by Stage Raw and PLAY LA.
Says PLAY LA creator and co-executive director Shem Bitterman, “Unlike most play development programs, PLAY LA teams writers with theaters in order to fuel production opportunities, therefore PLAY LA is as dedicated to the health of the theater sector as it is to the play development process.” Bitterman is an award-winning playwright, director and screenwriter.
Among the highlights of this year’s festival are two free symposia on current issues of interest to playwrights and theatres.
On Friday, June 30, 4 pm, Bitterman will moderate a discussion with John Lopez and Kurt Eggert on developments in AI, and its impact on the creative community.
Lopez is a noted journalist, filmmaker and TV writer, and member of the WGA AI Worker’s Group, whose recommendations informed the WGA pattern of demands in the current strike. Eggert is a Professor of Law at the Chapman University School of Law.
On Saturday, July 1 at 4 pm, Steven Leigh Morris will moderate a panel on the state of theatre in the Los Angeles area, where a recent report articulates an epidemic-level shuttering of theatres — particularly BIPOC theatres — and a corresponding diminishing of opportunity for playwrights, as well as the local economic development that live theatre engenders.
“It’s ironic and devastating at a time when we see an increased need for diversity and inclusion, that the centers of opportunity for artists and for the local business in the communities where they present their works are being shuttered through factors beyond their control,” says playwright-novelist, Steven Leigh Morris, PLAY LA’s co-executive director.The panel aims to find remedies for the current crisis. Morris is the founder/editor-in-chief of Stage Raw, Los Angeles’s premiere theatre discussion forum.
Morris will be joined by Martha Demson, long time artistic director of The Open Fist Theatre Company, along with Guillermo Cienfuegos, co-artistic director of Rogue Machine; Kimberly Glann, who manages the Creative Strategist Artist-in-Residence Program for the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture; and Matthew Quinn of Combined Art Forum, representing the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
Past participants and winners of the PLAY LA prize include: Inda Craig-Galván, Sigrid Gilmer, Boni Alvarez, Ngozi Anyanwu and Stacy Osei-Kuffour. Former participating theatres in the PLAY LA FESTIVAL include: Center Theatre Group, The Skylight Theatre Company, IAMA Theatre Company, Playwright’s’ Arena, Circle X, Rouge Machine and The Road Theatre Company.
All events are free and open to the general public. See schedule below:
Day 1, Friday, June 30
11 AM (kickoff!) — ROOST by Zharia O'Neal, reading produced by Playwrights' Arena
2 PM — ST RAGE by Adam Esquenazi Douglas, reading produced by Ammunition Theatre Company
4 PM — ROBOTS AND WRITERS: DO THE HUMANITIES REALLY NEED TO BE HUMAN? Moderated by Shem Bitterman (Guests include John Lopez, and TBA)
8 PM — SPECIAL READING - TBA
Day 2, Saturday, July 1
11 AM — PALM OF HER HAND by Weston Gaylord, reading produced by Circle X Theatre Company
2 PM — RED TAR by Morgan Smalley, reading produced by The Road Theatre Company
4 PM — SAVING LA THEATRE, a panel discussion on the Future of LA Theatre, Moderated by Steven Leigh Morris (Guests include Martha Demson, Guillermo Cienfuegos, Kimberly Glann, and Matthew Quinn
For TICKETS - please visit https://www.ticketsource.us/greenway-court-theatre/e-dgboak
For INFORMATION, please visit https://greenwaycourttheatre.org/playlafestival2023/
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