CTG to Host Community Events on Faith & Resilience Alongside HEAD OF PASSES

Center Theatre Group will host two Community Conversations inspired by "Head of Passes" on October 13 and October 19.

Written by Academy Award winner and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Tina Landau, "Head of Passes" runs through October 22, 2017, at the Mark Taper Forum.

Center Theatre Group's Community Conversations are a series of panel discussions free and open to the public that feature local thought leaders in dialogue about the context, issues and ideas finding voice on our stages.

The events will take place at The Music Center Annex building, 601 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, in Rehearsal Room A.

The first "Head of Passes" Community Conversation is set for Friday, October 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with What We Pass On: Trauma and Resilience. In this pre-show conversation, panelists will discuss the many ways in which trauma and resilience transcend generations. Panelists will include Dr. Brenda E. Stevenson, the Nickoll Family Endowed Chair and Professor of History and African American Studies at UCLA, Dr. Carrie L. Johnson, a licensed clinical psychologist and the Director of the Seven Generations Child and Family Counseling Center at United American Indian Involvement, and Dr. Clandis V. Payne, a clinical psychologist and licensed minister. The conversation will be moderated by multidisciplinary artist, educator and wellness consultant June Marisa Kaewsith.

The second "Head of Passes" Community Conversation is set for Thursday, October 19 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. with How Do We Keep Faith in Dark Times. In this pre-show conversation, panelists will discuss the role belief plays in enduring times of great suffering.

Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney was inspired in part by the Book of Job to write "Head of Passes," a play he says "charts the journey of the faithful living through the unimaginable." Center Theatre Group will bring together community leaders, scholars and thinkers to discuss the importance and difficulty of finding something to believe in in times of pain and affliction-and how the Book of Job resonates today for both religious and secular Americans. Panelists to be announced.

"The Community Conversations are that moment when we ask people in our community to help us make relevant the themes and ideas that are alive on our stage," said Leslie K. Johnson, Center Theatre Group's Director of Social Strategy, Innovation and Impact. "Asking thought leaders to come and spark that conversation is exciting. By inviting them into the room, we are able to hear someone who lives these topics every day discuss them in the context of the show."

In "Head of Passes," family and friends gather to celebrate Shelah's (portrayed by Phylicia Rashad) birthday under the leaky roof of her home at the mouth of the Mississippi River. But an unwanted birthday party and unrelenting rains are only the first challenges in this contemporary parable in which unexpected events turn the reunion into the ultimate test of faith and love. As her world seems to collapse around her, Shelah must fight to survive the rising flood of life's greatest challenges in this poetic and piercing new play.

The creative team for "Head of Passes" includes scenic design by G.W. Mercier, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Jeff Croiter and sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. The production stage manager is David S. Franklin.

Tarell Alvin McCraney co-wrote the Academy Award-winning film "Moonlight," which is based on his play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue." The film earned him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. McCraney is an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and founding member of Teo Castellanos/D-Projects. In addition to the MacArthur "Genius" Grant, he has received the Doris Duke Artist Award, Whiting Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright, The New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award, the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and the Windham Campbell Award. He was International Writer in Residence for the Royal Shakespeare Company (2009 to 2011) where he remains an associate artist. McCraney is the Artistic Director of the Youth Arts Leadership Summer Program. His Public Theater Productions include "Head of Passes," "The Brother/Sister Plays" and an edit of "Antony and Cleopatra."

"The Brothers Size" was a part of the Under the Radar Festival and other credits include "Choir Boy" and "Wig Out." McCraney is the chair of the Department of Playwriting at the Yale School of Drama. He is developing a new TV series for the Oprah Winfrey Network.

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.

Tickets to "Head of Passes" are available by calling (213) 628-2772, online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org or at the Center Theatre Group Box Office located at the Ahmanson Theatre. Tickets range from $25 - $105 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Mark Taper Forum is located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.

Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

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