Company of Angels, Los Angeles' Oldest Professional Theater, Presents its 10th Annual L.A. VIEWS Festival: SANCTUARY

What does sanctuary from fear, hate, prejudice, violence, and oppression look like? Sanctuary means safety, whether it's safety from ICE, a school shooter, or gentrification. On the tenth anniversary of the LA VIEWS play festival, Company of Angels explores the meaning of sanctuary (protection, fairness, equality, and refuge) as played out in the lives of Angelenos. In an evening of seven short plays by local playwrights, "L.A. Views X: Sanctuary" examines the American ideal of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness within the current political climate in which, at best, many feel unwelcome, and at worst, are targets of hate.

Launched in 2008, the LA Views short play festival commissions a select group of diverse, award-winning writers to embrace a different City of Angels theme each year. Throughout the festival's history, Company of Angels has chosen stories ranging from L.A.'s history to its contemporary concerns; the LA Views festival has explored L.A. hunger, gentrification, the economic recession, the 20th anniversary of the civil unrest of April 29, 1992, and silent film legend residents of the historic Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. In 10 years, the L.A. VIEWS festival has produced stories from 40 playwrights, directed by 43 directors, performed by 153 actors, and watched by over 5K+ audience members.

The Company of Angels Playwrights Group is composed of a select group of diverse, award-winning writers whose work has been produced nationally and internationally and are committed to creating plays that highlight the people and landscapes not often portrayed in American theater. Scripts from the Playwrights Group are presented in either the annual short play festival L.A. Views, its reading series To Read & Stage in L.A., or as a mainstage production.

Founded in 1959 by a group of television and film actors that included Richard Chamberlain, Leonard Nimoy and Vic Morrow, Company of Angels is now the oldest professional theater in Los Angeles. As such, it has a revised mission to provide a space for the voices and audiences neglected by the major regional theaters.

Company of Angels now produces original work by professional theater artists who reflect the communities that make up the City of Los Angeles, and engages residents from low-income communities including Boyle Heights and Skid Row to develop original theater pieces for performance. In this way CoA re-envisions theater to reflect and respond to the richness, diversity, and complexity that is Los Angeles, entertaining new audiences and serving the City of Angels.

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