THE ATER
setting a new stage Center Theatre Group—Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre—reconsiders its role in society. by sherry stern
FAR FROM WRINGING his hands about the events of 2020, the artistic director of Los Angeles’ largest theater company expresses an outlook that is full of hope. Some might even say it’s rosy. “I think in the end we’ll come out better. Theater’s going to be fascinating for the next year,” says
10 PERFORMANCES FALL 2020
Michael Ritchie, now in his 15th year overseeing the nonprofit Center Theatre Group, which includes the Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum and Kirk Douglas Theatre. Beyond that, Ritchie is convinced that the times we are in will shape what’s onstage for years to come. “Every single new play that is being written or will be written will be influenced by this moment in time, whether it’s COVID, whether it’s Black Lives Matter, whether it’s loneliness, economic distress, political anxiety,” he says. “It’s an amazing moment to be alive in.” First, however, comes the immediate future,
which Ritchie sees as a transitional period. When it became clear that the company’s stages would go dark for at least a year, he and managing director and CEO Meghan Pressman knew they wanted to reach audiences beyond stripped-down readings and presentations in what Ritchie calls “Zoomland.” They gathered a dozen artists and asked them to create new ways to reach audiences. Those in the group, mostly L.A.-based and each paid a stipend, include playwrights, video artists, performers, poets, shadow puppeteers, directors, sketch come-
dians and small teams of writers-performers. Their ideas may show up as outdoor performances, at beaches or parks or as micro gatherings on the Music Center Plaza. The artists could create films to be seen in public spaces or videos to be shared virtually. Ideas flow (and sometimes ebb) depending on what is safe for artists and audiences at a given moment. “The question as we reemerge in the world is: What is the role that theater plays in the society?” Pressman says. Front and center is how the company responds to the Black Lives Matter movement. Three high-profile
