Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles’ largest nonprofit theater company, Center Theatre Group, said at the end of March that it hoped to stage live performances by fall at all three of its venues: the Ahmanson, the Mark Taper Forum and the Kirk Douglas. But by mid-June, the company said it would have to lay off more than half of its staff and remain dark until April 2021.
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I think what Center Theatre Group is doing here creating another venue, their Digital Stage, is a really good idea. I am glad they have found a way to continue making theatre and to keep jobs for some people during this time and not having to wait to start up again until April 2021 like they previously thought. I especially think their piece with the recordings of stories in specific places around the city that people can walk and drive through and then listen to the stories is a great idea, and one I would definitely be interested in experiencing. I would say I wish more theatres were finding ways to do things like this, but it seems this move from Center Theatre Group was dependent on a $200,000 donation from an anonymous donor. That large donation for this purpose is a luxury that so many theatres don’t have access too.
Back when I lived in LA, I lived two doors down from the Kirk Douglas Theatre. I wasn’t interested in theatre back then, and I didn’t realise how close I was to something great until I left.
“CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie said in an interview that he would like to make the Digital Stage a permanent fixture, even after the threat of the coronavirus fades. The hope is that the kind of work appearing on the Digital Stage will transcend COVID-related restrictions to establish a new language for theater.” This is amazing! I always talk about how not-accessible theatre is, what with high ticket costs, etc. Theatre is designed as a form of entertainment for the wealthy… more specifically, the white wealthy. If one good thing has come from this COVID pandemic, it’s that theatre is being accessible online. Theatre-lovers who couldn't afford a $100 ticket before can now watch some of their favorite shows online. I love that this theatre company is taking the initiative to create this accessible form of theatre for the pandemic, and keep it around once things “get back to normal” again.
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