The Leimert Park Vision Theatre Consortium (LPVTC) and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) announce the 4th Annual Vision Theatre Festival of Staged Readings.
The Festival runs from Thursday, August 24 through Sunday, September, 3 (Labor Day weekend), and features a wide range of performance events including staged readings, receptions, panel discussions, artist talk-backs, and educational events. All productions feature the finest talent on stage and behind the scenes that Los Angeles has to offer.
The festival is produced by LPVTC, a group of cultural agencies based in South Los Angeles devoted to supporting culture and art-making in Leimert Park and South LA with an eye towards the African American experience and legacy. These institutions include DCA’s Vision Theatre, the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center, KAOS Network, Regency West Los Angeles, Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center, Theatre Perception Consortium, and the Bilingual Foundation.
“I am pleased to welcome the 4th Annual Vision Theatre Festival of Staged Readings once again to Leimert Park Village,” said Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson of Council District 10. “It is the vision of my office and all of the cultural institutions in Leimert Park, that this Festival become an essential anchor for the City of Los Angeles, reminding us of the great theaters – once prominent in South Los Angeles – that no longer exist. I want to wish all of the writers, directors, actors, and producers a successful 2017 Festival.”
The Festival theme is “The State of Black Theater in Los Angeles” and several forums will be devoted to discussing the challenges and opportunities for LA’s Black community as it pertains to theater-making in the City. As part of this larger context, the Festival will be held at DCA’s historic Vision Theatre, currently under renovation and scheduled to re-open in 2020. The newly re-imagined Vision Theatre is designed to be the anchor organization for Leimert Park and the Black cultural community, and will be a resource for all Angelenos.
“The first Festival of Staged Readings brought attention to the hole left by the closure of a number of Black theaters. That selection of staged readings represented the best plays to pay tribute to those former theaters that called South Los Angeles home: Inner City Cultural Center, Marla Gibbs Crossroads Arts Academy, Ebony Showcase Theater, The Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles, Foxx Follies, Frances William Corner Playhouse, Inglewood Playhouse, and the Watts Mafundi Institute,” said James Burks, Manager of the Vision Theatre.
“As a celebration of the performing arts, the Vision Theatre Festival of Staged Readings presents a body of work from playwrights who represent different cultures and identities,” said Danielle Brazell, DCA General Manager. “The Festival highlights the best plays of the season, plus works from playwrights in Harlem, San Jose, and Chicago. This important collaboration between cities and communities is critical to building cultural vibrancy in Los Angeles.”
The Vision Theatre Festival of Staged Readings was born out of the Leimert Park Vision Theatre Monthly Reader’s Theatre Series founded in 2013 by James Burks, Manager of the Vision Theatre, and LPVTC as an avenue for playwrights to hear new works and receive feedback. The monthly series grew to include revivals, musicals, and previously produced plays re-read in hopes of mounting additional productions in Los Angeles. The Festival is now part of the Leimert Park Unity Festival, a broader festival in Leimert Park happening throughout the month of August that showcases different South LA organizations such as the Gospel Festival, Jazz Festival, African Drum and Dance Festival, People Street’s Programming, and more.
Historically, Leimert Park and the Vision Theatre have been incubators of Black voices in the regional artistic community and are considered the heart of the African American community in Los Angeles. The community collaborations between LPVTC’s partners was created specifically to support and provide visibility to the important artists creating work in Los Angeles. They have steadfastly committed to telling the stories of the community, for the community, as well as for the broader city-wide theatre-going audience.
See attachment for a complete listing of the Vision Theatre Festival of Staged Reading events.
Tickets are on sale daily at the Vision Theatre Festival Box Office Monday to Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. at 3341 West 43rd Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90008. Cash or checks preferred, but credit cards accepted for advance sales only. For more information about ticket purchases, please call 323.290.2386 or visit:
Partners and Sponsors
Community Partners include: Leimert Park Vision Theatre Consortium, The California Jazz and Blues Museum, Friends of the Vision Theatre, and Los Angeles Church of Spiritual Living.
Sponsors include: City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), Office of Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson, and Leimert Park Stakeholders.
About the Leimert Park Vision Theatre Consortium
The festival is produced by the Leimert Park Theatre Consortium which is a group of South Los Angeles based cultural agencies devoted to supporting culture and art-making in Leimert Park and South LA with an eye towards the African American experience and legacy. These institutions include DCA’s Vision Theatre, Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center, KAOS Network, Regency West Los Angeles, Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center, Theater Perception Consortium, and the Bilingual Foundation.
About DCA’s Historic Vision Theatre
The Vision Theatre, a large neighborhood movie palace, is a 1931 Spanish-tinged Deco wonder that has retained its importance to the community for over 80 years since it first opened as the Leimert Theatre. Built as a showcase theater for premieres, it became a neighborhood movie theater soon after opening and was operated by Fox West Coast Theatres. The theater was later renamed the Watchtower in the 1970’s, following its purchase and conversion to a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall. Designed in a classic southern California streamlined Spanish Colonial style, the tall steel frame on top of the lower stucco clad tower originally with the word LEIMERT, was later changed and renamed VISION by Actress Marla Gibbs after purchasing the building in 1990. TheCity of Los Angeles has since acquired the property and is currently investing funds and resources to fully restore and convert the theater with the intention to mount full theatrical productions, produce major dance and music concerts, show films, as well as host conferences and conventions, to become the Center for Black Culture in Los Angeles. The full renovation is expected to be completed in 2020.
About the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA)
As a leading, progressive arts and cultural agency, DCA empowers Los Angeles’ vibrant communities by supporting and providing access to quality visual, literary, musical, performing, and educational arts programming; managing vital cultural centers; preserving historic sites; creating public art; and funding services provided by arts organizations and individual artists.
Formed in 1925, DCA promotes arts and culture as a way to ignite a powerful dialogue, engage LA’s residents and visitors, and ensure LA’s varied cultures are recognized, acknowledged, and experienced. DCA’s mission is to strengthen the quality of life in Los Angeles by stimulating and supporting arts and cultural activities, ensuring public access to the arts for residents and visitors alike.
DCA advances the social and economic impact of arts and culture through grant-making, public art, community arts, and strategic marketing and development. DCA creates and supports arts programming, maximizing relationships with other city agencies, artists, and arts and cultural nonprofit organizations to provide excellent service in neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles.
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