Center Theatre Group Blog

Mike Sablone is CTG’s Literary Associate, starting left fielder and third-string shortstop for Dark Monday, the CTG softball team.

I’m often asked, “What do you do?” And, often I stammer for a few minutes, look at the floor, shuffle my feet and then look up, brightly saying, “I’m a dramaturg!”

Except without the exclamation point. That makes me sound like I’m five years old.

It’s more like a question with italics: “I’m a dramaturg?” The question not being “Am I?” but “You’re not going to know what this word means, are you?” I’m assuming you’re not, which means there will be confusion and then you might get mad at me for making up a word. Or you might have only heard the word “turd” in which case you’re thoroughly confused, and still mad that I managed to turn the simplest of icebreakers into an irritating exchange.

So the follow up question comes: “Huh? What does that mean?”

Well, friends (meaning CTG employees who read this blog), today is the day . . . that I do not answer that question.

Sorry.

Today is the day that instead I skip that and provide a snippet of research that I stumbled upon a few weeks ago.

Fine. Brief explanation of one part of the job of a dramaturg. At times it involves doing research on specific topics pertaining to plays I’m working on.

Recently I’ve been reading books for background research on PALESTINE, NEW MEXICO. Which means reading books about women in the military. Right now I’m reading Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy’s memoir “Generally Speaking.” I was particularly horrified when I came across this excerpt, a mere 32 pages in:

Next came an enticing proposal to be interviewed for an assignment as the junior aide to the Commander-in-Chief-Pacific. “It’s in Honolulu, Lieutenant,” the captain at Branch told me on the phone.

Now that did sound exciting. “What about training?” I asked.

“Not necessary.”

“Why did they pick me?”

“Well,” the captain said in a confidential tone, “they saw you in LSD file.”

“What’s that?”

She explained that the Little Sexy Doll file contained just the photo of junior WAC [Women’s Army Corps] officers — no records of professional attributes — a system that was sometimes used to choose women for prestigious positions as aides to senior officers solely on the basis of their looks. I was not interested in the job.

There are times when I’m researching something new that I’m horrified. Just horrified. And I’ve got the feeling that this is only the tip of the iceberg with this subject.

We here at PLAY are pleased to introduce you all to our friend, and long- time colleague, Russell Copley; the Secondary Theatre Expert for LAUSD and the former Director of the theatre department at Eagle Rock High School, still known as Eagle Rock Stage. Russell hails from Cape Town, South Africa and is an experienced Actor, Director, Playwright, Vocalist and Arts Educator. We are thrilled to have him be PLAY’s first contributing writer for the CTG Blog.

Q: How did you become involved with PLAY?

A: In 2004, while teaching theatre at Eagle Rock HS, I attended a salary point PD course offered by CTG. Kimiko Broder informed me of the opportunities that were available for my students through PLAY. I spoke with my colleague, Howard Dando, at South Gate HS. He said his students were greatly enriched by the program. I did a fundraiser to pay for our buses and the nominal fees for participation. My students loved the Saturday workshops at Cal State LA. Parents were willing to ferry the students and we used to do lunch afterwards at a local restaurant. Some of my students were accepted for the YATS (Young Artist Theatre Series) series. They grew as professionals and this really benefited our program.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Arts Education today?

A: Speaking as a theatre teacher, I see the lack of state approved theatre or dance credential as a major problem. It undermines the value of our work as performing arts educators. Secondly, administrators are ignoring the vast amount of research in cognitive development theory. Arts education is a proven stimulus for all core content subjects and for the very strong foundations it provides for a child’s self esteem. Hence, funding for the arts is insufficient – and this poses the greatest threat to our survival.

Q: What do you hope the future of Arts Education in Los Angeles looks like?

A: I hope a comprehensive arts program brings credentialed arts teachers into schools that currently do not have instruction in one or more arts disciplines. Arts teachers will help to establish the foundation for growth in arts education, building capacity in all the arts, and addressing the creative needs of students and their communities. The current LAUSD Arts Education Plan is designed to give students the opportunity to reach a proficient level of learning in the arts; to give schools a way to provide greater access to the arts; and to offer the opportunity to develop high quality, standards-based arts programs. All of these objectives require teamwork and collaboration among teachers, administrators, parents and the school community. The plan sets out that all art forms will be available at all schools, for all students at all grade levels. I hope to see this plan realized to its fullest potential.

Q: What is your fondest memory as a Theatre Student, Artist and/or Arts Educator?

A: My fondest memory as an arts educator was taking 24 students on an overseas trip to tour London’s theatres in 2007. I will never forget the moments of awe I had as we walked the RSC stage at Stratford after its final production, before it was demolished. I remember the technical workshop backstage at the National Theatre; sitting with my students at a Blue Man Group concert; climbing the steps to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral; and doing a very kinesthetic workshop at the Globe Theatre. Experiencing this with my students for the first time, made me really understand the meaning of the term “Theatre Company”. It means taking a risk with people you care about – and living the dream together.

Michael Bulger is CTG’s Marketing Coordinator.

It’s that time again in the CTG Marketing Department. The time which we hold near and dear to our hearts. The time we all look forward to for weeks and weeks.

No, not the parking lot cook-out…OPENING NIGHT! And what’s great is this time we’ve got three at once! That’s right, over the next two weeks we’re opening three shows…first Taking Over at the Douglas, then Pippin at the Taper and finally Minsky’s at the Ahmanson.

While openings themselves appear to be lovely evenings with star-studded crowds, making them that way is no easy task! First there are weeks of going through lists, deciding who we’re going to invite which inevitably takes us longer than we hope. Then we scramble to get invites out in time only to get back a deluge of RSVPs on our phone lines as we nervously anticipate overbooking the house.

And that’s how it goes for about week before opening….one moment we’re too full, and the next we’re not full enough…which is when we start the dreaded game of seating. 

Our conference room becomes a war room – (imagine your dorm while cramming for finals with empty pizza boxes and scraps of paper on the floor) – while we figure out just the right seat for everyone (and remember, the Ahmanson has almost 2,000 seats!!) We shuffle post-its around on seating charts like crazy people. We check, double check and triple check our lists for accuracy. Last minute cancellations are only slightly less common then last minute additions…and you can guess how much fun those are!

Finishing mere hours before curtain on opening night, we rush to the box office, list in hand, ready to greet our guests. And the best part is: it’s all over in an hour! As they say, the show goes on, and the weeks of pulling our hair out end pretty anti-climactically. Ah well, it was good fun…and hey, there’s always the after party!

Mike Sablone is CTG’s Literary Associate and plays starting left field and third-string shortstop for Dark Monday, the CTG softball team.

I see my coworkers have blogged about the website, a Danny Hoch event, renovating tiny bathrooms, and their first kiss.

Angrily, I note that all of these were going to be included in my first post.

See I was going to write about my first kiss (take that Leslie!), which happened in a carpeted bathroom (take that Ritchie!) in my apartment in non-gentrified Greenpoint (take that Danny! Well, actually he shouldn’t take that. If I actually lived there then some form of gentrification was already happening.) while my roommate’s cat slept in our bidet (uh, I’m not sure who should take that one, perhaps my Polish landlord?). So now that that preposterously absurd story is out, what do I have left?

Ah, I see Mandy Ratliff has discussed the website design. Hmm. Yes. Our website. Any questions about that? Hmm. Ok. Let’s see … how about why can’t our website have an easier link to how to submit a new play to CTG? Right now we’re under “Employment Opportunities.” Which is a little too close to equating playwriting with data entry if you ask me.

So in order to skirt my responsibilities with my blog posting, I shall mock our organization’s website (zing!) and then re-post our submission guidelines. Because that’s where I’d go. Directly before “Employment Opportunities.” The blog.

I am nothing if not helpful, people.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present, Center Theatre Group’s New Play Submission Guidelines (Caps Added For Effect):

Before you send a play to us here at Center Theatre Group, we ask that you submit a brief description of the work and from five to ten sample pages. If the piece is a musical we also request that you include a CD with samples of the music.

As always, please include a SASE for all correspondence and, should you desire it, the return of your materials. Please note that we discourage multiple submissions.

Your description need not be a full synopsis of the plot. Describe the play — the world, the characters, the conflict, your reasons for writing it. The sample pages, of course, will be most helpful to us in deciding whether or not to request the full manuscript.

You may also include any supporting materials — such as a résumé and/or reviews of your play — that might allow us a broader view of you and your work.

Send all submissions to:

Literary Department
Center Theatre Group
601 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Please allow us approximately four to six weeks to review your submission.

See? It totally makes sense to find these here.

Of course I blame Mandy Ratliff for this entire thing.

YOU’RE ON NOTICE, RATLIFF.

Leslie K. Johnson is CTG’s Director of Education and Outreach and heads up the Performing for Los Angeles Youth program (P.L.A.Y.)

I had my first real kiss at a cast party for Tom Sawyer. I was an awkward, nerdy 7th grader (think the African-American Olive Oyl with Coke-bottle glasses) attending Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston, Virginia. I had a huge crush on a boy named Sean Morgan. He was an early bloomer – already emerged from his lanky adolescent shell into a hunky, suave leading man. Plus he was taller than me. He was a fixture in our school plays, so if I wanted to be close to Sean, I was going to have to get into theatre. Now, given my limited experience (read: lack of acting talent), our Drama and Speech Teacher, Mrs. Judy Bowns, did not see fit to cast me in a speaking role, but since the production was a musical, there was plenty of room in the corps of dancers for gangly me. And over the course of weeks of after-school rehearsals, I got to be in close proximity to Sean’s loveliness, developing, what became, an epic crush.

Even with this distracting romantic subtext, our production was a technical masterpiece and run-away hit. After the show, Sean’s parents hosted the cast party at their home. He was working the room – moving from group to group sharing his congratulations, joshing with friends, seemingly untouchable. The party was fun, but our paths didn’t really cross until my dad came to get me. Ever the gentleman, Sean walked me to the door and just as I turned to say a final thank you, he was standing there – a little too close, still in Sawyer’s tattered coverall shorts and red/white checked gingham shirt. He put his hand on my shoulder, and said “Uh, great job dancing” and smack, planted a full mouth kiss on me. It…was…magical. 

Sadly, I would later come to learn that Sean had, in fact, been walking every female party-goer to the door and, therefore, getting a lip workout with each girl in the cast and crew. And so, as with most crushes, in the end, I was crushed. 

Nonetheless, through the experience of participating in the production of Tom Sawyer, I learned some things and showed some promise. Mrs. Bowns sought me out to work on other productions after that – South Pacific, Our Town, Guys and Dolls. The next year, Sean and his family moved away, but I continued to study theatre into high school. I “retired” from my stage career by 10th grade to focus on backstage activities. I really liked knowing how things worked, having access and knowledge of behind the scenes (a feeling that still holds true today). And so, as with so many things in life, what started as a way to meet a boy turned into something that peaked my curiosity, tapped my inner passion, challenged me, and connected me to a whole new group of people.

In the end it doesn’t really matter why or how you come to participate in theatre – a school field trip, the only available elective, your friend had a free ticket, or a crush on a seriously cute boy. What matters is that you have the access to experience its magic. Because once you have, theatre isn’t some passing crush on a philandering, manipulative, adolescent twit. Theatre, like true love, is about feeling your heart pounding, experiencing yourself growing, and discovering real passion. So take that, Sean!

Photo at left: Leslie K. Johnson, circa 7th grade.

Mandy Ratliff is the Development (“Devo”) Database Manager at Center Theatre Group where she dwells everyday in the sexy world of non-profit fundraising. 

Notice our slammin’ new features of the website?  It’s been at least a year in the making…

We came together like a Mini-UN.  Representatives from various Center Theatre Group departments pow-wowed in meeting after meeting after meeting…infinity.  All with the one hope of creating a more interactive CTG experience.  Wait.  What I meant to say was:  All with the one hope of getting their department needs onto the new website.  The process was a bit like this:

We submitted our Bells & Whistles wish list to the programmers.  And instead of performing like magical elves, they asked us in depth questions such as “What tone of ding would you like for this bell?” and “What is the duration of this whistle tone?”  Hey, we’re Theatre Folk: Read our minds and wow us.  Alas, that wouldn’t suffice.  We went back and forth with the “That’s not possible!” “But I can see it in my mind’s eye!” “But it’s not a part of the Web API call!” “Then do a different one!” “You don’t understand what I’m talking about!”  And so on.

Eventually, once we were in testing mode (and finding some bells with pristine rings but also some lispy whistles), the deadlines slammed down fast.  It became all about the “Showstoppers” i.e. fixes that could not wait for the next deployment.  What?  Too technical?  I’ll put it in theatrical terms: Can Allison Janney perform 9 to 5 with the wrong shoes? Yes.  But can Allison Janney perform 9 to 5 with no feet? Showstopper.

Then after the Showstoppers were determined, it became a fight for whose fixes will get fixed first.  You know ER triage?  Stab wound would be treated first; ankle sprain would be sitting for hours in the Waiting Room.  It was up to me as the Devo representative to convince everyone that the Special Event template was a ruptured appendix.  You get the idea.

And it’s ongoing.  We are still meeting and testing and being suspicious when all goes well and relaxing a bit and most importantly, making sure that it all works and that you guys use it smoothly and are none the wiser.

 What kind of holiday gift do you get the guy who has everything?

Normally, we would say, “Nothing.” But several of the staff were in the giving spirit and thought that Michael Ritchie deserved something extra special this year.

They knew that they wanted to give him something that was personal. Something that represented the things that he loves. And in this environmentally correct era, they wanted a gift that could be reused or that was recycled. And it had to be cheap.

After a couple of drinks at happy hour (where the entire budget for this project was used), one member of the group stumbled upon the idea of redoing the small bathroom in his office. Scratch that, it’s actually a water closet. Small that it may be, it is functional.

So, this intradepartmental group came up with the brilliant idea of using remnants from the new Taper to re-carpet Michael’s bathroom. Everybody here knows how much Michael loved the Taper renovation, especially the multi-colored, circular-designed carpet. It fit all of our criteria (mainly that it was free) and a plan was hatched. The biggest challenge was to find a time when Michael was not around for at least three hours. After recruiting his assistant to find some available times, the date was set and the remnants were secured. While everyone else was on vacation, one member of the Production staff created the blueprint on cardboard and proceeded to install it in the wee hours of December 26th.

In the spirit of sharing some behind-the-scenes news with you, we have attached some before and after photos of the infamous water closet. Rumor has it that Michael likes how the carpet looks better in his bathroom than in the Taper.