Jon Lawrence Rivera News

Digital arts journal Stage Raw announces the nominees for its fifth annual Stage Raw Theater Awards, to be held Monday night September 9, 2019, at Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday August 7, 2019. The Stage Raw Theater Awards honor the finest work performed on Los Angeles area stages of 99-seats or fewer, and are selected by a jury of Stage Raw critics. This year's awards celebrate work performed between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019.

Since its founding in 1989, Ma-Yi Theater Company has distinguished itself as one of the country's leading incubators of new work shaping the national discourse about what it means to be Asian American today.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is presenting the world premiere of THE END OF BEAUTY by Cory Hinkle, with a cast that includes Ruy Iskandar, Silas Weir Mitchell and Tania Verafield.

Sultry heat and Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" combine to spark rich fantasies and broken dreams, passion and adultery. Open Fist Theatre Company presents Anna In The Tropics, the powerful, poignant and poetic play that garnered the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for then unknown Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz. Jon Lawrence Rivera directs, with performances continuing through June 8 at Atwater Village Theatre.

Los Angeles Theatre Community staple, director Jon Lawrence Rivera will be previewing his latest directorial Open Fist project ANNA IN THE TROPICS April 26, 2019 at the Atwater Village Theatre, even before his previous directorial Playwrights Arena's SOUTHERNMOST closes (also at the Atwater Village Theatre). Jon managed to squeeze some time for me between his masterful juggling of his two productions.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is announcing the cast for THE END OF BEAUTY by Cory Hinkle, which includes Ruy Iskandar, Silas Weir Mitchell and Tania Verafield.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is thrilled to announce the extension of SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, with its original stars intact which includes Amielynn Abellera, Kimberly Alexander, Aaron Ikeda, Alberto Isaac, and Sharon Omi.

Pasadena Playhouse, State Theatre of California, continues their exciting partnerships with Caltech Theatre and the USC School of Dramatic Arts this Spring, with MACH 33: The Caltech|Pasadena Playhouse Festival of New Science Driven Plays, presented by Caltech Theater and Pasadena Playhouse May 9 -11 and the New Works Festival Year 3 May 17-18, presented by USC School of Dramatic Arts and hosted by Pasadena Playhouse. These plays are part of Playhouse community programming. Danny Feldman is the Producing Artistic Director of Pasadena Playhouse.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is presenting  SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, with a cast that includes Amielynn Abellera, Kimberly Alexander, Aaron Ikeda, Alberto Isaac, Sharon Omi

Sultry heat and Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" combine to spark rich fantasies and broken dreams, passion and adultery.Open Fist Theatre Company presentsAnna In The Tropics, the powerful, poignant and poetic play that garnered the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for then unknown Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz.Jon Lawrence Rivera directs for a May 3opening at Atwater Village Theatre, where performances will continue through June 8. Pay-what-you-want previews begin April 26.

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is thrilled to announce the cast for SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, which includes Amielynn Abellera, Kimberly Alexander, Aaron Ikeda, Alberto Issac, and Sharon Omi

Discussions proliferate about immigration reform, whether it be the building of a wall to protect our border or deporting those who enter our country illegally to milk the system for everything they can get for free thanks to American taxpayer dollars. But while our focus seems to be on our Southern border, what about all of the other people from around the world that manage to come here illegally seeking a better life for themselves or, more importantly, their children? Is there really one correct answer or solution to the problem? Boni B. Alvarez, a Los Angeles-based writer-actor, addresses the question head-on in his world premiere play AMERICA ADJACENT.

Playwrights' Arena, the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, will present three World Premieres during its 2019 Season: SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, THE END OF BEAUTY by Cory Hinkle and LIKE/SHARE by Janine Salinas Schoenberg.

I had the pleasure of attending two performances from two opposite ends of the professionalism spectrum. One being a student directed, high school musical (well produced and performed, by the way) and the other a dramady produced by a well-respected theatre company chock-full of industry professionals both onstage and on the artistic side. But what they both had in common was that both of them experienced technical issues and the differences in how each handled said technical issues.

Playwrights' Arena, the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is presenting its inaugural Henry Ong Award to Skylight Theatre Artistic Director, Gary Grossman.

"People surprise you all the time. Just when you think you have them all figured out." Bart DeLorenzo directs the West Coast premiere of the acclaimed off-Broadway hit Too Much Sun by Nicky Silver (Broadway's The Lyons), presented by Indie Chi Productions in a guest production at the Odyssey Theatre. Previews take place on Feb. 28 and March 1, with opening night set for March 2 and performances continuing through April 21. 

Skylight Theatre Company Presents the World Premiere of "AMERICA ADJACENT" by Boni B. Alvarez Opening February 16, 2019    

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights, is thrilled to announce the encore presentation of the critically-acclaimed hit I GO SOMEWHERE ELSE by Inda Craig-Galvan, with the original cast that includes Kevin Cougal,Kita Grayson, Donna Simone Johnson, Inger Tudor, and Cheri Lynne VandenHeuvel.

The Playwrights' Arena's world premiere of playwright Donald Jolly's BABY EYES presents a volatile, in-your-face telling of Gio, a diminutive teenage boy surviving bullies and homophobia in 1950's Baltimore. Jon Lawrence Rivera expertly directs his talented cast at a fast, smooth pace. Rudy Martinez totally inhabits the pivotal role of the elfin Gio who spends his days at school running from a gang of bullies and his evenings avoiding his demanding racist father Sal (a commanding Ted Monte).

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is presenting  BABY EYES by Donald Jolly, with a cast that includes Jason Caceres, James Kaemmerling, Rudy Martinez, Ted Monte, Dennis Renard and Melvin Ward.