Matthew Hancock News

In our modern online age where effective marketing can boost sales in designated markets, what is the difference between racial marketing and targeted marketing? Is an effective marketer really a racist in disguise or just a clever strategist who knows how to make the most money for his company's product? Such are the issues addressed in the Los Angeles premiere of HONKY written by Greg Kalleres and directed by Gregg Daniel for Rogue Machine in their new home at the Met Theatre. Taking a satiric look at the symbiotic relationship between bigotry and commercialism, HONKY is a socially-relevant comedy about different people, white and black, navigating the murky waters of race, rhetoric and athletic footwear.

Professional Los Angeles intimate theater companies and their friends sold out Los Angeles Theatre Center to support the second-ever STAGE RAW THEATRE AWARDS.  Picking up where the LA WEEKLY Awards left off, and hosted by the Independent Shakespeare Co. and Dr. Pinch and Pinchtones, the best of 99-seat theatre was celebrated in an exuberant and emotional evening that put a "Raw" spotlight on the year's best work.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle named the multi-nominated Hit the Wall and Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles as 2015's Outstanding Productions at the organization's 47th annual awards event, held on Monday evening, March 14 at the Moss Theatre of New Roads School in Santa Monica.

The answer to last year's question of whether the digital arts venture STAGE RAW could bring back its awards ceremony celebrating the best of LA's up-to-99-seat theaters, the answer is YES. STAGE RAW is pleased to announce the SECOND ANNUAL STAGE RAW LOS ANGELES THEATER AWARDS, championing the best work of 2015 in L.A.'s still-embattled theaters of up to 99-seats.

The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle (LADCC) has announced its nominations and special awards for excellence in Los Angeles and Orange County theatre for the year 2015 (Dec. 1, 2014 - Nov. 30, 2015).

There are undoubtedly other productions worthy of merit in 2015 which I did not cover. This list is based only on what I saw and reviewed. (alphabetical listings; Equity, Equity-waiver & Non-Equity productions are mixed) (artists performing outside LA may be included in performance categories) No set, costume, or technical awards. I leave that to the bigger awards and to the expertise of those who really know those fields inside out.

The West Coast premiere of Ike Holter's HIT THE WALL vividly illustrates what might have happened that fateful night in 1969  when Stonewall became the flashpoint for what many consider the start of the gay liberation movement. With director Ken Sawyer's inventive staging, the audience becomes almost fully immersed in the play's actions. The stage seems to be every available space where an audience member's not physically sitting.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center and Sixth Avenue have announced the West Coast premiere of Hit the Wall by Ike Holter. This acclaimed play brings audiences into the famed 1969 Stonewall riots, credited historically as the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement. Directed by Ken Sawyer with a cast of 10, a live three-piece band, and original music by Anna Waronker (former singer for That Dog) and Charlotte Caffey (guitarist for The Go-Go's), Hit the Wall will play three previews on September 15, 16, and 17, and opening is set for Today, September 18 at 8pm. Hit the Wall will run through October 25 in the Davidson/Valentini Theatre.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center and Sixth Avenue have announced the West Coast premiere of Hit the Wall by Ike Holter. This acclaimed play brings audiences into the famed 1969 Stonewall riots, credited historically as the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement. Directed by Ken Sawyer with a cast of 10, a live three-piece band, and original music by Anna Waronker (former singer for That Dog) and Charlotte Caffey (guitarist for The Go-Go's), Hit the Wall will play three previews on September 15, 16, and 17, and opening is set for Friday, September 18 at 8pm. Hit the Wall will run through October 25 in the Davidson/Valentini Theatre.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center and Sixth Avenue have announced the West Coast premiere of Hit the Wall by Ike Holter. This acclaimed play brings audiences into the famed 1969 Stonewall riots, credited historically as the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement. Directed by Ken Sawyer with a cast of 10, a live three-piece band, and original music by Anna Waronker (former singer for That Dog) and Charlotte Caffey (guitarist for The Go-Go's), Hit the Wall will play three previews on September 15, 16, and 17, and opening is set for Friday, September 18 at 8pm. Hit the Wall will run through October 25 in the Davidson/Valentini Theatre.

San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson will lead a talkback with the audience following the 8 p.m. performance of I and You tonight, May 14 at the Fountain Theatre.

San Francisco-based playwright Lauren Gunderson will lead a talkback with the audience following the 8 p.m. performance of I and You on Thursday, May 14 at the Fountain Theatre.

On the night before a class assignment is due, Caroline and Anthony plumb the mysteries of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass - unaware that a much deeper mystery has brought them together. The Los Angeles premiere of I and You byLauren Gunderson, winner of the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, opens tonight, April 11at the Fountain Theatre, directed by Robin Larsen. Scroll down for a first look at the stars onstage!

On the night before a class assignment is due, Caroline and Anthony plumb the mysteries of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass - unaware that a much deeper mystery has brought them together. The Los Angeles premiere of I and You byLauren Gunderson, winner of the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, opens on April 11at the Fountain Theatre, directed by Robin Larsen. Scroll down for a first look at the stars onstage!

On the night before a class assignment is due, Caroline and Anthony plumb the mysteries of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass - unaware that a much deeper mystery has brought them together. The Los Angeles premiere of I and You by Lauren Gunderson, winner of the 2014 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, opens on April 11 at the Fountain Theatre, directed by Robin Larsen.

Playwright and MacArthur 'Genius Grant' recipient Tarell Alvin McCraney will lead a Q & A following the performance of The Brothers Size at the Fountain Theatre today, Aug. 16.

Playwright and MacArthur 'Genius Grant' recipient Tarell Alvin McCraney will lead a Q & A following the performance of The Brothers Size at the Fountain Theatre on Saturday, Aug. 16.

The Fountain Theatre has been granted the rights to extend its Los Angeles premiere production of The Brothers Size by Tarell Alvin McCraney, initially announced as a limited engagement, through Sept. 14.

The Los Angeles premiere of THE BROTHERS SIZE at the Fountain Theatre, directed by Shirley Jo Finney, is an exuberantly theatrical drama that weaves together the pulsing rhythms of the bayou with African Yoruba mythology to create a stylized story of love and heartache. What makes the play even more appealing than the skill of the actors is they always speak their stage directions, which invites the audience to remember they are in a theater and the story being told is for them.