Center Theatre Group Will Host WALK WITH ME CTG Audio Experience

Center Theatre Group will host Walk With Me CTG: An Interactive Audio Experience beginning Wednesday, June 18 and running through Saturday, July 12 outside of the Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre on the Jerry Moss Plaza at The Music Center. The project comes from LA-based theatremaker Katie Lindsay, who was commissioned by CTG to develop the project after creating another audio walk experience during the pandemic entitled A Walk in My Neighborhood—a project which LAist called “genius.”

Ready to see CTG with new eyes? Then, let's go on a walk! Have you ever stopped to really take in the beautiful outdoor spaces surrounding the Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson Theatre? Walk With Me CTG is a guided audio walk that invites you to discover hidden stories in familiar places. Join Katie at The Music Center for a walk around the Taper and Ahmanson as she explores what it means to feel a sense of belonging at CTG. Learn about the theatres' history, the artists and visionaries who shaped it, and the land the theatres stand on while considering your own relationship to LA's largest theatre company.

This interactive audio walk can be experienced any time the plaza is open and is completely free to the public. To participate, simply go to CTGLA.org/WALKWITHME on your phone, grab your headphones, head to The Music Center, and start walking. Ticketed audience members to Taper and Ahmanson shows are encouraged to arrive early before their show's curtain time to enjoy the audio experience and learn something new about CTG and the surrounding area. Each episode is around 15 minutes, and the entire experience takes about an hour. The episodes are designed to be listened to individually or together as one continuous experience. If you plan to experience the entire series before an evening show, it is recommended that you arrive by 6:30 p.m.

"In 2020, after indefinite postponements of theatre gigs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I started taking a daily morning walk in my Atwater Village neighborhood. What began as a way to break up my day became an opportunity to slow down and develop a new relationship with my own neighborhood. I decided I wanted to share that experience with my friends, fellow artists, neighbors, and community members—and like that, my first audio walk, A Walk in My Neighborhood, was born,” said Katie Lindsay, creator of Walk With Me CTG. “When I was commissioned to create a similar audio walk experience for Center Theatre Group, I was excited to use this as an opportunity to reconnect with the place I fell in love with when I was a kid. I have been going to CTG shows since as long as I can remember, and those experiences are a big part of the reason why I make theatre today. As I explored the plaza–its famous architecture and its nooks and crannies–I found myself asking what it means to feel a sense of belonging at CTG, especially in the wake of the pandemic and the divisive political moment we're living in. I'm beyond excited to share some really amazing interviews, stories, and history I discovered as I dug into where CTG came from, how it evolved, and where it's heading. It was also a great opportunity to explore the amazing architecture and environment that make up the plaza surrounding the Ahmanson and Taper, as well as look at the history of this little sliver of Downtown LA. So, join me on a walk! I promise you'll meet some amazing people and see the plaza in ways you've never seen before."

"Katie isn't just a longtime CTG audience member—she's also an exceptional director and theatremaker rooted right here in Los Angeles,” said Snehal Desai, CTG's Brindell & Milton Gottlieb Artistic Director. “At CTG, we're committed to uplifting local artists and finding inventive ways to connect with our community beyond the walls of our theatres. Walk With Me CTG does both beautifully. I'm excited to share the amazing work Katie has been developing over the past few months—and grateful for a fun, meaningful way to hit my daily 10,000 steps. See you on the plaza."

Walk With Me CTG is conceived, written, and performed by Katie Lindsay; Co-Producer is Jessica Hanna; Story Editors are Jessica Hanna & Nikki Diloreto; Audio Mixing/Sound Design is by Noel Nichols & Uptown Works; CTG team is Brett Webster, Paige Vehlewald, Jessica Doherty, and Keeley Bell; Interviewees include Luis Alfaro, Snehal Desai, Larissa FastHorse, Bruce Lemon Jr, Ade Lindsay Cloud, L. Frank Manriquez, Carene Rose Mekertichyan, Rose Portillo, Kenny Ramos, Mark Seldis, Amethyst Vazquez and Chay Yew; Special thanks to Robin Cloud, Tova Katz, Lauren Ludwig, Eleanor Kagan, Indigenous Direction, Ian Schiffer, Moving Arts, Juju Lelliott, Niall Sulcer, Margaret Evelyn, Roger Q Mason, Candido Cornejo, Emma Robins, Monique Castro, and Lena Sands.

Walk With Me CTG was commissioned and produced by Center Theatre Group.

Katie Lindsay is a writer and director of new plays, musicals, and experiences that are playful, ensemble-driven, and visually theatrical. Directing work includes Menstruation: A Period Piece by Miranda Rose Hall (LA LGBT Center & Big Little Theater Co, Best 2024 Production, Stage Raw), Red Emma and the Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan and Teresa Lotz (New York Times Critics' Pick), The Sandwich Ministry by Miranda Rose Hall (Skylight Theatre, Commendation from County of LA), The Door You Never Saw Before by Matt Schatz (Geffen), Bar Dykes by Merril Mushroom (Celebration Theatre), and Orlando by Sarah Ruhl (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Katie is the Artistic Director of Big Little Theater Company, which makes work that is epically intimate. She is the creator, writer, and performer of a series of site-specific audio walks including A Walk in My Neighborhood and Walk With Me CTG. As a writer, Katie is currently under commission from Geffen Playhouse with Beneath the Bowtie, a new musical about drag kings who performed at mafia-run bars in 1940's New York. Katie is a Dramatists' Guild and SDC member, and a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Center Theatre Group, one of the nation's preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles' leading not-for-profit theatre company, which, under the leadership of Artistic Director Snehal Desai, Managing Director / CEO Meghan Pressman, and Producing Director Douglas C. Baker, programs the Mark Taper Forum and the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. Center Theatre Group is one of the country's leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstances to serve Los Angeles. Founded in 1967,  Center Theatre Group has produced more than 700 productions across its three stages, including such iconic shows as Zoot Suit; Angels in America; The Kentucky Cycle; Biloxi Blues; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Children of a Lesser God; Curtains; The Drowsy Chaperone; 9 to 5: The Musical; and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. CenterTheatreGroup.org