Center Theatre Group to Present 2026 LA Writers' Workshop Reading Series

Center Theatre Group's LA Writers' Workshop Reading Series will take place Sunday, July 12 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and Sundays August 30 and September 27 at REDCAT. The LA Writers' Workshop is celebrating its 20th anniversary. 

Since 2005, CTG has invited a cohort of local playwrights to spend a year researching and writing new works with feedback from the artistic staff and their fellow writers. The program is designed to foster important voices, inspire playwrights to create their best work, encourage bold writing, and build relationships among local playwrights, CTG, and the Los Angeles theatre community. CTG's growing list of LA Writers' Workshop alumni is currently comprised of more than 100 playwrights. 

Through this and other programs, CTG fosters and develops a broad range of new theatrical work from artists within the diverse communities of Los Angeles, across the nation, and abroad. The company has a long history of providing artists with both financial and artistic support via resources, readings, and workshops throughout the year. 

The plays and playwrights are as follows: Sunday, July 12 at Kirk Douglas Theatre—Back East by Maddox Pennington at 3:30pm; The Shameful (Untrue) Story of Herbie Gregory Morgan by Kevin Douglas at 7:30pm 

Sunday, August 30 at REDCAT—Lauren Sanchez by Bernardo Cubría at 3:30pm; House of Misfortune by Keiko Green at 7:30pm 

Sunday, September 27 at REDCAT—Reagan Ranch by Christina Pumariega at 3:30pm; In This House by Erika Sheffer at 7:30pm 

Tickets are $17.25 with general admission seating and are available at Centertheatregroup.org 

CTG Brindell & Milton Gottlieb Artistic Director Snehal Desai said, “Center Theatre Group is a cultural force in the American theatre, and one of the ways we continue to be that force for decades to come is by helping to support Los Angeles artists. My goal as Artistic Director is to bring world class theatre to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to the world. The LA Writers' Workshop program is just one of the ways we bring Los Angeles to the world—by supporting the artists and theatre companies who call Los Angeles their home, and by fostering an environment where playwrights can do their best work on their path to creating the next great American play.”   

Desai continued, “This year, I am particularly excited to continue the LA Writers' Workshop. Great storytelling is only as powerful as the community surrounding it. I hope you'll join us as we welcome six extraordinary playwrights, and help give breath to these incredible new works. There's nothing quite like being the first to see the next hit play as it begins to take its first steps.” 

“The LA Writers' Workshop is one of the most exciting programs we have in New Play Development,” added Dr. Sonia Desai, CTG's Director of Literary and Dramaturgy. “It has a rich history of inviting LA playwrights into the CTG family. We are always excited to have opportunities to create community and new work-in-progress plays with the wonderful artists in this city. Each of these playwrights brings a unique voice to the table that we are thrilled to share with the public with these staged readings.” 

About the Plays and the Playwrights 

Sunday, July 12 at Kirk Douglas Theatre 

Back East by Maddox Pennington 

A prodigal trans son faces down his extended family in the Cherokee Nation, as he attempts to win custody of his cousins. Jay must navigate his changing relationship, his eavesdropping ancestors, and his own imperfect sense of purpose. 

Maddox Pennington (Playwright, he/they) is a performer, director, and playwright; a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, he received an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University. His work has been developed via LA's MADLab, Native Voices, The Fountain Theatre, NYC's FRIGID Queerly Festival, Creative Nations First Storytellers Festival and the Kayenta Arts Center. He facilitates workshops for The Joy Who Lived as the Director of Education. You can find him online at MaddoxKPennington.com and @MKPinLA 

The Shameful (Untrue) Story of Herbie Gregory Morgan by Kevin Douglas 
What happens when you start the job of a lifetime, only a bus ride away, the same week as the birth of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts? The Shameful (Untrue) Story of Herbie Gregory Morgan is the story of a Black man who secretly rides the bus in order to get to the job of his dreams.  

Kevin Douglas (Playwright) is an ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago, where his plays Thaddeus and Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure (which earned him a Black Theatre Alliance Award for playwrighting), and Plantation! directed by David Schwimmer had their world premieres. He is the creator and writer of an independent comedy series titled Messy Lola. Watch episodes on messylola.com. Kevin's hit play Untitled Vampire Play had its World Premiere at Lookingglass Theatre this summer and is currently running! 

Sunday, August 30 at REDCAT 

Lauren Sanchez by Bernardo Cubría 

As billionaire bride-to-be Lauren Sánchez prepares for her lavish wedding in Venice, Italy, a very different Lauren Sánchez in Venice, California watches her father detained by ICE, igniting protests across the city. As their worlds collide, the spectacle grows increasingly surreal, with appearances from Usher, Eva Longoria, Jeff Bezos, and a literal slime monster named Stephen Miller. In this biting satire about privilege, coincidence, and responsibility, two women who share a name must reckon with the wildly unequal lives they lead, and whether integrity can exist in a world run by billionaire dweebs with a micropenis.  

Bernardo Cubría (Playwright). His play The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote received a NNPN rolling world premiere and has had 8 productions around the country. Crabs in a Bucket won the 2024 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Writing. His play The Play You Want premiered at L.A.'s Road Theatre in 2022, garnering Cubría both a Stage Raw Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination for Playwriting. In 2019, Cubría was nominated for the Ovation, Stage Raw and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Best Playwright awards for his play The Giant Void In My Soul. He is a chair for the 2025-2026 Dramatist Guild national playwrights fellows. 

House of Misfortune by Keiko Green  

A couple invites a group of friends over for a dinner party, when they discover a creepy, taped off crawl space hidden in their new home. 

Keiko Green (Playwright, she/her) is a playwright, TV writer, and performer based in Los Angeles. Plays include: You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! (South Coast Rep; Oregon Shakespeare Festival; Company One), Empty Ride (Old Globe), Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play (Old Globe; SF Playhouse; Porkfilled Productions), Hells Canyon (Theater Mu; WET), The Bed Trick (Seattle Shakespeare Co; Artists Repertory Theatre), Sharon (Cygnet Theatre), and Hometown Boy (Actors Express; Seattle Public Theater). Her plays have been developed at the Kennedy Center, the National New Play Network, Playwrights Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Seven Devils, and twice by the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Awards/Honors: LA Critics Circle (Ted Schmitt Award), Susan Blackburn Prize Finalist, Kilroys List, San Diego Critics Circle Award (Outstanding New Play), Gregory Award (Outstanding New Play). She holds commissions from Atlantic Theatre Company, Signature Theatre (DC), Seattle Rep/South Coast Rep. Current/Past Affiliations: Old Globe Resident Artist, Geffen Writers Group, Chance Resident Playwright, Theater Mu's Mu Tang Clan, Seattle Rep Resident Writers Group, ACT Core Company Member. TV: AppleTV's Margo's Got Money Troubles and Hulu's Interior Chinatown. BFA: NYU Drama - Experimental Theatre Wing, MFA: UCSD Playwriting. IG: @keikothegreen 

Sunday, September 27 at REDCAT 

Reagan Ranch by Christina Pumariega 

In the hills of the Westside, an aging Hollywood actor rebuilds his life after a brutal divorce. An ambitious B-movie actress politics for her dream mate. Meanwhile California conservatives hunt the perfect candidate to claw back to power. On Reagan Ranch, one modest foreman bears witness to it all—growth and decimation, lies and the truth—one performance at a time.  

Christina Pumariega (Playwright) acts and writes. Often simultaneously. Her Edgerton Award-winning, Pulitzer-nominated play ¡VOS! was developed at Ojai, premiered at Two River Theater, and plays next at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival. She holds commissions with MTC/Sloan and the Denver Center. TV writing includes Disney+ and NBC. Acting on and Off-Broadway and onscreen, Pumariega has cross-examined Coach Taylor, made out with the Fly, and set a Cuban pharmacy ablaze in a corset. MFA Acting, NYU.  

In This House by Erika Sheffer 
A modern American family attempts to afford a modern American life by moving in with their divorced parents. In This House is a multi-generational story of love, sex, money, and the perils of belonging to a tribe.  

Erika Sheffer (Playwright). Plays include Vladimir (Manhattan Theatre Club), Russian Transport (The New Group, Steppenwolf), The Fundamentals (Steppenwolf). Commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club, Steppenwolf, Geffen Playhouse. Alumna of Ars Nova Playgroup, SPACE on Ryder Farm. Awards include the Vineyard Theatre's Paula Vogel Prize, TCG's Edgerton Grant. Television: The Beast In Me (Netflix), Little America (Apple TV), multiple development rooms, and a new show for Apple TV premiering in 2027. 

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