'Imagining America' Benefit Postponed

The Ojai Playwrights Conference is postponing their previously announced benefit celebration, "Imagining America," scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2020, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

A joint statement from OPC Artistic Director/Producer Robert Egan and OPC Board President Carl Thelander explains, "With the recent spread of coronavirus across the country and Southern California, we are regretfully postponing our May 2nd OPC Benefit 'Imagining America' at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. We are taking this action because community health and well-being are absolutely paramount. We will reassemble at a later date with the benefit when the public safety of our community can be guaranteed.

"In the meantime, OPC staff will continue to work diligently in the coming months to create another inspiring New Works Festival in Ojai from August 9 - 16, 2020."

Since 1998, theatre professionals and enthusiastic audiences have converged in Ojai to participate in the development of new plays for the American theatre. Plays developed at OPC have gone on to have numerous productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and at regional theatres across the country. Some have been nominated for and won prestigious awards. Both "Fun Home" by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori, and Jon Robin Baitz's "Other Desert Cities" were Pulitzer Finalists; "Fun Home" won the Tony Award for Best Musical; and Danai Guiria's "Eclipsed" and Stephen Adly Guirgis' "The Motherf**ker with the Hat" were each nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.

World premieres of OPC plays coming up in 2020 include Kate Cortesi's "Love" at Marin Theatre Company (OPC 2019); Ren Dara Santiago's "The Siblings Play" Off-Broadway at Rattlestick Theater (OPC 2017); "53% of" by Steph Del Rossso at Alliance Theatre (OPC 2018); "Graveyard Shift" by Korde Arrington Tuttle at Goodman Theatre (OPC 2017).