Julie Marie Myatt's BIRDER Gets Special Reading at the Natural History Museum, 4/6

A special event that includes a reading of the new comedy "Birder" by Julie Marie Myatt and a guided bird walk in the gardens of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) will be presented by Center Theatre Group under its DouglasPlus programming and NHM on April 6 at 7 p.m.

"Birder," which is directed by Dan Bonnell, follows an accountant who, upon the discovery of a house finch nesting outside his home in Los Feliz, finds himself forced to question his most basic assumptions about what it means to be a father, husband and breadwinner. "Birder" is a play about birds, silence and finding both terror and solace in Los Angeles' unique urban ecology.

Audience members can arrive at 6:20 p.m. to participate in a docent-led bird walk. There will also be a meet the artists reception following the reading.

The event is free, and reservations can be made at nhm.org/birder for both the reading and the bird walk. NHM is located at 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007. Parking is free.

Julie Marie Myatt's play "The Happy Ones" was produced at the Magic Theatre, premiered at South Coast Repertory and won the L.A. Drama Critic Circle's Ted Schmitt Award for Outstanding New Play. Her play "Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter" premiered at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and a tour of that production went to the Kennedy Center. Her play "Someday" premiered as part of Cornerstone Theater's Justice Cycle. Her play "My Wandering Boy" premiered at South Coast Repertory in the 2007, was part of Pacific Playwrights Festival, and was also produced in New York as part of the 2007 Summer Play Festival. "Boats On A River" premiered at the Guthrie Theater, was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and was recorded for the LA Theatre Works radio play series The Play's The Thing. Her 10-minute play "Mr. and Mrs." premiered at the 2007 Humana Festival. Her play "The Sex Habits of American Women" was produced by the Guthrie Theater, among others, and premiered at the Magic Theatre. Her work has been seen at numerous regional theatres. She received a Walt Disney Studios Screenwriting Fellowship, a Jerome Fellowship at the Playwrights' Center, a McKnight Advancement Grant and CTG's Fadiman Award. She is a resident member of New Dramatists and a Mellon Playwright in Residence at South Coast Repertory.

DouglasPlus programming is an eclectic mix of theatre choices, ranging from fully- staged or minimally-staged events to workshops and readings that utilize both traditional and non-traditional performance spaces and seating configurations.

"Birder" is also part of CTG's The California Plays Project, in which CTG has commissioned four Los Angeles playwrights to each write a play on California themes. To aid in each play's development, CTG is partnering with four Los Angeles cultural institutions to bring these California stories to different corners of our city-and to make a wide range of Los Angeles audiences a part of the creative process.

NHM's Performing Arts program helps bring science to life through theatre arts. Its creative team runs the popular Dinosaur Encounters and Ice Age Encounters performances, in which realistic, large-scale "T. rex," Triceratops and Saber-toothed cat puppets capture the imagination of audiences every week. Performing Arts members also engage visitors in special performances such as shadow puppetry and aerial dance to highlight museum exhibits and events.

For more information on the "Birder" reading, visit nhm.org/birder.

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