VS. Theatre Company Finds Permanent Home at LA's Former Black Dahlia Theatre

VS. Theatre Company Artistic Director Johnny Clark announced today that the award-winning and critically-acclaimed theatre company is moving into its permanent new home, the former site of the Black Dahlia Theatre at 5453 West Pico Blvd., in Los Angeles, as well as into the empty storefront next door. The theatre will be renamed the VS. Theatre and the storefront next door will be converted into a beautiful lobby space for the theatre.

For eight years, VS. has produced theatre at great venues all around Los Angeles. On August 1, 2012, VS.’s dream of having its own home became a reality. After renovations, VS. plans to open its doors in 2013 with its first ever full season of work. “VS. 2013 Season of Shows” will be announced shortly.

Comments, Artistic Director Johnny Clark, “I cannot be more thankful to Matt Shakman for this opportunity to make our biggest dream come true! Matt called me and recruited VS. to take over the space. We are big, mutual fans of each other’s work. When Matt purchased the El Centro Theatre in June, he immediately reached out to me about the possibility of VS. taking over his former home. We have always loved the space, its intimacy, its great energy. I have seen many terrific productions there over the years, and in many ways, it is the perfect space for the style of work we do. Small casts; actor driven pieces: single sets, hyper-realistic production design. Matt had been there for 12 years. He loved the space, and did not want it to return to two storefronts, which is why he reached out to me. Matt could not be happier that VS. is taking over and we hope to keep the quality of work that has come out of that space alive for many years to come!”

VS. Theatre Company, a Not-For-Profit 501c-(3) Public Benefit Corporation, is a small, dedicated group of passionate artists devoted to producing original works and Los Angeles Premieres by the best contemporary playwrights in America. VS. was founded in 2004 based on a passion for riveting stories and live performance in an intimate setting.

Recently named “one of the top theatre companies of the last decade” by the LA Weekly, VS. has produced or co-produced major contemporary playwrights including John Patrick Shanley, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Adam Rapp, Itamar Moses, and Neil LaBute. To date, VS. has produced or co-produced fourteen plays. Standouts include: the West Coast Premere of Keith Bunin’s The Credeaux Canvas, which ran for nearly six months and played to sold out houses every night; In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (a co-production with The Elephant Theatre Company), named Best Production by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle in 2008; On An Average Day, produced in Los Angeles and Chicago, garnering Critic’s Choice in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Backstage, and won or was nominated for several Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and Joseph Jefferson Awards; Blackbird by Adam Rapp which was nominated for three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards including two for Best Lead Actor and three LA Weekly Awards including Best Production; and most recently, The Los Angeles Premiere of Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat, a co-production with the Ford Theatre as part of the Ford’s prestigious 2011 [Inside] The Ford Winter Partnership Program. The Mercy Seat won two Backstage Reader’s Choice Awards for Outstanding Performance and Production, won or was nominated for several LA Weekly Awards, and was voted a “Top Ten of The Year” by the Los Angeles Times.

For more info, visit www.vstheatre.org.

 

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