The Gaze … at Center Theatre Group

Center Theatre Group is presenting Larry Powell's "The Gaze ... No Homo," a satiric dramedy about the decolonization of the Black imagination which will be presented on Center Theatre Group's Digital Stage FEBRUARY 25 at 5 pm Pacific through MARCH 25, 2021. Produced by Tell Me A Story Productions, "The Gaze" will be free to the public for the first weekend (FEBRUARY 25 through 28) and cost $20 for the remainder of the run. The streaming video will be available on demand at centertheatregroup.org/digitalstage/videos/the-gaze-no-homo.

Adapted from his own 2020-2021 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference Finalist play, writer / creator Larry Powell refers to this production of "The Gaze" as a "#Digiplay Experience." Set in the prestigious Evergreen Theatre Festival tucked in a bucolic small town, which prides itself on developing the brightest and boldest new American voices, a young actor is cast in the virtual production of an emerging Black queer playwright. As the established director dreams of Broadway and tensions rise in heated Zoom-based rehearsals, "The Gaze" examines the process of building culturally specific and queer works of color in historically white spaces.

Larry Powell is a writer, actor, director and producer born and raised in South Central LA. As an actor he's played roles in some of the most exciting new plays in America including "The Legend of Georgia McBride" by Matthew Lopez, "Broke-ology" by Nathan Louis Jackson and "While I Yet Live" by Billy Porter. At the Mark Taper Forum, Powell appeared in "The Christians" by Lucas Hnath (also the world premiere at Actors Theatre of Louisville) and "Father Comes Home From The Wars" by Suzan Lori Parks. He also stars as Lawrence in the movie "The Browsing Effect" (Prime Video). He is a two-time Ovation Award nominee, three-time NAACP Theatre Award nominee, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Award nominee, two-time LA Drama Critics Circle Award winner, as well as an Audelco and Audie award nominee. Writer/creator of "The Gaze" New Media Series and #Digiplay Experience, Powell is also a dynamic playwright and screenwriter. As a director, he has worked with brilliant artists on exciting new works for stage and screen. Including work on his own feature film project "Mother's Milk" (Pan African Film Festival 2021 Official Selection) and working with Phylicia Rashad on her Center Theatre Group production of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" at the Taper (assistant director). Powell is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Southern California's School of Dramatic Arts MFA Acting program (Directing stellar productions of "The Brothers Size" by Tarell Alvin McCraney and "Pipeline" by Dominique Morisseau). Powell is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama and the Founder of Free The Arts a holistic experience for diverse, intergenerational Black artists to put each other on game through quality training, community, opportunity, and new, bold works for a new audience.

Tell Me A Story Productions, founded by Executive Producer Angelica Robinson, acquires, develops and produces premium content for film, television and new media. Committed to highlighting edutainment programming, as well as character-driven stories that embrace diverse images of the multi-cultural human experience, our team is a go-to source for on-screen and behind-the-scenes diverse talent in media.