Cheryl L. West News

UCSB's Launch Pad Zooms Into Action With ALONE, TOGETHER

LAUNCH PAD alumni playwrights have rallied to provide new material for UCSB's Department of Theater and Dance students. In an overwhelming response to an invitation from LAUNCH PAD Artistic Director Risa Brainin and Professor Annie Torsiglieri, 24 playwrights have written monologues and short plays inspired by the prompt a?oeAlone, Togethera?? and tailored specifically for the Zoom platform. 

The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation has announced the recipients of their special COVID-19 response grants for playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists who have had a full professional production cancelled, closed, or indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 closures.

PlayMakers Repertory Company has announced its 2020/21 Season, All Too Human: The Art of Comedy. The season features nine productions that explore the gamut of human experience showcased in comedies both classic and new. The PlayMakers Mainstage season will feature a tribe of loving, zany Southern belles, a buddy-cop adventure that crackles with hope and humor amidst the fall of the Soviet Union, a George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, a story of one woman's drastic fall down the social ladder and her fabulous self-reinvention, the Bard's most famous pastoral comedy, and the heartwarming tale of a young girl and the community of family, teachers, and friends who help her achieve her heart's desire. Our PRC2 Kenan Stage also brings three uniquely distinct, fresh perspectives on the comedic form, chosen to continue pushing the boundaries of what we believe 'theatre' to be.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Have you heard of her? Maybe not (I know I hadn't before last night). But even if you're unfamiliar with her, you're more than likely familiar with one of the many artists she's influenced. Artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Little Richard to name just a few. But that's kind of the point of the show, a?oeShout Sister Shout!a??, currently playing at the Seattle Rep. A show that tells the story of the a?oeGodmother of Rock n' Rolla??, and how we need to recognize these artists that have been whitewashed and mansplained from history. But even beyond that, you want to catch this for the insanely powerful performance of Carrie Compere as Tharpe, who will have you rockin' in your seat as she tears the roof off the Rep.

This Fall, The|Griot|Project will be mounting their rendition of  Cheryl L. West's, powerful family drama,  a?oeBefore It Hits Homea??. You are invited to a Preview Show on Friday, November 15th at The Table; 1800 Portland Ave, Louisville, KY 40203. Doors open at 6pm. Please RSVP by emailing louisvillegriot@gmail.com or calling 502-309-9307.

Artistic Director Robert Falls announces an update to Goodman Theatre's 2019/2020 Season. The Chicago premiere of School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh, directed by Lili-Anne Brown, originally scheduled for the Owen Theatre, will move into the 856-seat Albert Theatre; the Falls-directed major revival of Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel, originally scheduled for the Albert Theatre, will move into the 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre.

Casting is complete for the two a?oedevelopmental productionsa?? featured in Goodman Theatre's 16th annual New Stages Festivala?"a free celebration of new works by some of the country's finest established and emerging playwrights.

This fall, Goodman Theatre presents its New Stages Festivala?"a free annual celebration and discovery of new plays by some of the country's finest established and emerging playwrights, now in its 16th year. Audiences experience a first look at seven new worksa?"including two fully staged developmental productions (performed in repertory) Incendiary by Dave Harris and In the Sick Bay of the Santa Maria by Rajiv Joseph.

Trustus Theatre expands its theatre walls again this season by partnering with Columbia Children's Theatre to bring Motherhood Out Loud to Columbia

Artistic Director Braden Abraham today announced Seattle Rep's new nine-play 2019/2020 season, which features the second Public Works Seattle production, two musical works, a world premiere, a Pulitzer-Prize nominated play, and more. To align with their vision of 'theater at the heart of public life,' Seattle Rep is also rolling out their new visual identity over the next few months, with a full campaign to be launched in August. With this announcement of the new season, Seattle will get a taste of what is coming at Seattle Rep.

When entrusting the subject of motherhood to a dazzling collection of celebrated American writers, what results is a joyous, moving, hilarious, and altogether thrilling theatrical play. Utterly unpredictable, Motherhood Out Loud shatters traditional notions about parenthood, unveils its inherent comedy and celebrates the deeply personal truths that span and unite generations.

Internationally acclaimed children's author Christopher Paul Curtis will pay a return visit to Chicago Children's Theatre, 100 S. Racine Ave. in Chicago's West Loop, on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14, for public book signings and to celebrate CCT's world premiere adaptation of his Newbery Medal-winning book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963.

Come to the place where dreams are born, and no one ever truly grows up - Children's Theatre of Charlotte.

Chicago Children's Theatre has announced it has received a $10,000 NEA Art Works grant to support the company's upcoming world premiere adaptation of The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963.

Chicago Children's Theatre's 13th season finale is the world premiere of The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, a civil rights era family drama based on the groundbreaking young adult novel by Christopher Paul Curtis about the 1963 Birmingham church bombing.

UCSB's Department of Theater and Dance presents a LAUNCH PAD preview production of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 from February 14th to 24th in the Performing Arts Theater. Based on the book by Christopher Paul Curtis and adapted for the stage by Cheryl L. West, The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 is a story of family, love, and perseverance. The play centers on a buoyant, loving Michigan family of five traveling south to Alabama during the turbulent summer of 1963, a time of racially motivated upheaval and civil unrest. Ten-year-old Kenny is conflicted about this family vacation, but as his world expands, Kenny learns he's more courageous than he ever thought himself capable.

2019 is looking to be a season of exciting, provocative performance art that features a variety of voices. Here are my top picks for the nine shows of 2019 that shouldn't be missed (in order by date).

Mom! Dad! Chicago Children's Theatre invites you and your kids to X-Marks the Spot, an all-new form of "X-Tra Sensory Theatre" created for all audiences, inspired by children who are visually impaired.

Chicago Children's Theatre's announced today a three-week extension of its current smash hit musical, Leo Lionni's Frederick.