Amidst endless Zoom meetings and pivoting every possible direction while planning seasons across three iconic theatres, Center Theatre Group’s artistic team has been asking itself profound questions. How do you program art for the stage that effectively wrestles with the unpredictable world outside the stage door? And who should be at the table to make those important artistic decisions. While these important discussions have been mostly taking place over Zoom these past two years, they are the same questions Center Theatre Group has been asking since it began in 1967. And they have been asked by artistic leaders at theatres across the world since the inception of the art form.
Today, those voices at Center Theatre Group’s table are a team of associate artistic directors, and they are deciding the artistic path for one of the country’s largest theatre organizations. Their roots in Los Angeles and at Center Theatre Group run deep, with a few having been with the organization under both its founder, Gordon Davidson, and now second artistic director, Michael Ritchie. While the leadership style of Gordon and Michael differed, what remains constant is the collaborative effort of programming seasons for the Ahmanson, Taper, and Douglas. “It is impossible for one person to be responsible for the success of Center Theatre Group,” said Associate Artistic Director Tyrone Davis. “Theatre is the most collaborative art form. It takes so many people to make the stage come alive.”
Davis, along with fellow associate artistic directors Luis Alfaro, Lindsay Allbaugh, Neel Keller, and Kelley Kirkpatrick, are now in the midst of shepherding through the long-awaited return season to Center Theatre Group’s stages while planning for a yet-to-be-announced lineup for the following year. Such overlapping programming efforts across multiple stages are standard practice for an organization as large as theirs, although it is not often that a team of associates are working in the absence of a lead artistic director. Ritchie stepped down at the end of 2021, having led the organization since taking over from Davidson in 2005.
Before departing, one of Ritchie’s final decisions was to expand his team of associates so that they could easily handle programming duties during a transitionary period as the organization seeks its next artistic director. His final hire was Alfaro, whose history dates back the furthest, having joined the organization in 1995 when he helped guide artistic development under Davidson. “Center Theatre Group has been my artistic home for nearly my entire career, so to return at such a pivotal moment in the history of regional theatre, the organization, and Los Angeles, is quite invigorating,” Alfaro said when he returned in July.
“Michael’s doing was to bring a strong team together to ensure strong leadership remained in place,” said Allbaugh. “We have spent most of the pandemic team building and reaffirming our artistic vision so that Center Theatre Group’s mission can continue. It’s exciting to be at the table with a team that bring unique experiences.”
“It is really a model for shared leadership and inclusion. This moment in time will open the doors to a new and wider group of artists,” said Keller. That sentiment of team work is shared amongst all of the associates, which is further reinforced by the organization’s previously shared commitments to change, which were published in response to calls for theatres across the country to reform their practices and to fully embody a sense of anti-racism. “We are committed to working within a model of power sharing and transparency,” said Kirkpatrick, who spoke of the meaningful work they have been continually undertaking over the past year.
With the associate artistic director team comprised of directors, playwrights, and producers with deep ties to both Los Angeles and the broader theatre industry, they are optimistic and excited about the programming lined up for the stages, around the community, and in the pipeline of artistic development, as they reemerge from the pandemic shutdown and a period of unrest in America. “We are tasked with implementing an artistic vision after a global pandemic and a civil rights moment. The vision will be informed by these two historical events with the goal to serve the myriad needs of Los Angeles. Between the five of us, we have the institutional knowledge, lived experiences, L.A. roots, and artistic prowess to handle programming until Center Theatre Group identifies new artistic leadership,” said Davis.
First up for the team is the season that marks a triumphant return following the pandemic-forced shutdown. From plays including Slave Play, Tambo & Bones,and Blues for an Alabama Sky to musicals Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Hadestown, the 2021/22 season will push boundaries, open the stage to provocative new voices, and celebrate the power of live theatre. “Taken together, they are a glorious reminder of why theatre is a meaningful, unique experience and why gathering in person to listen to artists reflect on our shared experiences is nourishing to us all,” said Keller.
And while they continue to plan for Center Theatre Group’s next season announcement, they have already signaled an exciting framework that grew out of their commitment to spotlighting underrepresented communities. In October, the associates announced that the 2022/23 season at the Taper would feature works entirely by women-identifying or non-binary playwrights that are majority BIPOC. “We are unwavering in our commitment to cutting edge art and diversity of all perspectives,” they collectively wrote in the announcement.
As Ritchie wrapped up his tenure, the associates continued on their path, actively listening, seeking, and experiencing the art and artistic voices throughout the community while continuing to program for the future.
“During this period, we are working collectively to inspire, but not to change the institution in a radical way,” said Alfaro. “Let’s face it, existing and recovering from a pandemic is taking a toll on everyone in the arts, from Broadway to the regional theatres. Our job right now is to be clear about what Center Theatre Group’s values are, and how we respond to the world around us is in our choice of the art we present. Which, by the way, has no choice but, first, to be excellent, and conscious about the story we tell, to whom, and how to do that in a way that does not endanger the artistic, financial, and producorial life of the company.”
The associates will continue doing that important work as the search progresses for Ritchie’s replacement. “We want to set the table for our audiences and also for a future artistic leader,” said Allbaugh. And they are doing so as a collective, benefiting as a team from each other’s experiences while also working within the greater artistic landscape. “With the support of our community, we will continue to produce and curate art of the highest caliber that reflects and serves the beautiful city of Los Angeles,” said Davis.
I wrote this article for Center Theatre Group’s program.