Theatre West is an internationally acclaimed non profit arts organization in Hollywood, California.
Established in 1962, Theatre West is the oldest continually running arts organization in Los Angeles. Our productions have toured both sides of the Atlantic, including the Edinburgh and Dublin Festivals, New York City, Atlanta, South Carolina, Seattle, San Francisco, and throughout California. Over the years Theatre West’s plays have transferred to Broadway (Spoon River Anthology, Aesop in Central Park) and to feature films (A Bronx Tale, Faithful).
Theatre West is a democratic artistic cooperative dedicated to the artistic growth of its members. Our threefold mission statement is to conduct workshops to further our member’s artistic growth, present performances grown from those workshops and to do outreach to the greater community, which we accomplish through both education (Associate Members who study for free), children’s theatre, and– in the case of A Christmas Carol– partnering with local schools to include children in the play, educate teachers in making art, and creating a fun curriculum, based on the play in English, vocabulary, math, history, and geography.
Theatre West has offered some 2,000 professionals over 5,000 workshops in acting, musical comedy, playwrighting, Shakespeare, and improvisation; produced over 250 plays–two-thirds of them original pieces–while maintaining a free weekly workshop for young Associate Members. Our work has been applauded with Tony Awards, Obies, 9 LA Drama Critics Awards, 7 NAACP Image Awards, and over 130 Drama-Logue Awards. Internationally, we have been nominated by the BBC for the Best of the Fringe, and awarded the coveted Cover of the Scotsman at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as Best Ensemble Award at the Dublin Festival.
Since 1984 Storybook Theatre has been part of our company –honored last year by The United States Senate and House of Representatives, The County Board of Supervisors, the City Council of Los Angeles and Mayor’s Office. Storybook presents non-threatening, interactive musical theater appropriate for children 3-9 years old, performed by professional members of Actors Equity Association.
In 2005 Theatre West launched the Chestnuts program, dedicated to staging revivals of great classic and contemporary plays.
