Journalism

Today I get to talk to Diane Rodriguez, an Associate Producer and Director of New Play Production at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles. This is a big conversation about how one of the largest regional theaters in the country is rethinking and realigning its support of artists, their projects, and the form. Listen to the way she talks about CTG's sense of "ownership", for instance. Or the way they are using their Douglas Plus series. But it's also about how an individual, with a solid set of values that are rooted in community, can impact an enormous institution. Or the ways in which they are rethinking the relationship of the CTG to the field itself. Whether it is Diane herself or Michael Ritchie or any of the other people she speaks of, they are each proceeding from a core value that privileges a sense of citizenship of a larger community. Diane and I are involved in a bunch of different ways and over a long period of time, so we get a bit "shorthandy" in this call. "The Douglas" is the Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City, part of the CTGLA organization. "Rude Mechs" is the Austin-based group The Rude Mechanicals. "NEFA" is the New England Foundation for the Arts which administers the National Theater Project supporting the creation and touring of new works of theater nationally. We'll get back on the phone together again soon to see what is unfolding there as it happens.

[audio:http://www.howlround.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/39-The-David-Dower-F...|titles=39 - The David Dower Friday Phone Call - Diane Rodriguez]

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. You can subscribe to the series via iTunes or this RSS Feed (for Android phones).