Los Angeles Theater

Dissertation (Ph.D)--Department of Dramatic Art, University of California, Berkeley, 1972.
This Ph.D. dissertation, discusses the history, repertory, production, casts, finances, etc., of various young black theater companies active in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas primarily in the 1960s. Appendices contain transcripts of interviews with founders/directors of and participants in the theater groups, and copies of playbills, newspaper reviews, photographs, etc., as follows: Appendix, v. I: Ebony Showcase Theatre, Inner City Cultural Center, Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles; Appendix, v. II: Watts Writers Workshop, Aldridge Players/West; Appendix, v. III: The Group, North Richmond Theatre Workshop, Dialogue Black/White.

Dissertation (Ph.D)--New York University, 2003.
This dissertation explores black cultural politics in Los Angeles between 1943 and 1973, arguing that cultural struggles constituted a primary means by which African Americans imagined new concepts of community, battled to transform urban conditions, and helped to fundamentally alter the parameters of cultural life in Southern California. In doing so, it seeks to broaden the spatial and temporal parameters commonly associated with the black arts movement, even as it strives to demonstrate the impossibility and undesirability of insisting upon a solitary movement as such.

Dissertation (Ph.D)--University of California, Los Angeles 1992.
This study is interdisciplinary in scope with a strong emphasis on the theatrical, artistic, cultural, historical, social, political and economic growth and development of Central Avenue in Los Angeles from the "Golden Era" (approximately 1900-1929) through the war years (WWII), ending the intensive study in 1950 (marking the decline of Central Avenue as a highly visible and productive Black community). Theatrical performance is the heart of this dissertation; however, events, affairs and performances are discussed in historical context, with background data provided when necessary. Special consideration is given to the significance of the Dunbar Hotel (built in 1928), to the Los Angeles community as a whole, and its importance in recent African-American history.

Jackson discusses her childhood in San Francisco and Fairbanks, Alaska, and continues through her education in art and dance at San Francisco State College, her activities as an artist, dancer, poet, gallery owner-director, and arts administrator, and her studies in theater design at Yale University. Major topics discussed include the African American artist community in Los Angeles; exhibitions at Jackson's gallery, Gallery 32; the evolution of Jackson's artwork; the California Arts Council; and Jackson's work for the stage.

NKA (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 2012, Vol.30 (1), p.16-26.

Los Angeles sentinel, 2021-04-29, p.D2

"The Fountain Theatre is a non-profit producing organization established in 1990 by co-founders Deborah Culver and Stephen Sachs dedicated to providing a nurturing, creative home for multi-ethnic theatre and dance artists."

PBS Artbound, October 31, 2024.
"By the time of its closure in the early 2000s, the Paul Robeson Players had maintained its dedication to theatrical excellence from a home in Compton for over 30 years — and had served as one of the longest-running Black theater companies in the Los Angeles region."
See also the video, The Legacy of the Paul Robeson Players in 1970s L.A. Black Theater.

The Robey Theatre Company is led by Co-founder and Producing Artistic Director, Ben Guillory. The organization was founded in 1994 to offer theater training along with playwriting workshops and readings in order to create opportunities for Black theater artists.

Black masks, 1988-11-30, Vol.5 (2), p.6-6
One library in New York, The Schomberg Center for Research in black Culture, (515 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10037-212/862-4000) has a small Black script collection donated by the Frank Silvera Writer's Workshop. The Negro Ensemble Company (165 W. 46th St., New York, NY 10036-212/575-5860) and Inner City Cultural Center (1308 S. New Hampshire, Los Angeles, CA (213/387-1161) file new scripts by Black writes which were sent for possible inclusion in their long seasonal production runs.

Los Angeles Sentinel; Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]. 12 Apr 1995: B-4.
Black Theatre Artists Workshop was the first in the season to take center stage, March 16 (preview performance) and continued through April 2. Formed in 1988, Black Theatre Artists Workshop is an independent collection of actors, directors, designers and writers from the black theatre community; brought together to reflect that community's aesthetic vision through provocative and inspiring drama. This dynamic group of performers has won nine Drama Logue awards and a NAACP Image Award.

1967-01-29
Dr. Joseph Boskin, Associate Professor of History at the University of Southern California, is joined by playwright, actress, dancer, and singer Maya Angelou; actress and producer Frances E. Williams; and Frank Silvera, actor, director, producer, and co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Theatre of Being, a theatre group dedicated to providing black actors with non-stereotypical roles. They discuss the role of theater in American life and the unique experiences of African Americans in that theater.

Los Angeles Times, Oct 16, 2023.
Obituary for UCLA alumna and Los Angeles theater veteran Shirley Jo Finney.

Search all historical African American newspapers from Proquest to which UCLA subscribes.

A major Los Angeles African American newspaper from 1879-1964. There is no index, but some articles are indexed in Blacks in Selected Newspapers, Censuses and Other Sources (YRL Reference Reading Room Z1361.N39 A116b)

The Watts Times was founded in 1965 following the Watts Riots. In 1976, Charles Cook purchased the publication and changed the name to L.A. Watts Times. The collection consists of original L.A. Watts Times newspapers, a small amount of awards, and a very small amount of ephemera.

Collection consists of newspapers collected by Miriam Matthews, mostly published for the African American community in Los Angeles and concerning African American topics. Titles include the California Eagle (1958-1959), Los Angeles Sentinel (1955-1985) and the Los Angeles Tribune (1958) as well as some clippings and pages of other newspapers from the Los Angeles area.