Photo: Reading of "Blue Jay Singing in the Dead of Night" by Dale Griffiths Stamos at GTC. With (from left to right) Mark McClain Wilson, Amy Honey, Marty Bedioan, John DiFusco and Kevin T. McCarthy

LAWC History

The LA Writers Center (LAWC) is a membership company designed to germinate and foster new works by LA based writers. The three most important elements to our membership based company are diversity, creativity and community. 

We involve not only the writer, but a team of artists: directors, dramaturges, and actors. Provided with a safe and nurturing environment in which to read and workshop their work, writers are able to hone and sharpen their skills to a degree that would make them inherently more production-ready, and thus more likely to be produced. Bursting new talent cries out for a sort of incubator for emerging new works; a place where scripts can grow and develop into the stories that they want to be, without the pressure or expense of production. 

Our members are as diverse as the city we live in. We believe that the future of American theatre depends upon its ability to grow and stretch; to be itself transformed by amplifying bold, new and LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC voices. Our members are Academy Award Winners, Emmy Award nominees, Lois and Richard Rosenthal Playwriting Prize Finalists, New Century Writer Award Finalists, SCR California New Plays Prize Winners, PEN West Literary Award Drama Nominees, New York Drama Desk Award winners, Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Award Winners, Humanitarian Award Winners, and NAACP Award Winners. They have been produced at The Public Theater, South Coast Repertory Theater, The Pasadena Playhouse, The Alleyway Theatre, San Jose Repertory Company, The Road Theatre Company, The Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), Downtown Urban Theater Festival, Latino Theater Company at LATC, Sacred Fools, The NYC International Fringe Festival, Actors Express Theatre, Currican Theatre, Annex Theatre, Celebration Theatre, and The National Black Theatre Festival, among others.

The LAWC was created in 2005 by director & dramaturge, Che’Rae Adams to nurture local playwrights and support the development of new work. LAWC began at the Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood as an invitation only writing workshop for local writers with whom Che’Rae wanted to develop new work. Those same writers became LAWC first members and are now part of the advanced writing workshop. In 2007, LAWC joined forces with The Syzygy Theatre Group to create a new play reading series called New Alignments. Its purpose is to provide playwrights with the opportunity to receive feedback on works-in-progress, to provide the community with an opportunity to participate in and observe the creative process, and to provide actors and directors with an opportunity to hone their craft. 
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