Theater

Johanna Smith is a Professor of Puppetry, Theatre Education, and Entrepreneurship at California State University, San Bernardino and the author of the award winning arts education text, Puppetry in Theatre and Arts Education: Head, Hands, and Heart (Methuen Drama). She has directed puppet shows that have taken her and her college students around the world, but she is just as happy playing with puppets in a room full of preschoolers. She believes in the power of laughter and creative re-use to inspire a love of learning.

Los Angeles Arts Group (L.A. Arts Group) is committed to excellence in arts education and believes the arts are powerful tools for expression and communication and vital to the development of every child. Our goal is to provide high quality, standards-based arts education for grades K-12 in creative environment that promotes collaboration and respect. Our programs aim to engage students, teachers and the community to provide learning in and through the arts. L.A. Arts Group consists of trained and experienced professional artists in dance, music, theatre and visual arts.

Each year we serve 20,000-27,000 youth ages 5-18. This year we have also renewed our family classic The Patchwork Girl of Oz, touring to NC, also sponsored locally by the Children's Literature Department of the LA Central Library. We also produce the annual San Pedro Festival of the Arts, which presents 20-24 professional dance companies. Thousands of sponsors include LA County Museum of Art, Mark Taper Auditorium, and Kidspace; we tour locally for the LA and SB County School Districts, expanding to 22 states, MX and Taipei.

In just less than three decades of existence, LA Opera has become, under the leadership of Eli and Edythe Broad General Director Plácido Domingo, the United States' fourth largest opera company and "...stands out as a newly important force in American Opera." (Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times). LA Opera created a sensation with its inaugural production of Verdi's Otello starring Plácido Domingo in 1986.

MKM BollyStars is a dynamic dance company that prides itself for its high quality performers, rich dance heritage, & authenticity of dance styles. Energetic, graceful, and passionate, the company comprises of versatile industry dancers straight out of Hollywood. A rich dance heritage, a visionary artistic director, and a cultural and creatively diverse team, provide the backbone for what transpires to be truly memorable and statement driven work. MKM Bollystars is the only company in Los Angeles that professionally covers the span of Indian dance from Classical to Bollywood.

Musical Theatre West is a professional musical theatre company dedicated to enriching the lives of Southern California Residents. We seek to nurture, preserve, and advance musical theatre through exceptional productions and educational programs, creating pathways to engage with the art form at every stage in life.

Since its founding in 1991, P.S. ARTS' purpose has been to ensure high-quality, sustainable arts education for children in under-resourced public schools. Our programs are designed and continuously revised to be in alignment with the needs of the communities we serve, contributing to children's wellbeing and elevating their future school and career prospects. P.S. ARTS was created in response to significant education budget cuts in the 1970s and 1980s that resulted in the near elimination of arts programs in California public schools. Now in its 25th anniversary year, P.S.

Rogue Artists Ensemble is a collective of multi-disciplinary artists who create Hyper-theater, an innovative hybrid of theater traditions, puppetry, mask work, dance, music, and modern technology. Through a collaborative development process, with an emphasis on design and storytelling, the Rogues create original, thought-provoking performances. We cultivate unique audience experiences that appeal to multiple generations of theatergoers in order to expand the boundaries of contemporary American theater.