LA’s upcoming festival will prove that classical theater is more than just Shakespeare. Next week, the city will host LA Escena, the first ever Hispanic classical theater festival. Read more...

Photo: Actors Camila Rozo (left) and Christian Vunipola (center) as well as co-director Jean Carlo Yunén Aróstegui (right) worked on “Women and Servants” for LA Escena, a festival meant to highlight Hispanic classical theater. The play, which will be translated from Spanish and performed in English, follows two sisters living in 17th century Madrid. (Axel Lopez/Assistant Photo editor)

Michael Starr viewed “Gigi,” one of the original Reprise company’s final shows, as a student. Now, the alumnus will star in Reprise 2.0’s production of “The World Goes ‘Round.” Opening Sept. Read more...

Photo: Alumnus Michael Starr stars in Reprise 2.0’s production of “The World Goes ‘Round,” a musical review featuring songs by composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, known for their musicals “Chicago” and “Cabaret.” (Courtesy of Tom Drucker)

The showcase of East West Players’ inaugural playwrights group includes everything from a musical about classism and sewer rats to a one-woman show about a Japanese-American heroine. Read more...

Photo: Alumna Alice Tuan said the playwright group will illustrate varying backgrounds and writing experiences of the all-female group, and showcasing their unfinished pieces will reveal the potential their work contains. (Courtesy of Patrick McPheron)

Alumna Nikita Gale used a theory found in The Beach Boys’ music to inspire her current exhibition at the Hammer Museum. The theory involves taking one note and repeating it in a multitude of voices, making it sound more forceful than it would with just a single voice, she said. Read more...

Photo: Alumna Nikita Gale’s “Proposal: Soft Surround System” is on display until Sept. 2 at the Hammer Museum as part of the “Made in L.A.” series. Gale said she was inspired by rock ’n’ roll music as well as the connections people have with their social and political environments while making art. (Courtesy of Jeff McLane/56 Henry)

Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of sunflowers glided across the Sacred Fools Theater Company’s walls in “The Art Couple” – all because of a projector. The play tells the story of Neil Simon writing the first draft of the television series “The Odd Couple.” While leaving for his Catskills cabin with a busboy he meets at a bar, Simon continues to write his draft and discovers the two share a mutual fascination with artists Paul Gauguin and Van Gogh, who turn out to be the main subjects of his first draft. Read more...

Photo: “The Art Couple” was recently nominated for a Stage Raw Theater Award for alumnus Corwin Evans’ work in video and projection design. One scene in the play features Vincent Van Gogh presenting Paul Gauguin with a painting of sunflowers, where Evans had the projection of the painting zoom in and out and glide across the wall of the stage. (Courtesy of Darrett Sanders)

A large, beating heart is left on a subway for a man who has only ever had a flimsy, paper heart. The drama comes during the climactic scene in Julia Lederer’s play “With Love and A Major Organ,” which was put on by the Boston Court Pasadena theater company. Read more...

Photo: Paige Lindsey White starred opposite Daisuke Tsuji in “With Love and A Major Organ.” The UCLA alumna was nominated for a Stage Raw Theater Award for female comedy performance in the Boston Court Pasadena theatre company’s production. (Courtesy of Paige Lindsey White)