Diversifying the Classics is delighted to announce the second edition of Los Angeles’ Festival of Hispanic classical theater, LA Escena 2020 , now in a largely virtual mode.
Since launching our biennial celebration in 2018, we have been planning for this new opportunity to present Hispanic classics, from inventive productions of the original texts to translations and adaptations inspired by the Golden Age.
Amid the devastating theater closures over the past few months, we have been impressed by the resilience and creativity of artists who have found possibility in adversity. The new forms and collaborations that have emerged as a result inspire and entertain, and we are excited to share innovative works that draw from centuries of tradition to find closeness and connection despite our current distancing.
This special-edition, largely virtual festival includes artists from Mexico City, Madrid and Málaga in Spain, as well as New York and Los Angeles in the US, all exploring new directions in theater practice across a number of platforms.
While the pandemic makes it impossible to bring the international and East Coast artists to LA in person this time, they will be with us in work taking place mostly online and via an exciting site-specific, socially-distanced experience created for LA.
The virtual version of LA Escena will reach an audience across the globe. We have established new partnerships to make this all possible—in addition to our original association with UCLA, A Noise Within, and Playwrights’ Arena here in Los Angeles, we have also received support from Acción Cultural Española AC/E, Programa HISPANEX , Teatro Soho CAIXA Bank (Málaga), Teatro de la Abadia and Nave 73 (Madrid) and the Almagro International Festival of Classical Theatre.
We hope you will join the LA Escena 2020 program online November 12–16 for a unique and unforgettable experience.
Despite the physical distancing, the show must go on, in English and in Spanish, in your place as in mine. We are so excited to convene, and look forward to seeing you on the website: https://www.anoisewithin.org/la-escena-2020/
Barbara Fuchs
Artistic Director, LA ESCENA
Director, Diversifying the Classics
Professor of Spanish and English, UCLA