I am reaching out on behalf of the new performing arts service organization, Theatre Commons LA. As a member of the Los Angeles theatre community, I wanted to send you some updates on our growing organization!  

What is TCLA?

After the dissolution of LA Stage Alliance in 2021, a diverse group of volunteers from the Los Angeles theatre community came together to discuss the absence of a center of gravity for LA theatre and the challenges resulting from the fractured ecosystem, particularly in a time of extended crisis. You can find the list of the steering committee HERE. 

Over the course of two years, the group met biweekly with a professional facilitator (generously funded by the Nonprofit Sustainability Initiative) to lead the envisioning of a new LA theatre service organization that would be an anchor within the community, working to grow its capacity to provide the technical resources, convening power, and advocacy needed to realize the inclusivity, equity, harmonious cohesion, revitalization, and success of a thriving theatre ecosystem. You can learn more about the organization through our website. 

What’s next?

We have hired an Administrative Coordinator, are working on field mapping, and building a listing website to launch Summer 2025.

New Admin Coordinator:

My name is Michaela Bulkley and I am the Administrative Coordinator of Theatre Commons Los Angeles! I am supervised by the Steering Committee (soon to be Advisory Board) and support the growth of the organization by managing projects and communications through this next phase of the organization. 

Next Projects: 

The two biggest projects we are prioritizing are Field Mapping and Building a Listing Website! Those projects are happening in parallel because we need members of the community to populate the website as we build a stronger understanding of exactly which theatres are still producing, and what new groups might have started over the last four years. The goal is to have the website launched by Summer 2025. 

How do I get involved?

Please fill out this QUICK (less than 5 minutes!) Los Angeles Theatre Census. This will then help us populate the website and start building data for what our field looks like as a whole. Please send this survey to your other theatre company colleagues. We have started this email based on collective gathering of data, and we KNOW our list is incomplete. Also, the more times someone is reminded to fill out a survey, the better. This survey is first focused on theatre organizations, and a theatre artist and makers census will be following in the next few months. 

Please fill out the survey by Friday, January 31st 2025. 

What about this advisory board?

Over the next year we will build out the new Advisory Board for TCLA. If you are interested in learning more, please sign up to receive emails from our website. This is still a work in progress, but it is a top priority with more information coming soon.  

If you have any questions, please reach out to Michaela at hello@... 

Sincerely, 

Michaela Bulkley