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SNEHAL DESAI

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In the Theatre

In the Theatre

Center Theatre Group’s new Artistic Director looks to celebrate the Los Angeles community onstage in its next act.

By Jessica Doherty

What does Snehal Desai look forward to as he joins Center Theater Group as its third Artistic Director?

“We are in this incredibly multicultural city that has a rich history and legacy,” he said. “L.A. covers a large, diverse geographic region with many cultural enclaves embedded throughout. What we came to miss over the last few years are the spaces where all our different communities can come together in person. It is this opportunity to bring us all together through storytelling that celebrates our shared humanity that I look forward to the most as CTG’s next Artistic Director.”

As Snehal Desai joins Center Theatre Group, he hopes to explore what this means for the many communities and stories that can be found throughout the city. “How can we support local artists and uplift stories that are uniquely L.A.?,” is a question that has been top of mind for him as he makes his transition to CTG.

Desai is the first Artistic Director of color for Center Theatre Group and his experience as both a queer man and a person of color have helped him bring new perspectives to the institutions he has worked with. In all of his work, he thinks of the community it serves. “I view myself as a community builder through the arts and by producing artistic works that create a dialogue on the larger issues and questions of our times. What has brought me the most joy as an artistic leader is introducing audiences to artists whose work inspires, challenges, and moves us in new and innovative ways.”

He is assuming the helm of Center Theatre Group at an inflection point in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Desai believes that this is a critical time for the company to stay committed to programming and developing bold work that is responsive to the times we live in but also centers laughter, joy, and continues on page 8

Board Of Directors

2022-2023 honorary chairman

Lew R. Wasserman† (1913-2002) chairperson

Kiki Ramos Gindler president

Amy R. Forbes vice presidents

William H. Ahmanson

Miles Benickes

Gail Berman-Masters treasurer

William R. Lindsay secretary

Stanley Iezman

†Deceased board of directors

Harry Abrams

Jonathan Axel

Pamela Beck

Thom Beers

Jana Bezdek

Betsy Borns

Diana Buckhantz

Dannielle

Campos Ramirez

Wendy Chang

Jill Chozen

Sarah Clossey

Christine Cronin-Hurst

Bradford W. Edgerton, MD

Cecilia Estolano

Noah Francis

Gary Frischling

Ron Gillyard

Patricia Glaser

Manuela Cerri Goren

Max Gousse

Robert Greenblatt

Jason Grode

Aliza Karney Guren

Paul James

Gerard McCallum II

Louise Moriarty

Kari Nakama

Jamie Patricof

Meghan Pressman

David Quigg

Kristine

Louis Reynal

Jeffrey C. Reynolds

Edward Ring

Laura Rosenwald

Elliott Sernel

Glenn A.

Sonnenberg

Sandra Stern

Marsha

Tauber Sallai

Bonnie Vitti

Matthew Walden

Kim McLane

Wardlaw

Shana C. Waterman

Richard Weitz

Hattie Winston emeritus directors

Harold Applebaum

Ronald J. Arnault

Judith Beckmen

Brindell

Roberts Gottlieb

Susan Grode

Phyllis Hennigan

Stephen F.

Hinchliffe, Jr.

Richard Kagan

Walter Mirisch†

Diane Morton

Edward B. Nahmias

Bruce L. Ross past presidents

Lew R. Wasserman†

Marshall Berges†

Armand S. Deutsch†

Walter Mirisch†

Henry C. Rogers†

Richard E. Sherwood†

J. David Haft†

Lawrence J. Ramer†

Stephen F. Hinchliffe, Jr.

Phyllis Hennigan

Richard Kagan

Martin Massman†

William H. Ahmanson

Kiki Ramos Gindler community. “Whether you love musicals, classics, new works or more family-friendly shows, we will present a diverse body of work that we hope will appeal to all Angelenos whether you go to the theatre once a week, once a month, or once a year.”

Desai’s studies and work have since taken him across the country and overseas. He grew up in Pennsylvania, lived in Atlanta when he was an undergraduate at Emory University, lived in New Haven while attending the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, and later worked in both New York and London. In 2013, he moved to Los Angeles and three years later became the Artistic Director of East West Players (EWP), the nation’s oldest and largest Asian American theatre company. Over his seven seasons at EWP, he produced and directed the Los Angeles premiere of Allegiance with George Takei in association with the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, critically acclaimed productions of Next to Normal and Assassins, and new works including Anna Moench’s Man of God and Inda Craig-Galván’s The Great Jheri Curl Debate He also led collaborations between East West Players and Center Theatre Group including Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord which was presented at the Kirk Douglas Theatre earlier this year as well as the world premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Soft Power in 2017.

“As a hyphenated American, what I have always been interested in is that collision—between eastern and western traditions that are embodied in us and our lives as Asian Americans,” he said.

While at East West Players, Desai and the company were “trying to break apart the monolith of the diaspora,” and “constantly asking ourselves, who have we not heard from our stage? Whose story has not been told and what communities have not been invited into our space?”

Compared to the theatre scenes in other regional markets, he finds that the close-knit nature of the Los Angeles theatre community allows the opportunity for more collaboration and cross-pollination of the audiences and artists from the myriad of companies. In addition to Center Theatre Group, he worked with Pasadena Playhouse, Rogue Artists Ensemble, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, The Robey Theatre Company, The Fountain Theatre, API Rise, the Japanese American Cultural Community Center, and TAIKOPROJECT.

Desai also finds that the city is becoming a hub for the intersections of many industries—especially with the expansion of film and television into streaming. And, in the coming years, those industries will only continue to grow along with the city’s global impact. Center Theatre Group’s 60th anniversary falls between the years in which Los Angeles will host the World Cup and the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Associate Artistic Director Lindsay Allbaugh on the dark magic and dangerous feminine power that underscores Our Dear Dead Drug Lord at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

By Jessica Doherty

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