Thursday Nov 20, 2025

Can Comedia Help Us Understand California’s Past?

by: Luis Alfaro, Diana Burbano, June Carryl
directed by: Jon Lawrence Rivera

FREE one night only event of selections from our GOLDEN TONGUES series. Plus food and drinks!!

Co-presented by Zócalo Public Square, Playwrights’ Arena, UCLA Diversifying the Classics, and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, with generous support from Snap Foundation, Karsh Family Foundation, Broad Foundation, and Olga Garay-English
During the artistic and literary boom of Spain’s Golden Age, theater known as comedia helped audiences on both sides of the Atlantic understand their past and present. Today, contemporary playwrights have adapted these 17th-century classics to shed light on L.A.’s history, touching on issues including power and sexuality, gentrification, and Black, Korean, and Latino identity.

Join us under the stars at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes for readings of three adaptations from the 2024 anthology Golden Tongues: Adapting Hispanic Classical Theater in Los Angeles. Barbara Fuchs, director of UCLA’s Diversifying the Classics initiative, will introduce central themes of the plays. Playwrights will offer brief pre-performance remarks and will sign copies of Golden Tongues during a post-reading reception.

This program is part of California 175 — What Connects California?, a suite of free Zócalo events and essays, bringing together leaders and thinkers from all walks of life to envision California’s next 175 years.

  • Starring: Jewlz Anahuac, Cristina Frias, Michael G. Hackett, Stephanie Hoston, Yong Kim, Elijah McNally, Toyin Moses, Javi Mulero, Peter Pasco, Janet Song, and Krista Marie Yu

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PLAY SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

PLAYWRIGHTS’ ARENA accepts unsolicited full-length plays from Los Angeles-based playwrights only and that comply with the company’s mission statement.

We do not accept one-acts (less than 70 minutes long), one-person shows or “kitchen sink” dramas. Please submit the entire script with a cover letter and playwright’s bio using the form below.

As with all theaters, response time will depend on the number of current submissions for review (up to six months).

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