LA Women’s Theatre Festival Celebrates A Successful 31 Years!

“TELLING OUR TRUTHS!” March 28th-31st at Theatre 68 Arts Complex in NoHo

The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre festival celebrates 31 years as the longest running solo-festival for women in Los Angeles. LAWTF was founded in 1993 by Adilah Barnes, (Roseanne, 4400, Murder By Numbers, Erin Brockovich, Iron Jawed Angels) and solo-artist and author, Miriam Reed (Margaret Sanger: Radiant Rebel) who now lives in Ashland, Oregon.

The theme of this years festival is “TELLING OUR TRUTHS!” which seems a propitious keynote as we conclude Women’s History Month 2024 with a festival recognizing and celebrating our city’s powerful female performers.

For over three decades Adilah Barnes has remained the lodestar of the festival, steadily uplifting and nurturing the body, mind and spirits of multiple generations of solo-performers. Much has changed over the years and Solo-Shows have a broader reach with greater opportunity for performers to elevate their stories to stages across the world.

Rich Lineup of Multicultural and Multi-Disciplined Artists

The festival has produced close to 700 extraordinary solo performers from around the globe, including those from Europe, Africa, South America, Australia and the Middle East. Their rich lineup of multicultural and multi-disciplined artists represent multiple diverse disciplines including theatre, dance, storytelling, performance art, performance poetry, spoken word, mime, music, song, aerial performers and more.

This year’s Rainbow Award honoree, Soaring Solo Founder Jessica Lynn Johnson is the 2024 Festival Director, Technical Director, and the 2024 recipient of the LAWTF Rainbow Award. Johnson began with LAWTF in 2009 as a volunteer and over the years has been a performer in the festival with both of her solo shows ZE and OBLIVIOUS TO EVERYONE. She has served on the Board of Directors and now sits on the Advisory Board of Directors. She has directed many solo artists who have staged their shows at LAWTF and on stages at festivals all over the US and globe.

Adilah Barnes, Founder

Champagne Celebration & Red Carpet Gala

The festival kicks off this year with a celebration gala & red-carpet reception on March 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Lankershim Arts Center in North Hollywood. This year’s Honorary Chairpersons are Hattie Winston and Danny Glover. Following the catered champagne gala on the 28th, the evening’s Award Ceremony “In Honor Of” will recognize eight women’s contributions to the theatre community.

The ceremony will be hosted by Broadway and screen star, Hattie Winston, (The Tap Dance Kid, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Becker, The Electric Company, Homefront, Beverly Hills Cop III, True Crime, and Jackie Brown); and Academy Award Nominee Margaret Avery for The original The Color Purple. She also appeared in Cool Breeze, Which Way Is Up? and won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Does the Tiger Wear a Necktie?.

Honorees

This year’s honorees include Los Angeles actor and director Shirley Jo Finney, who will be memorialized with a posthumous Infinity Award, for exceptional achievements of a theatre artist.

Maria G. Martinez and caryn desai are receiving Eternity Awards for their lifetime achievements in theatre; Naomi Grossman and Wendy Raquel Robinson shall receive the Maverick Award for work that has set a high standard of individuality and self-styled creativity; Lisa Sanaye Dring and Carolyn Ratteray are to receive Integrity Awards for the credibility and dignity they bring to their work, and Jessica Lynn Johnson will receive the Rainbow Award for her contributions in nurturing diverse, non-traditional and multicultural theatre.

INTERSECTION Workshops

The Festival was preceded on March 23rd by INTERSECTION, an informative day of workshops and panels on career training from industry professionals tailored to empower and enhance the careers of solo performers. Workshops included Singing and Speaking for the Stage with Christina Linhardt and Kirsten Laurel Caplan; Successfully Mounting Your Show with Your Dream Team with Barbara Roberts; Truth and Memory: Mining Our Lives for Story with Terrie Silverman; Panel Discussion Artists, Activists, and Advocates as Change Agents with moderator Jahna Cole Houston and Roger Guenveur Smith, Vanessa Adams Harris, Kat Kramer and Sharon Nyree Williams.

Sponsors & Grantors

This year’s organizational funders of Official Sponsors and Government Grantors include the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, California Arts Council, City of Culver City, Department of Cultural Affairs–LA, City National Bank, Blackbaud Giving Fund, 4imprint, KPFK 90.7 FM, and Adilah Barnes Productions.

Find information on performers, scheduling and ticketing on the website

Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival – March 28-March 31 at Theatre 68 Arts Complex (5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601)