Every human being has a story to tell.
TheatreWorkers Project is a not-for-profit collaborative that provides opportunities for members of underserved and unheard communities to tell their stories through the medium of theatre.
TheatreWorkers Project is a not-for-profit collaborative that provides opportunities for members of underserved and unheard communities to tell their stories through the medium of theatre.
What We Do
TWP's professional teaching artists use a combination of physical theatre, improvisation, writing, and movement in creating original performance pieces based on participant-generated poetry and prose reflecting their personal stories.
Participants in our programs and projects range from the formerly incarcerated and those on work release to incarcerated youth and adults; from employed and unemployed workers to students in our school residencies; from professional stage and film actors in our Actors’ Equity productions.
TWP has been using theatre to illuminate social and political issues since 1983.
TheatreWorkers Project is a rare bird: a collective that actually succeeds in mixing ideology with artistry. Headed by Susan Franklin Tanner, this mutable ensemble of local actors, workers and others has created several theater pieces based on issues of the day, such as labor conditions in the local steel and shipbuilding industries. In so doing, they cast their lot with a movement known as documentary theater, the most effective American political theater during the Reagan-Bush age. Mixing headlines with fictionalized scenarios, the genre attempts to make topical issues hit home with its media-jaded audience.
– Jan Breslauer, LA Weekly
Susie Tanner
Founder &
Artistic Director
"Our work is poetic...
evoking deep, meaningful stories from our participants and resulting in compelling performances."
CURRENT & RECENT PROJECTS
STAND! – A Special Screening
Spotlight on 2023 – Projects, Programs, Productions
Spotlight on 2023 – New Grants and Funding
