In 1973, James Gammon, Timothy Scott, and Paul Koslo, along with many others, launched The MET Theatre Foundation, a not-for-profit equity waiver theatre. The MET Theatre quickly established itself as a challenging force in the Los Angeles theatre community, garnering 5 LA Drama Critics Circle Awards in its first year alone with classics such as William Inge's trilogy of Bus Stop, The Dark At the Top of the Stairs and Picnic. The current MET Theatre Company was formed in 2002. We met with hundreds of actors, directors, designers, writers, and producers in hopes of assembling a committed, vibrant company of artists. The MET Theatre has built a reputation for producing varied works, ranging from the experimental and raw to the traditional and classic. World and West Coast premieres have included Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class; Eugene Lee's East Texas Hot Links; Murray Mednick's Scar ( starring Ed Harris); Beth Henley's Control Freaks ( starring Holly Hunter, Carol Kane and Bill Pullman); and Allaire Koslo's Purple Breasts. This tradition of original works continues on with today's MET Theatre Company. The MET has also taken great pride in providing a diverse menu of readings, series and workshops. Among the most highly regarded has been On The Verge (our annual staged reading series), Company's Marathon (24/4 reading of all of Shakespeare's plays produced by Gordy Hoffman) the ongoing Great Writer's Series , ACT ONE: A Festival of One-Act Plays (produced with Showtime Networks), The Community Healing Forum with Edward James Olmos. The MET has held countless benefits supporting a broad range of organizations such as OXFAM, Project Angel Food, AIDS Project-LA, Planned Parenthood, and Best Buddies. In 2003 LA COMUNA was created to reach out to the Latin community in which we reside. LA COMUNA is dedicated to exploring the richness of this identity, bringing to the stage U.S. premieres of Latin themed works, which are performed in both Spanish and English, building a new multi-cultural audience. The MET has won countless awards including multiple LADCC, Ovations, Dramalogue, and Showcase Magazine awards and continues to be featured regularly among the LA Times' and LA Weekly's Critics Picks. |
