It’s Our Birthday!
Dear Friends,
2025 has been fast and furious, and there’s no sign of slowing down. We just wrapped our 16th Summer Playwrights Festival — 24 brand new plays in 10 days — filling our theatre with packed houses, vibrant conversations, and stories that stretched across boundaries. The work was bold, diverse, and deeply human.
This kind of storytelling doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of years of commitment — like our Under Construction program, now in its 6th year and already responsible for developing 86 new plays. Or Word, our year-round staged reading series. These programs are the lifeblood of The Road, and part of what earned us the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Season this year.
AND NOW… IT’S OUR BIRTHDAY!
On August 9th, The Road turns 34 years old.
That’s 34 years of developing bold, socially relevant work.
34 years of offering first-class theatre to North Hollywood and Los Angeles.
34 years of nurturing playwrights, actors, and theatre lovers.
34 years of building community through the power of live storytelling.
A major Los Angeles Times critic once said:
“The people at the Road Theatre, bless them, remain firmly committed to plays no one has seen before and to playwrights you may never have heard of. This has always been the most meaningful and the most dangerous of theatre missions…”
We couldn’t agree more — and we’ve never wavered in that mission.
But even a meaningful mission needs support.
Recent federal funding cuts have deeply impacted small theatres like ours. Longtime arts supporters are scaling back. We’re not alone in this moment of uncertainty — but we are reaching out, genuinely and hopefully, to you.
This birthday, we’re asking for a gift:
A donation — any size — that helps keep our stage lit and our stories alive.
Your support goes directly to:
- The Summer Playwrights Festival – the largest of its kind in the country
- Under Construction – our yearlong incubator for new plays
- Word – our weekly series showcasing plays-in-progress
- Original productions that provoke, inspire, and challenge
We believe in theatre that matters. And we believe that if you’re reading this, you do too.
If The Road has ever made you laugh, cry, think, or feel — we ask you to celebrate this birthday with us. Help us continue nurturing bold voices and telling the stories that need to be heard.
We’re still here.
Still taking risks.
Still lighting up the stage.
Let’s keep going — together.
With deep gratitude,
Taylor Gilbert
Founder
The Road Theatre Company