'Spring on Spring' Continues at the NEW LATC

Ed Fuentes

Andrew Shafer at the NEW LATC on Spring street south of 5th.

Andrew Shafer is the new director of the Los Angeles Theatre Initiative at the NEW LATC, the reborn Los Angeles Theatre Center. He has his sights set on bringing Artistic Director Jose Luis Valenzuela a city-wide audience, but with a particular focus on those from Downtown.

“I believe passionately in building a strong community for Downtown L.A.” says the third generation Angeleno, who hopes to make the NEW LATC a community destination.

Too often those words are marketing hype. Witnessing Shafer at 9th and Broadway introducing himself to the owner of a kebob shop added credibility to his claims of wanting to reach the non-traditional theatre attendee.

The NEW LATC's current series of programming, Spring on Spring, continues May 3rd (8pm) and May 4th (3pm) with Mexican music by Ixya Herrera and Conjunto Hueyapan. Comedy by Cold Tofu on May 9th and 10th (8pm), then May 9th to June 15th the Robey Theatre Company will have the L.A. premiere of “A House With No Walls” written by Thomas Gibbons and directed by Bennet Guillory (preview on May 8).