About

The Los Angeles New Play Project grant is the brainchild of producers Paula Holt and Nathan Birnbaum. The project is administered in partnership with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and the UCLA Foundation, and is funded by a generous benefactor who has asked to remain anonymous.

LANPP and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television are working together in this venture to support the hugely creative world of playwriting and producing in smaller Los Angeles theaters. Our goal is to help stabilize the new productions that originate here, works that we hope will also resonate beyond our city limits.

Paula Holt, Director, has worked in the Los Angeles theater community for three decades, having created, managed, and produced at the storied Tiffany Theaters, one of the pre-eminent intimate theaters in Los Angeles. She chaired the boards for both LA Stage Alliance and Rogue Machine Theatre, and served on the boards of The Antaeus Company and USC’s School of Dramatic Arts. Paula served the City of Los Angeles as a Cultural Affairs Commissioner for both Mayors Hahn and Villaraigosa.

Nathan Birnbaum, Associate Director, served on the staff of Audrey Skirball-Kenis Theater Projects as a producer of new work development programs and has worked on about 100 new play productions and workshops at the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Rep, La Jolla Rep, Trinity Rep, Seattle Rep, Harold Prince Music Theater Workshop, and other theaters. He currently serves as Administrator for Santa Monica Cultural Affairs, and is a produced playwright and lyricist.

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, ranked as one of the top entertainment and performing arts institutions in the world, offers an innovative curriculum leading to both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Brian Kite, Interim Dean