VS. Theatre

VS. Theatre Company, a Not-For-Profit 501c-(3) Public Benefit Corporation, is a small, dedicated group of passionate artists devoted to producing original works and Los Angeles Premieres by the best contemporary playwrights in America. VS. was founded in 2004 based on a passion for riveting stories and live performance in an intimate setting. Recently named "one of the top theatre companies of the last decade" by the LA Weekly, VS. has produced or co-produced major contemporary playwrights including John Patrick Shanley, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Adam Rapp, Itamar Moses, and Neil LaBute. To date, VS. has produced or co-produced sixteen plays. Standouts include: the West Coast Premere of Keith Bunin's The Credeaux Canvas, which ran for nearly six months and played to sold out houses every night; In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (a co-production with The Elephant Theatre Company), named Best Production by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle in 2008; On An Average Day, produced in Los Angeles and Chicago, garnering Critic's Choice in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Backstage, and won or was nominated for several Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and Joseph Jefferson Awards; Blackbird by Adam Rapp which was nominated for three Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards including two for Best Lead Actor and three LA Weekly Awards including Best Production; and The Los Angeles Premiere of Neil LaBute's The Mercy Seat, a co-production with the Ford Theatre as part of the Ford's prestigious 2011 [Inside] The Ford Winter Partnership Program. The Mercy Seat won two Backstage Reader's Choice Awards for Outstanding Performance and Production, won or was nominated for several LA Weekly Awards, and was voted a "Top Ten of The Year" by the Los Angeles Times. VS. recently opened its own space - The VS. Theatre (site of the former Black Dahlia Theatre) on Pico Blvd., and launched its first production there, The World Premiere of Ron Klier's Cops And Friends Of Cops. The sold out production received excellent reviews including "Pick of the Week" by the LA Weekly, multiple theatre awards and nominations, and extended long after its scheduled closing night.