Join us for a panel with Casting Directors Phyllis Schuringa and Michael Donovan, and Artistic Directors Snehal Desai and Stefanie Black. This panel will discuss theater in Los Angeles, including the changing landscape, diversity and inclusion, collaboration and innovation, sustainability and growth. 

BIOS:

Phyllis Schuringa is an Artistic Associate and the Casting Director for Geffen Playhouse. Recent productions include: The Inheritance: Part 1 & Part 2 (Artios Award), The Lonely Few, Every Brilliant Thing, The Power of Sail, Witch, and Barbecue. Before joining the Geffen, she cast for Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago where her favorites include Frank Galati’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath (also La Jolla Playhouse, National Theatre in London, and Broadway, where it received the Tony Award for Best Play) and the original production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Broadway transfers include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony Award for Best Revival), The Song of Jacob Zulu, and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

Michael Donovan has just recently received his 10th Artios award, presented by the Casting Society of America for Outstanding Achievement in casting. He has cast over 1,000 theatre productions at such venues as the Ahmanson Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, the Hollywood Bowl, the Wallis Annenberg, the Kirk Douglas Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Colony Theatre, the Getty Villa, the Soraya, Laguna Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Ebony Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Theatre Company (Santa Barbara), San Francisco Symphony, Arizona Theatre Company, Arkansas Rep and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, as well as several national tours.  Other credits include numerous films, TV shows and commercials. Michael is President of the Board for the Foundation for New American Musicals.  He also teaches at Pepperdine University.  Michael will be directing THE WEDDING SINGER at the Colony Theatre, opening in early June. 

Snehal Desai (Artistic Director, he/him). Prior to being named Center Theatre Group’s new Artistic Director, Snehal Desai was the Producing Artistic Director of East West Players, designated an American Cultural Treasure by the Ford Foundation and the nation’s largest and oldest Asian American theatre company. A Soros Fellow and the recipient of a Tanne Award, Desai was in the Inaugural Class of Theatre Communications Group’s (TCG) “Spark” Leadership Program and the Inaugural Recipient of the Drama League’s Classical Directing Fellowship. While at East West Players, Desai produced and directed the three highest grossing and most attended shows in EWP’s fifty-seven-year history including the post-Broadway premiere of Allegiance starring George Takei. During his tenure at East West Players, Desai led co-productions with Center Theatre Group, Pasadena Playhouse, Rogue Artists Ensemble, the LA LGBT Center, Robey Theater Company, The Fountain Theatre, API Rise, the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) and TAIKOPROJECT, to name a few. East West Players’ collaboration with singer/songwriter Daniel Ho was nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award. As an artistic leader, Snehal has sought to raise awareness on social issues that affect Angelenos through impactful and empowering storytelling. Desai has served on the boards of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (Caata), Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts (LFCSA). He currently serves on the board of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT); is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab; and was a literary fellow with London’s Royal Shakespeare Company. Most recently, Snehal was on the faculty of USC’s graduate program in Arts Leadership where he taught Executive Arts Leadership. He is a graduate of Emory University and the Yale School of Drama. Directing highlights include Green Day’s American Idiot, Assassins, Mamma Mia!, Grease, Allegiance, and The Who's Tommy.