One Night. One Reason.
Come to a staged reading to raise funds for LA’s entertainment community on June 21, 2025 at the Marilyn Monroe Theater at the Lee Strasbourg Creative Center in West Hollywood, California.
The lights may be back on in Hollywood, but thousands in the industry are still in the dark… financially, emotionally, and professionally. On June 21st, artists, institutions, and allies will gather at the Marilyn Monroe Theatre in West Hollywood for a one-night-only staged reading of THE PARK by Eric Conger. This benefit raises critical funds for the Entertainment Community Fund, supporting the workers who keep this city’s creative engine alive:Stagehands. Writers. Directors. Cinematographers. Editors. Costume designers. Makeup Artists. Actors. Music. Caterers. Freelancers. Assistants. Crew.
The ones still struggling after shutdowns, strikes, and wildfires. This event is about action. Tickets start at $15 for students and can be purchased here: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/the-park-by-eric-conger
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| Cady McClain |
Since 2020, the Entertainment Community Fund has distributed over $6 million in emergency assistance to more than 3,000 entertainment workers facing crisis.
Executive produced by Amanda Quinn Olivar with Axial Theatre and Zetland Media, in collaboration with The Lee Strasberg Creative Center and the Marilyn Monroe Theatre, the event is directed by three-time Emmy Award winner Cady McClain, and hosted by Emmy Nominee Finola Hughes (General Hospital).
THE PARK tells the story of a small American town facing life-changing events.
"I am proud for Axial Theatre to have been an important part of the development of THE PARK by Eric Conger, first at a reading at our SAFEHOUSE Axial Playwright development series, and then through a staged reading at Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) Creative Center," says Director Cady McClain. "Eric’s play takes us on a journey into the heart of America and chronicles the loss of a community that makes that heart beat. It is a wake up call, reminding us that community is what holds us together. It has never felt more relevant."
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| James Patrick Stuart |
Cast Announced:
Will Dixon (The Residence), Jack Cain (Ransom Canyon), Presciliana Esparolini (Mayan M.C.), Clay Hollander (Ray Donovan), Katharine Lee McEwan (Solitary), Sigute Miller (Tragic Magic), Georgina Elizabeth Okon (Black Panther), Larry Poindexter (S.W.A.T.), James Patrick Stuart (General Hospital), Kholan Studi (The Hunted), Sophia Vassilieva (The Little Things).
Stage Directions - Mak Shealy
With original music by: Corinna Repp
Photography: Alan Shaffer
Event Schedule:
• 7:00 PM – Red carpet and reception
• Hors d’oeuvres by Sur l’Adour, Executive Chef Danielle Reed
• Wine by Battle Mountain Winery
• 7:00 to 7:45 PM – Media interviews available
• 8:00 PM – Staged reading
Location:
Marilyn Monroe Theatre at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, 7936 SaCA 90046
This isn’t just about the artists. It’s about the people who build the sets, run the cables, hold the stories together… and often get left behind when the spotlight moves on, says executive producer Amanda Quinn Olivar. This night is for all of them. We show up or we lose what makes the industry work..
This is Los Angeles taking care of its own: Emergency housing. Groceries. Health care. Mental health services. Rent. The Fund steps in when so much else has failed.
Show up. Stand with them. Make it count.
Tickets:
• Light up the Stage! $500
• Fuel the Night: $45
• Every Drop Helps: $30
• We Love Seniors: $20
• Students are the Future: $15
Available at: https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/the-park-by-eric-conger
100% of net proceeds benefit the Entertainment Community Fund. Donations via Zeffy go to The Lee Strasberg Creative Center, which will distribute 100 percent of the proceeds to the Entertainment Community Fund.
Doors open at 7 PM. Be there.
ABOUT THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND
Mission: The Entertainment Community Fund fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. We provide human services nationally for people who work in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance. We’re here for everyone on stage, camera and behind the scenes to support a life in the arts. Since our founding in 1882, we’ve helped address the specific needs of entertainment professionals—with a unique understanding of the challenges involved with a life in the arts, and with the knowledge of what it takes to thrive in an often unpredictable industry.
ABOUT AXIAL THEATRE
Axial Theater is an ensemble-based not-for-profit theater company currently in its 24th season. We are dedicated to supporting the professional development of playwrights and actors through presenting
staged workshops, development readings, and full productions. Axial Theatre is a 501(c)(3) organization. axialtheatre.org
ABOUT ZETLAND MEDIA
Founded by British actress Katharine Lee McEwan, Zetland Media is committed to creating quality, hard-hitting and issue-driven content. The company gets its name from The Zetland - the world's oldest surviving lifeboat currently stationed in Katharine’s hometown of Redcar, North East England.
ABOUT THE STRASBERG CREATIVE CENTER
The Lee Strasberg Creative Center® offers support to the artistic goals of The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute® and its community and maintains the legacy and vision of Lee Strasberg and his innovative work, known as Lee Strasberg Method Acting.
As part of its commitment to nurturing aspiring actors and the future of American theater, film and performance media, The Lee Strasberg Creative Center sponsors various programs. It offers a scholarship program for students to The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. Through The Clifford Odets Ensemble Play Commission, it sponsors opportunities for emerging young playwrights, directors and actors and promotes the creation of new theater works. It features events for artistic development at The Institute, including the StrasbergTALKS lecture series, seminars, community outreach, cultural exchanges and international collaborations. It continually seeks opportunities to engage with the greater community and contribute to the theater and performing arts.
The Creative Center also conserves and maintains Lee Strasberg’s archives, which include videos of his acting classes and lectures. It is preserving these important, educational videos and making them available for students to view.
The Lee Strasberg Creative Center accepts contributions to support scholarships and its other programs. It is a 501(c)(3) organization, and contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law.
ABOUT KATHARINE LEE McEWAN (Producer/Actress):
Katharine Lee McEwan is an award-winning British actress, writer and producer. Her films have been invited to over a hundred film festivals world-wide, including screenings in New York, Moscow, Sydney and Toronto. Katharine wrote, produced and starred in the critically acclaimed British drama Solitary (Electric Entertainment) which was the recipient of 17 festival awards and the opening night film of the Chelsea Film Festival in New York and the London Independent Film Festival, where it won Best UK Feature. Previous films include Swim directed by Mari Walker (Best Narrative Short, Los Angeles Film Festival) and Shoshannah’s Skateboard (Hearts, Minds, Souls Award, Rhode Island Film Festival). Theatre credits include The Verdi Girls at Laguna Playhouse (originated role), Private Lives at the Long Beach Playhouse, Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee at Theatre 40 and Medea at Stage Lee Strasberg. Recent writing credits include Hell Hath No Fury starring Nina Bergman and Daniel Bernhardt (Well Go USA Entertainment) and White Elephant (AMC+) starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Olga Kurylenko. Katharine recently played the role of Mary Anne in the Mexican thriller Pueblos Sangrientos directed by Sharon Apulche.
ABOUT CADY MCCLAIN (Director/Producer):
Cady McClain is a three-time Emmy Award-winning actor and Artistic Director of Axial Theatre, where she has directed acclaimed productions including Never the Sinner and Paint Made Flesh (supported by Sotheby's). Her documentary Seeing is Believing: Women Direct earned jury and audience awards at Newport Beach and SOHO Film Festivals, while her short films have won multiple honors including Best Film at Paramount Studios KITS Awards (Burnt Feathers, Broken Wings) and Best Comedy Drama Short at the Indie Gathering Festival (The World Albert Fuh). McClain has also directed Emmy-nominated web series Venice the Series and Switch, starring Olympia Dukakis, which won Best Pilot at Santa Fe Film Festival.
ABOUT AMANDA QUINN OLIVAR (Executive Producer): Native Angeleno Amanda Quinn Olivar is a producer and curator based in Los Angeles. From 2016 to 2025, she served as Editor-in-Chief of Curator. Her productions include the feature documentary Seeing Is Believing: Women Direct, the play Paint Made Flesh (with Sotheby’s), and the New York revival of Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow. She has collaborated on exhibitions at institutions such as the Cornell Art Museum and the Skirball Cultural Center.
Amanda serves on the boards of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, Axial Theatre, and London’s Fashion and Textile Museum, Friends of Zandra Rhodes. She is a founding board member of The Chimaera Project and on the advisory board to The Residency, a retreat supporting underrepresented artists in Italy.