I took a break from my Fringe watching to peak in on Panel discussion at the Lost Studio last Sunday.

Sponsored by Gunfighter Nation, Padua Playwrights, and The Lost Studio, the panel was titled The Uninvited: Crashing the Party, A Counter-Conference to the 2011 TCG National Conference Convening in Los Angeles.

Chaired by John Steppling and moderated by Wes Walker, the panelists included Murray Mednick, Guy Zimmerman, Denise Devin, Charles A. Duncombe, Zombie Joe, Tina Kronis, Jay McAdams, Matt McDray, Frederique Michel, and Travis Preston.

As someone who is camped outside the TCG castle (I’m the woman tending the fire and brewing the tea), I was excited to see a dialogue and an effort at organizing a theatre community in a place as large and diverse as Los Angeles.

Because this was a meeting of theatre artists and producers (who in this difficult climate are high wire artists), the questions of art and commerce were raised. How do you stay true to a theatrical vision while facing the economic demands? How do you find audiences who are adventurous and want more than television or the Ahmanson? How do you make art in a conscious way that is transcendent?

The panel raised more questions than it answered, but to me, that signaled that there was wisdom in the room.

 For further discussion, I will send you to LA Weekly blog about the panel. Check out the comments:

 http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/2011/06/off_the_radar_and_under-funded.php

 By the way, I don’t know how good the food was at the TCG conference, but the food at the Uninvited panel was excellent. I especially liked the oatmeal cookies and the strong spirit of hospitality at the event.

 I heard about the panel through the Lost Studio Facebook page. Now, I’m blogging about the panel here. Maybe we’re more connected than we thought in the LA Theatreland.

 And on that happy note, it was an absolute delight (as always) blogging this week. I’m off to Arizona in August for the Dirty Laundry New Play Festival conceived by fellow lafpi blogger, Tiffany Antone. For more info, you can go to the website: www.littleblackdressink.org/