Founded in 1981 by Les Hanson, the West Coast Ensemble began in a Hollywood storefront as a company of 20 actors. Over the last 30 years, the ensemble has grown in size and multi-cultural diversity to more than 100 theatre artists. West Coast Ensemble has presented over 250 plays and musicals and has introduced hundreds of emerging actors, directors, playwrights, designers and technicians to southern California.
WCE fulfills its commitment to the total theatre artist through its presentation of a four-show Mainstage season of plays, as well as through a conservatory of ongoing free classes in scene study, voice,improvisation, movement and stage combat. In addition, WCE maintains a Director’s Lab and New Works Development Program, giving fledgling directors and writers the opportunity to continually develop their craft.
West Coast Ensemble has continued to advance its mission of producing high-quality theatre that is accessible to a wide audience through our critically hailed productions including:
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Fabulation (2010) -
Anita Bryant Died For Your Sins (2009)
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Big -The Musical (2009)
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Assassins (2008)
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Zanna, Don’t! (2007)
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Two Gentlemen of Corona (2005)
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Floyd Collins (2005)
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To Kill A Mockingbird (2003)
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Sunday In The Park With George (2003)
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The Grapes Of Wrath (2002)
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Merrily We Roll Along (2000)
Along with continued accolades for our productions, WCE has won several major awards including the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Margaret Harford Award for Outstanding and Ongoing Contribution to Theater, The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Charlie Award for Ongoing Contributions to Hollywood, four L.A. Drama Critics’ Circle Awards,10 NAACP Awards, countless L.A. Weekly, and BackStage West awards and the prestigious Jonathan Larson Foundation Award in support of original musical development.
West Coast Ensemble is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission
The mission of West Coast Ensemble Theatre is to present high quality plays and musicals which address the social, cultural and artistic needs of the diverse Los Angeles community and to provide an artistic home for our artists through production opportunities, workshops and conservatory.