John Sinner - 
Producing Artistic Director 

    Producing Artistic Director John Sinner




"[S]tunningly brilliant and absolutely indecent, surreal  . . . It is experimental theatre at its best."
from 



article 
by
Steven Leigh Morris:

"the return 
of Big Themes . . . 
the work by 
writer-director Sinner, 
Happy Ending, is . . . a kind of fusing of 
Beckett and Ionesco 
. . . Sartre would have approved."
stark, subversive, bracing 
modern-gothic fairy tales
- an intense mix of 
surrealism, physicality, 
movement,
intelligent provocation 
and
hyper-drama
-- like the offspring born 
from a late-nite cocktail 
of equal parts Buñuel 
& Almodóvar, Balzac 
& Caryl Churchill, 
with a healthy dash 
of Dario Argento & 
Nobuo Nakagawa

from the 
press release issued by 
Center Theatre Group ​

    "one 
of the 
largest 
theatre 
companies in 
the nation" 
(Wikipedia)

"Award Supports 
Innovative 
Emerging 
L.A. Artists"
​"John Sinner 
Named 
Recipient 
of 
Center Theatre Group's 
2013 
Richard 
E. Sherwood 
Award"​

​"John Sinner, 
a Los Angeles-based 
playwright and director, 
has been selected 
as the recipient of 
Center Theatre Group’s 
2013 
Richard E. Sherwood Award.

Created in memory of 
Richard E. Sherwood, 
the Sherwood Award identifies ... innovative and
adventurous emerging artists living and working in Los Angeles.

'We are pleased to support John’s exciting artistry,' said Center Theatre Group’s Director of Education and Community Partnerships Leslie K. Johnson. 'The Sherwood Award nourishes the work of artists who push boundaries, and John’s sense of curiosity and optimism fit beautifully with the goal of the award.'

Sinner’s work -- an innovative mix of surrealism, lyrical-emotive language, provocation, hyper-drama, stylized sets and movement, and multimedia effects -- reveals the inner voices of his disenfranchised characters and their attempts to transcend the boundaries (both imposed and self-created) of a patriarchal society. Sinner is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of the non-profit Theatre Revelation (www.TheatreRevelation.com), his company of experimental artists that has independently produced his work thru invitations from international festivals and other presenters in Amsterdam, New York City and California, with Los Angeles serving as his company’s home base. 

Sinner is currently working on “An Invasion of Decency!” which he plans to present in Los Angeles in 2013 in a non-traditional large space downtown.  

Many of his recent credits, such as “Happy Ending 
(Who Will Live, Will See)"
,(Highways Performance Space, 2010)“The Devil Has a Sister (A Sororicidal Tale)” 
(Nederlands Theatre Festival, Amsterdam Fringe Festival, 2009),  “2 By Sinner” (NY International Fringe Festival, 2008), and “Blood Is My Legacy! (A Theatrical Extravaganza of Pure Family Values)” (Art/Works Performance Space, Los Angeles, 2005), show how Sinner is particularly drawn to telling stories of outsiders. Sinner has described himself as a “feminist gay experimental theatre artist living with multiple sclerosis." He says his optimism comes in great part from his belief that experimental theatre at its best “can reinforce a sense of gathering and community, and provide intelligent and vital provocation, a kind of open-heart soul-surgery, giving us a new perspective on ourselves, our world.”

Center Theatre Group’s goal with the Sherwood Award is to support Sinner and similar Los Angeles artists as they explore new territory in the field.  

Since 1996, the Sherwood Award has met a vital need in the theatre landscape. “If we are to have a dynamic theatre expressing the world of the 21st century, we must recognize and nourish the explorative artist, particularly in the struggle of the early years of a career,” said Dorothy Sherwood, wife of the late Richard E. Sherwood.

Richard E. Sherwood was a patron of the arts with a special appreciation for emerging artists who are in the vanguard of theatre. He was president and then chairman of the CTG Board of Directors from 1980 until his passing in 1993. The award is established as an endowed fund at CTG to honor Sherwood’s passionate commitment to theatre."












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Update: 
Los Angeles

From the stage of the historic, majestic 
Los Angeles Theatre, built in 1930 
to premiere Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” 
and modeled after the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, 
in front of a formally-attired audience of 2,000 
theatre professionals, producer Lindsay Albaugh 
of Center Theatre Group presented the 2013 
Sherwood Award, for "innovative 
& adventurous artists," 
to Theatre Revelation's founder, 
playwright and director John Sinner.  

"Tightly executed surrealism 
 with a savage enthusiasm and great skill." 
(nytheatre.com)
"Theatre Revelation
  has come up with 
  a new type of stage offering 
  that 
  defies description, 
  but reinforces 
  the producer's name and intentions 
. . .  
John Sinner
breaks new 
theatrical 
ground!" 
    (4Front Magazine) 

       

"The Sherwood panel feels strongly that John's voice is one that should be heard and be exposed to larger audiences. 

"Highly theatrical and innovative, Sinner's plays could be described as a love child between Moliere, Ionesco, Caryl Churchill and Beckett, 
but ultimately his voice is his own. 

"Sinner is the founder and producing artistic director of Theatre Revelation, a company of experimental artists that has independently produced his work thru invitations from international festivals and other presenters in Amsterdam,  New York and California, with Los Angeles serving as his company's home.  

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in congratulating the 2013 Sherwood Award Winner John Sinner!"  


               - Lindsay Albaugh, Center Theatre Group
                 at the Ovation Awards Ceremony 
Photo by Peter Konerko