EWP’s signature programs are its mainstage productions. Each season they produce three to five original and classic works (including one musical and at least one world premiere), hire hundreds of creative and technical personnel, and nearly 20,000 audience members, all of which contribute to the Little Tokyo community and its businesses.

To supplement EWP’s mainstage productions, throughout the year they program free community conversations, readings, and workshops of new works to explore current issues affecting our society, such as immigration, houselessness, and mental health.

EWP’s largest arts education programs are Theatre for Youth (TFY) and EWPlay!:

TFY commissions playwrights to devise a script centered around notable Asian American historical figures. It is fully produced and performed in schools, libraries, and community centers all over Los Angeles County at little to no cost for host venues. Performances are 45 minutes. Tours are accompanied by a standards-based study guide to help educators frame and explore the themes of the play in the classroom.

EWPlay! is an after-school program for middle schoolers that introduces youth to the theatre arts and connects students with AAPI culture and experience. More than 60% of student audiences are from underserved Title I schools. As one participant from Palms Middle School explains: “One thing I learned is to be myself no matter what anybody else thinks of me, and no matter who is judging me, to be myself because if they’re not gonna like me for who I am, they don’t deserve to know me. What I liked about these classes were how free we were to be ourselves and how we could express ourselves in the way I personally loved.”

Arts education programs extend beyond youth programming with our year-round adult Professional Enrichment courses, designed to provide training to the next generation of entertainment industry professionals.