When Jon Lawrence Rivera came to the United States in 1979 from the Philippines, his family settled in their first apartment one block away from The Cast Theater in Hollywood. When Rivera could afford it, he would walk over and purchase a ticket to see a play. When he couldn’t afford it, Rivera would stand outside, listening to the music permeate through the thin layer of plaster, and imagine the full performance beyond the walls.

Theater was always in the equation for Rivera, but as his passion blossomed, he grew disheartened at the lack of people on stage who looked like him.

Rivera’s efforts culminated in the creation of Playwrights’ Arena — a theater focused on highlighting original and reimagined material written exclusively by Los Angeles talent with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Their latest piece is “Three,” a queer meditation on Anton Chekov’s “The Three Sisters,” penned by playwright Nick Salamone. 

With a diverse cast of ten actors, Salamone’s piece captures the Prozorov family on four different days in four different eras of American history — the end of World War II, the AIDS epidemic, days after the Oklahoma City bombing and the present. Salamone spoke with The Panther about his admiration for “The Three Sisters” and the impact he hopes his rendition will have on viewers. 

Hailing from Pennsylvania, Salamone took his talents to New York but experienced depression after watching many of his close friends and community succumb to the AIDS epidemic in the ‘80s. He moved to Los Angeles in 1990 where he found a growing, vibrant art scene, which included Rivera who would soon open Playwrights’ Arena in 1992.

At the time of the theater’s opening, the city of Los Angeles was undergoing riots after four Los Angeles Police Department officers were acquitted on excessive force charges that injured activist Rodney King. Rivera recalls walking out of a rehearsal, seeing the city on fire and pondering how he could help make a difference. 

“I realized that my advocacy is through my art,” Rivera said. “I feel like as an artist, the way that I can really get people to understand each other is to present plays that would reflect those stories… I’m always consciously trying to look at the materials that speak to what is happening socially, that really could make an impact.”

One of the ways in which Playwrights’ Arena promotes inclusion is through its casting process, which avoids the underlying subjectivity of colorblind casting and commits to placing BIPOC and LGBT actors in roles they may not typically see themselves in. Salamone told The Panther the Arena casts for “the embodiment of the roles” and explained that their process helps create an opportunity to inspire future lovers of theater. 

“(Rivera) and I both feel like the theater we do should be reflective of the audience,” Salamone said. “Whenever we undertake a new project, that’s foremost in our minds. Yes, I think theatrical and artistic truths are universal, but the people in the audience, especially people who have not seen themselves, need to see themselves on stage. If you want theater to live and thrive and you want the audience to respond, they have to see themselves.” 

Rivera and Salamone have teamed up in the past as a director-writer team on productions such as “Billy Boy” in 2017 and “Helen” in 2012. Rivera also served as a producer on Salamone’s play “Moscow,” which focuses on three gay men trapped in a theater with only a copy of Chekov’s “The Three Sisters.” The duo knows each other’s mannerisms so well that they can convey a message through a look across the theater or an arm on the shoulder. 

“When I work with people I like — designers, other directors for (Playwrights’ Arena), actors — they become part of my family,” Rivera said. “I feel that there is a sense of community and partnership and trust within that community. With (Salamone), I think the first time we worked together, there was trust immediately. 

Salamone continued: “A play… it’s a baby, and you either have a good midwife or a bad one. (Rivera) knows how to shape things, and he has the most deft touch when it’s time to change things… We really share the same vision and sensibilities, and that makes a big difference.”

Above all, Rivera wants to bring authenticity to the stories told at Playwrights’ Arena.

“I think the meditation that we’re doing with this play, I think some people might find it controversial in the way we’ve set it up, but if you don’t take risks and you’re not truthful in how you want to tell your story, then you’ve already failed,” Rivera said. “The only way to do it is to go and support the vision and really make it as strong as it can be so no one can say, ‘That was all bologna to me.’”

Playwrights’ Arena will be holding previews of “Three” on Feb. 15, 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. Opening night will be on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. Regular performances will occur on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays at 8 p.m., as well as Sundays at 7 p.m until March 18. Tickets range from $20 - $39 with select Pay-What-You-Choose seats available at select performances. All performances will be held at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. 

Contact playwrightsarenala@gmail.com if you want to be involved with Playwrights’ Arena. 

Correction: An earlier version of this article spelled Playwrights’ Arena as Playwright’s Arena. Additionally, in the photo of the three sisters, the caption misidentified Rachel Sorsa and Hayden Bishop; this has been corrected. The earlier version also spelled Anton Chekov’s name as Anton Chevok. We regret the errors.