‘If I Awaken In Los Angeles’ Offers Cultural Pride, Influence, and a Love Letter to the City

August 12, 2025September 18, 2025 Elijah Isaiah Johnson

Hollywood Boulevard on a Friday Night is, perhaps, most famous for its proximity to performance art: from the TCL and El Capitan Theaters to open air venues like the iconic Hollywood Bowl and The Ford — the latter of which came alive under the stars and against the applause of the concert crowd across the street, thanks to Get Lit – Words Ignite’s latest live presentation, If I Awaken In Los Angeles.

Art, Poetry

Get Lit Celebrates Poetry Month and its 13th Annual Classic Slam

April 28, 2024April 29, 2024 Elijah Isaiah Johnson

With the pre-Golden Hour sun higher up and a touch brighter than usual for 4:00 PM, the Wilshire Ebell Theatre was rolling out the literal red carpet for some of art’s unsung and most prolific offspring: Get Lit’s Words Ignite Annual Classic Poetry Slam in its 13th incarnation, continuing to raise the next and support the current generation of young poets, writers and thinkers.

Art, Poetry

Get Lit Closes Out Poetry Month with Annual Classic Slam Competition Finals

April 25, 2023April 26, 2023 Elijah Isaiah Johnson

After a record breaking cold spell across usually-sunny California, the customary 80-degree weather had begun to pick up again in mid April; as the sun set over South Broadway’s historic Ace Hotel Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, the golden views and massive crowds were a fitting way to welcome in students, poets, writers and songwriters from far and wide to the annual 2023 Classic Slam Competition Finals.

Recaps, Television

‘Euphoria’ Recap: Cal Me By Your Name

January 28, 2022January 31, 2022 Adonis Gonzalez

Let’s get one thing straight, Nate and Cal Jacobs are the worst. Between the patriarchal leader of the Jacobs clan and his sinister offspring, the duo have managed not only to cause the entire town trouble, but also managed to make an enemy out of each other. The list goes on and on, blackmail, bribery, threats, adultery. And those are just the offenses I feel comfortable mentioning. Nate and Cal are downright supervillains at this point.

Movies, Music, Streaming

High School Performing Arts Students Celebrate ‘tick… tick… BOOM!’

November 19, 2021November 19, 2021 Laura Sirikul

It’s hard to not feel something when you listen to the work of the late composer and playwright Jonathan Larson. From his Tony Award-winning musical RENT to his futuristic rock opera Superbia to his autobiographical rock monologue-now-turned-film tick… tick… BOOM!, Larson has inspired many musicians and composers throughout the years. EGOT winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for his award-winning work on Broadway and off, was one of the many that were influenced by Larson’s work after seeing RENT as a performing arts teenager.

Interview, Streaming

Frankie Rodriguez Represents on ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’

June 13, 2021June 14, 2021 Adonis Gonzalez

If you have Disney+, you might have heard of a little show called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. That tongue twisting title, which will be abbreviated to HSMTMTS from now on, headlines the story of the next generation of Disney’s premiere high school musical group.

Comics, DC Comics3 Comments

‘Gotham High’ Breathes Fresh Life into the Bat Mythos

April 7, 2020April 6, 2020 Keith Chow

Traditional superhero comics have been part of the American pop culture firmament for eight decades. And more often than not, those stories can feel staid and mired in nostalgia for long bygone eras. Which is why creators who come along with bold new interpretations of these characters are usually met with resistance. To wit, when the book trailer for Gotham High — DC Comics’ latest foray into the young adult book market — debuted, the fanboy set went apoplectic.

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Music, School of Hard NOCs, Theatre

#EduHam: ‘Hamilton’ Puts History in the Hands of the Future

October 31, 2018September 3, 2019 Constance Gibbs

”This is for ones like us, that had big hopes and dreams but didn’t make it.” — Lea Ibragimova, Shanae Bennett, and Valentina Vidal Ortega from Rachel Carson High School for Coastal Studies

There’s nothing like seeing Hamilton the Musical with a crowd of high school juniors. They laugh at the sex jokes, they get squirmy about death, and they echo the chorus of “ohhhh” at every diss in the show. Having seen Hamilton three times now (yes, I’m bragging a little — you would too), it was absolutely the best audience to see the show with. But it wasn’t the centerpiece of the day.

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