By Darlene Donloe
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — John Epstein spent 15 years as a talent agent at Global Talent Agency, helping actors, writers and directors navigate the narrow gates of film and television.
He learned how money moves, how projects die, and how often the people who most needed a stage never got one.
After 15 years of learning how to get people into a room, now he’s trying to keep them there, without their phones.
About a year ago, the Weston, Connecticut native, married, father of three boys, and longtime Los Angeles talent representative launched Theater4All, a nonprofit theater company. The mission is simple: broaden access to live theater for youth, families, the underserved and audiences across Southern California.
“I founded Theater4All to break down the economic and structural barriers that prevent people from experiencing the transformative power of live performance,” Epstein said. “Our mission is to make high-quality theater a shared community asset rather than an exclusive privilege.”
Epstein’s resume reads like a Hollywood handbook. Fifteen years of representing emerging artists: Producer credits, co-writer, entrepreneur, arts advocate.
But the shift to nonprofit producing didn’t start in a boardroom. It started in a theater seat with his kids.
“Introducing my children to live performance … underscored both the power of theater and how rarely it is accessible to many young people encountering it for the first time,” said Epstein, the organization’s producing artistic director.
During that time, he watched funding collapse, venues go dark and ticket prices climb. He watched structural barriers keep entire communities out of rooms where stories are told live, in real time.
“So, basically, Theater4All’s mission/goal is to bring theater to the various underserved communities,” Epstein said. “Now, I’m not saying we don’t want the traditional theatergoers — we want them, obviously. But the mission is to bring in folks that normally might not have access to it, right?”
For underserved theatergoers in areas like Compton or Boyle Heights, Epstein believes accessibility and the idea that theater is something they can do and enjoy will change.
“Hopefully, going to the theater will become part of their process,” Epstein said. “It becomes something that maybe inspires. I don’t want them to think of theater as something other people do. I want it to become something they love to do.”
Theater4All is betting that making theater affordable and taking it where people live will make Southern California’s next generation will show up.
Theater4All isn’t starting with donor galas. It’s starting with school buses, park lawns, and $19 tickets.
“So, to do that, we are going to offer free performances in parks, at schools, and community centers,” Epstein said. “That’s the mission.”
Theater4All’s model is tiered. Park shows are all free. Theater settings will mix free tickets, discounted seats and standard pricing. Student matinees are free, with Epstein hoping to partner with city governments to fund busing.
“We’re going to have three tickets,” he said, referring to a pricing structure, “but we’re also going to have discounted tickets as well. We’re also going to want to invite the schools. Free for them.”
Epstein said charity isn’t the point. It’s cultivation.
Theater4All’s inaugural production, “Crone Creed,” will open Sept. 30 to Oct. 17 at El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.
“I am absolutely thrilled to debut our very first production as part of the El Portal Theatre’s landmark 100th anniversary season,” Epstein said. “Launching this initiative in such an iconic, historic venue allows us to honor the past while actively building a more accessible, inclusive future for the next generation of theatergoers.”
In celebration of El Portal Theatre’s 100th anniversary season, Theater4All is partnering with the historic venue on a special accessibility initiative to welcome new and first-time audiences.
“As we begin our 100th year, we are so excited by John’s mission of wanting to make theater more accessible to the community,” said El Portal Theatre’s Managing Director Ann Potenza. “Since our reopening and redevelopment in the NoHo Arts District in 2000, the El Portal has remained dedicated to bringing musicals, plays, dance and educational arts programs to audiences of all ages. Partnering on this special affordability program is the perfect way to build upon that legacy, helping ensure that more people can experience the magic of live theater during this milestone season.”
To mark El Portal’s 100th anniversary, Theater4All will sell 100 tickets to “Crone Creek” for $19.26 — the year the theater was founded.
The pricing honors the year El Portal was founded (1926) and reflects a shared commitment to keeping live performance affordable across generations.
Specific dates for these performances will be announced soon.
Additionally, Theater4All will host a dedicated student matinee for Los Angeles high school students.
Co-written by Epstein, Casey Morgan and T. Theresa Scarano, “Crone Creed,” the mythic drama, follows Vita, a woman shattered by religious violence in medieval Europe, reborn on the American frontier as part of an ancient lineage of mystical women called the crones. Her brother returns, too, as part of a corrupting force called the fallen.
It’s centuries, blood, belief, and time travel — not the kind of small, safe debut you’d expect from a company preaching accessibility.
But Epstein argues that new audiences deserve risk, not condescension.
“At its core, Theater4All is committed to creating inclusive, diverse and engaging theatrical experiences through bold new works,” he said.
Rooted in Epstein’s career supporting emerging artists, Theater4All reflects what he calls “a deepening commitment to live performance.”
After years of watching limited funding keep work offstage, he’s stepping into the role of patron and advocate himself. That means trading commissions for subsidies. Trading pitch meetings for park permits. Trading a client roster for a community roster.
He’s doing it from Los Angeles in the middle of a region where theater often feels priced for tourists and donors.
“If you lower the wall, people will come,” Epstein said. “If you tell stories that matter, they’ll come back.”
For now, the focus is on making the first season work. Free park shows. Accessible pricing in theaters. A student matinee. Partnerships with schools and cities.
Epstein is not promising to replace Broadway or save the industry in a year. He is promising to open a door.
A year in, Theater4All is still new. But the agent who built his career getting artists in the room has changed rooms himself. He’s no longer waiting for an audience to find a theater. He’s trying to bring theater to the audience.
Darlene Donloe is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers South Los Angeles. She can be reached at ddonloe@gmail.com.
