Foundation backs radio plays

L.A. Theatre Works, known for live local performances of contemporary and classical plays that are subsequently broadcast over satellite and public radio, has been awarded $253,000 by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to support the recording of four new plays and the production of a new monthly radio series, “Relativity,” centered on science-themed works.

Doron Weber, program director at the Sloan Foundation, said in a statement that the foundation was “delighted to partner with LATW in this pioneering program to create more realistic and entertaining plays about science and technology and to dramatize the lives of scientists, engineers and mathematicians.”

L.A. Theatre Works will record four Sloan-commissioned plays, including “Moving Bodies” by Arthur Giron and “Secret Order” by Bob Clyman, both of which originated as part of the Ensemble Studio Theatre-Sloan Project’s First Light Festival.