LOS ANGELES : L.A. Traffic Puts Brakes on Educational Experience

If a stage drama about ants and cockroaches serves as a metaphor about humans’ inability to get along, then a UCLA theater audience on Friday turned out to be an example of Los Angeles’ particular communications challenge.

About 450 teen-agers from all corners of Los Angeles attended the American premier of “Fate of a Cockroach,” a play by Egyptian writer Tewfik al-Hakim. It uses African storytelling traditions to explore issues of human survival and communication breakdowns.

After the 2 1/2-hour production, UCLA students portraying the struggling ants and cockroaches stood by with theater professor Beverly Robinson to discuss issues raised by the play. But the youngsters rushed for the theater’s exits and their buses before there was time for any dialogue. “They all have to get back across town in Friday afternoon traffic,” said Keren Goldberg, head of UCLA’s “Theater as a Learning Tool” program.