Advertisement
California

Photos: Playwright Lynn Manning makes L.A. his muse

Blinded by a bullet when he was 23, Lynn Manning had to give up the painting that took him out of his childhood of violence in South L.A. But he rediscovered his strength in poetry and theater.

Blinded by a bullet when he was 23, Lynn Manning had to give up the painting that took him out of his childhood of violence in South L.A. But he rediscovered his strength in poetry and theater.   (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Share

Thirty-six years after a shooting that left him blind, Manning is a vital part of Los Angeles’ cultural landscape: a poet, actor and playwright whose work leans on sharp perception and unflinching social commentary.

Lynn Manning

Lynn Manning and a fellow actor founded the Watts Village Theater Company in 1996, determined to bring live theater to the neighborhoods of his youth.   (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Mel Hampton, Lynn Manning

The Watts Village Theater Company has put on 25 full-scale plays, including works by Shakespeare and other masters adapted to fit story lines that resonate in South L.A. Above, artistic director Lynn Manning, right, talks with Mel Hampton.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Lynn Manning

“Los Angeles is the central character in my work: all that tension, all those issues being worked out,” Lynn Manning says.   (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

California

More From the Los Angeles Times

Advertisement