A Letter from Rob Bailis

In our community, we have been looking to 2026 as the year by which we need to be prepared, ready to receive the world as it comes to our doorstep for what will be two solid years of uninterrupted, top-tier, global events— from FIFA World Cup to Super Bowl LXI to the LA 2028 Olympics. BroadStage is ready.

When we envisioned the timeline for the launch of the Santa Monica International Jazz Festival for May 2026, that was the whole idea. Partnering with the City of Santa Monica and with Travel and Tourism, we widened our embrace to meet travelers exactly where they are, representing Santa Monica and all we have to offer in new ways for new people, getting out from inside our four walls, into the parks, onto the Promenade, and even into downtown LA. What a huge success it has been! Stepping into the international festival format at just the right moment with just the right offering, we will continue to grow toward the 2028 Cultural Olympiad and beyond, not only with Jazz, but with many other creative endeavors.

A quick glance at the 2026/27 Season will show the seeds of many international delights—Theatre from Ireland, Magic from Scotland, Circus from Australia, Dance from India, and Music of all kinds from literally everywhere—Central Asia, Mexico, Norway, England, Japan—and of course all the ways we celebrate home are right there too, the unique welcome we offer here in Los Angeles.

Tuning in more closely, you may have noticed a slightly different frequency, calibrated around stage work much more so than Jazz, where we have been dialed in for the last few seasons, as we prepare now for the entrance of a new Artist in Residence. While we will continue to partner on the Jazz festival as an annual program of BroadStage, the three-year artist residency that generated the festival with Stanley Clarke was always intended to conclude and make way for a new endeavor.

I am thrilled to announce that the next Artist in Residence will be in the Theatre genre—a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning company is heading our way from New York to set up shop from 2026-2029. More on that is forthcoming—so stay tuned for the big announcement.

2026 was always going to be a turning point year for readiness, given the opportunities ahead for Los Angeles. Maybe that is even more true now for reasons beyond the scope of this letter. Here in the state of the arts, certain things remain true. What we do best, we do together; what we fearlessly will into being still can come to pass and bring so much joy.

— Rob Bailis, Artistic and Executive Director