Now the Covid masks are off (mostly), what masks do we wear that present an aspect of who we are? What mask do we wear at work, with our family and friends? Are we ever unmasked? What happens when we really take the mask off?

Since 2008, the Los Angeles Short Play Festival (formerly LA Views) presents a select group of diverse writers that embrace and reflect on a different City of Angels theme. Past festivals have featured stories from L.A.’s history to its contemporary concerns. Themes have explored L.A hunger, gentrification, the economic recession, the 20th year anniversary of the civil unrest of April 29, 1992, and silent film legend residents of the historic Alexandria Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. In 2020, Company of Angels presented the annual festival virtually, themed "What’s Going On?" amidst the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Inspired by Marvin Gaye's iconic 1970s hit song, the festival featured 15 short plays that delved into the tumultuous events surrounding the uprising in Los Angeles and beyond, ignited by the tragic murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Reminiscent of the unrest of 1992, the powerful narratives captured the spirit of widespread protests, looting, assaults, and arson, all against the backdrop of a global pandemic that at the time had claimed 143,000 and now over 1,170,784 lives in the United States alone.