A full plate of comedy for Culture Clash's 25th anniversary

Born in a San Francisco art gallery on Día de los Muertos  in 1984, the beloved serio-comic trio Culture Clash really came of age in their adopted hometown of Los Angeles. Over the past two decades, L.A. audiences have had a front-row seat to watch the troupe consisting of Richard Montoya, Herbert Siguenza and Ric Salinas go through several stylistic phases. From a politically incorrect smarty-pants agitprop group, Culture Clash has grown into a sophisticated ensemble that plumbs the complexities and contradictions of ethnic relations, U.S. history, sexual identity and a plethora of other urgent issues -- without having lost any of its satiric bite.

This fall, the ensemble's 25-year run of making thought-provoking sociological slapstick is being celebrated on multiple fronts. The troupe recently wrapped up its adaptation of Aristophanes' 2,400-year-old comedy "Peace" at the Getty Villa. Next they'll be honored at UCLA's Royce Hall with an Oct. 30 tribute featuring such special guests as Zack de la Rocha and Michelle Shocked.

Then on Dec. 3, Culture Clash will premiere its latest scripted work, "Palestine, New Mexico," at the Mark Taper Forum.

"We've loaded our plate up at an oddly weird period of our lives that is highly productive and employing a lot of people," Montoya told Culture Monster recently. "And that feels really good in these rather dire times."

For more on Culture Clash, past, present and future, check out this Sunday's Calendar cover story.

-- Reed Johnson

Photo montage: Courtesy of Culture Clash