They say all the world’s a stage, which is particularly true in Southern California. With more professionally trained thespians per capita than any region on the planet, it’s no wonder the area is rich in great theater.

While theatergoers tend to know the theaters and performing companies in their local area, for the more adventurous, the entire Southland is fertile ground for theatrical exploration. The following, while in no way conclusive, are just some of the region’s playhouses and theaters that serve their communities with artistic integrity, work of the highest order, and a unique theatergoing experience.

THEATRE WEST

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, this indie house and nonprofit arts organization is the oldest continually running theater company in Los Angeles. Serving as a creative nest for the careers of Richard Dreyfuss, Beau Bridges and Martin Landau, and stage to some of the area’s finest live theater, Theatre West balances adult comedies and dramas, many of them bound for Broadway or the silver screen, with their nationally revered Storybook Theatre for children.

3333 W Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 851-4839, www.theatrewest.org

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Powered by a commitment to educate, enlighten and entertain, the Valley Performing Arts Center is inspired by the belief that art is communication, that communication is an art, and that art and communication are essential pillars for building and maintaining community. The Valley Performing Arts Center establishes California State University, Northridge as a hub for culture and performing arts in the region. It offers a vibrant and diverse performance program.

California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge, (818) 677-8800, www.valleyperformingartscenter.org

SEGERSTROM HALL

The Orange County Performing Arts Center is one of the nation’s premier arts organizations. It is a unique achievement of community vision, initiative, artistic accomplishment and generosity, known for its stunning architecture and technical facilities, impeccable acoustics and the exceptional quality of the companies and artists who perform here. The Center, Orange County’s largest non-profit arts organization, offers the world's leading dance companies, Broadway shows, award-winning classical, jazz and cabaret artists, family entertainment, special events and year-round educational programs. It is also the home of three resident companies: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and Pacific Chorale.

600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, (714)556-2787, www.scfta.org

CABRILLO MUSIC THEATRE

Cabrillo Music Theatre is the resident musical theatre production company at the Bank of America Performing Arts Center at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. For over 30 years, Cabrillo has presented locally produced, professional musical theater exclusively for Southern California audiences. Cabrillo Music Theatre is also a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization devoted to giving back to our community through extensive outreach programs serving disadvantaged children, in-need seniors, active military troops, and homeless and abandoned animals.

2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, www.cabrillomusictheatre.com

SAN BERNARDINO’S CALIFORNIA THEATRE OF THE PERFROMING ARTS

The Inland Empire’s premier stage venue is the beautiful and historic California Theatre of the Performing Arts in downtown San Bernardino. The California Theatre has operated continuously since 1928, when it opened as both a vaudeville house and movie palace. The 1,718-seat theater, owned and operated by the City of San Bernardino Economic Development Agency, presents plays, concerts, musicals, touring shows, classical music, ballet, stand-up comedy, and silent film screenings.

California Theatre of the Performing Arts, 562 W. Fourth St., San Bernardino, (909) 885-5152, wwwcaliforniatheatre.net

THE STURGES CENTER FOR THE FINE ARTS

A beloved, city-operated landmark that presents plays, musicals and concerts in its intimate 715-seat theater. It also hosts a wide variety of community events.

780 N. E St., San Bernardino, (909) 885-5152, www.sturgescenter.org

PERFORMANCE RIVERSIDE

A professional theatrical production company based at the Landis Performing Arts Center on the campus of Riverside City College, Performance Riverside provides top-quality performing arts. Performance Riverside seeks to engage, inspire, educate, entertain, bring together, and enlighten this diverse community with the magic of live performance, such as their presentation of “The Mikado” which will run throughout November.

Location: Riverside City College, 4800 Magnolia Ave., Riverside, (951) 222-8100, www.performanceriverside.org

EAST WEST PLAYERS

Established in 1965, the New York Times has called East West Players “The nation’s pre-eminent Asian-American theater troupe.” Presenting award-winning productions that blend Eastern and Western movement, costumes, language, and music, EWP has premiered over 100 plays and musicals about the Asian-Pacific American experience and has held over 1,000 readings and workshops.

120 Judge John Aiso St., Los Angeles, (213) 625-7000, www.EastWestPlayers.org

SOKA UNIVERSITY

California's beautiful 103-acre four-year liberal-arts college, opened its Aliso Viejo campus in 2001 and received accreditation by the Accrediting Commission of Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in 2005. Their beautiful new 1,000-seat Soka Performing Arts Center and adjacent Nelson Mandela Hall opened in September. In its first year, the center will feature classical music performances along with a sparkling line-up of what General Manager David Palmer calls “special and unusual artists” showcasing local and international artists and musicians in performances that combine such seemingly disparate arts as poetry and photography, or woven tapestry and classical guitar.

1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo, (949) 480-4ART, www.performingarts.soka.edu

BROADWAY/SAN DIEGO

Celebrating its 35th anniversary season, Broadway/San Diego has presented well over 300 shows and events and is owned and operated by the Nederlander Organization. Among their upcoming productions are “Hair,” Linda Eder from “Star Search” and “Jekyll and Hyde” in concert with Tom Wopat from “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Come Fly Away” by Twyla Tharp and the Irish dance sensation, “Riverdance.” Coming in 2012 – Jerry Seinfeld, “Cats” “Rock of Ages,” “The Addams Family,” “Wicked” and the hot new Broadway musical, "Memphis."

3666 Fourth Ave., San Diego, (619) 564-3000, www.broadwaysd.com

LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE

Cofounded by Gregory Peck in 1947, this Tony Award-winning, nationally recognized unit was an early home to Holly Hunter, Kim Cattrall, and Neil Patrick Harris, and balances traditional theater favorites with adventurous fare and Broadway-bound showstoppers. Long under the brilliant, envelope-pushing guidance of Great White Way pioneer Des McAnuff, LJP still routinely inspires shock, awe, and wonder.

Productions are staged at various locations in and around San Diego, (858) 550-1010, www.lajollaplayhouse.org

A NOISE WITHIN

Housed in Glendale since launching with an ambitious reading of "Hamlet" in 1991, A Noise Within has, for 20 years, routinely sold out its 145-seat house with its elegantly rendered, frequently revisionist six-show slate of classics from Moliere to Shakespeare, Ibsen to O’Neill. This fall, ANW moves to new digs – a 33,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art home in Pasadena, a radically redesigned piece of commercial real estate that will allow its directors to continue offering top-notch productions, community outreach, and beloved classes in performance and theater arts. Best of all, no seat is further from the stage than seven rows. That’s intimate.

3352 E Foothill Blvd, Pasadena, (818) 240-0910, www.anoisewithin.org

SOUTH COAST REP

The crown jewel of Orange County’s sizzling theater scene – indeed, one of the country’s great performance companies, devoted to visionary originals, crowd-pleasing revivals, and medium-expanding creative endeavors – South Coast Rep is nearly 50 years old, committed to work that tests the bounds of theater’s artistic possibilities by exploring work that both instructs and delights. A network of three Tony Award-winning stages, SCR is the Southland’s most-decorated theater of the decade.

655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, (714) 708-5500, www.scr.org

DEAFWEST

Since 1991, Deafwest has enriched the cultural lives of over 1.2-million deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in the Los Angeles area with an astonishing range of live theater productions from Greek tragedy to Broadway musicals that are also breathtaking experiences for hearing patrons. Performing in a combination of spoken English and American Sign Language (ASL), Deafwest’s performances are a seamless ballet of signing, movement, and spoken – or sung – English, that creates a third language and an unforgettable night at the theater.

5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 762-2998, www.deafwest.org

LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR PERFOMING ARTS

This exquisite former movie theater – boasting more than 1,200 seats - celebrates its fourth decade as one of the best Broadway-style houses in Southern California with an eclectic slate of performances including children’s shows. Occasionally, they’ll screen a cinema classic or host a touring symphony orchestra. Bookings are wide-ranging and delightful, while the house itself is a time machine to an era where the palace was as important as the show.

14900 La Mirada Blvd, La Mirada, (562) 944-7977, www.lamiradatheatre.com

GLENDALE CENTRE THEATRE

This family-owned establishment, the oldest continually running, centre-staged theater in the country, is a wholesome, uplifting warhorse offering expertly produced, vibrantly acted, and reasonably priced shows. A stadium-graded theater-in-the-round with Victorian accents and a warm, inviting staff, this theater offers an irresistible evening of entertainment.

324 North Orange Street, Glendale, (818) 244-8481, www.glendalecentre.theatre.com

THE OLD GLOBE

Located in downtown San Diego’s historic Balboa Park, The Old Globe is one of the most prominent and productive American regional theater companies, recent winner of the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, currently celebrating its 75th season, offering 15 productions on three stages each year, including world premieres, pre-Broadway musicals, contemporary plays, classics, and a world-famous Summer Shakespeare Festival. Hal Holbrook, John Goodman, Stephen Sondheim, and Kelsey Grammar have all trod the boards at The Old Globe. This is a place to stroll, picnic, relax, and enjoy great works of theater.

1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego, (619) 234-5623, www.theoldglobe.org

FALCON THEATRE

Film and television maestro Garry Marshall launched this 130-seat playhouse in 1997, honoring his own “lifelong addiction to theater.” In addition to offering big-name stagings and world premieres, its regular run of hilarious musicals makes this a “sure thing” hit with audiences. Located in the haven of Toluca Lake, near Mo’s and Bob’s Big Boy, the Falcon is a Valley gem, perfect for suburbanites and Tinseltowners alike.

4252 West Riverside Drive, Burbank, (818) 955-8101, www.falcontheatre.com

THE GREAT AMERICAN MELODRAMA & VAUDEVILLE

Cabaret tables, honky-tonk piano, sawdust on the floor, and the opportunity to brutishly boo, coquettishly coo, and heroically herald villains, ingénues, and heroes abound in old-fashioned, audience-participation crowd-pleasers like “Flora the Fur Trader’s Daughter,” “The Werewolf of Dr. Oz,” and “The Sunburnt Kid.” This is pun-heavy, knee-slapping, magic, banjo, and mayhem dinner theater, full-frontal silliness, in a beautiful, dancehall-style venue.

1863 Front Street, Oceano, (805) 489-2499, www.americanmelodrama.com

THE WELK RESORTS THEATRE

The Welk Resorts Theatre in Escondido brings you a variety of entertainment from movie and television celebrities, Broadway-style musicals, variety shows and tribute bands. This coming year promises to be exciting with stars such as Rich Little, Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor, Guy and Ralna of “The Lawrence Welk Show,” Broadway musicals including “Rent” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and specialty shows. Call for a 2012 season brochure or more information.

8860 Lawrence Welk Drive, Escondido, (888) 802-7469, www.welksandiego.com,

THE COLONY THEATRE COMPANY

Established in 1975, by a group of television actors eager to return to their theatre roots, The Colony Theatre Company was to remain in residence at the Studio Theatre Playhouse in Silver Lake for 25 years. Through their steadfast commitment to quality, the company built the largest subscriber base of any small theater in the area and by the early 1990s, with shows sold out before they opened, they moved to Burbank where they now perform as The Colony Theatre Company in Residence at Burbank Center Stage, a fully operating Equity theater. Having evolved from a small local ensemble into a well-established, award-winning, nationally recognized company, renowned for the extremely high quality productions, they have received countless awards for excellence, and are listed in the Encyclopedia Britannica Almanac as one of 25 Notable U.S. Theater Companies.

555 North Third Street, Burbank, (818) 558-7000, www.colonytheatre.org

CENTER STAGE FONTANA

Center Stage Fontana has developed a reputation for the best in fine dining and entertainment and was voted “Best Live Theater Venue” by Inland Empire Magazine in 2009 and 2010. Center Stage Fontana is a state of the art facility featuring the latest in audio, video, lighting and presentation technology. The theater has become a hot spot for private functions including weddings, parties, fundraisers and corporate training sessions, but what makes Center State Fontana unique is the combination of dinner theater, cabaret and intimate concert performances that keep their audience coming back for more. The 2011-2012 upcoming show schedule includes “Supreme Reflections Tribute,” “Holiday Follies Extravaganza” and the highly acclaimed Melissa Manchester.

8463 Sierra Ave., Fontana, (909) 429-7469, www.centerstagefontana.com