The Fountain Theatre is casting the lead role for its upcoming World Premiere of Fatherland, a new play conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. The riveting and powerful docu-drama opens February 22nd, 2024, and runs to March 30.
Fatherland tells the true story of a nineteen-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Fast-moving, stylized, and theatrical, it is verbatim theatre. All of it comes from public statements, case evidence, and the official court transcript.
NOW CASTING:
[SON] 19, sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength, determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned and brokenhearted by what his father has become. Seeking a skilled young actor with a deep emotional well who can carry the complex lead of a play.
Rehearsal starts January 23, 2024. Opens February 22, ends March 30. Performances Friday & Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, Monday 8pm.
Union Status: AEA. Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Contract ($20/hour).
Actors submit via Breakdown Services, Actors Access, or email: [email protected]
Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, audition, Fountain Theatre
Tagged actors, audition, Fatherland, Fountain Theatre, January 6, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere
The Fountain Theatre is casting the lead role for its upcoming World Premiere of Fatherland, a new play conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. The riveting and powerful docu-drama opens February 22nd, 2024, and runs to March 30.
Fatherland tells the true story of a nineteen-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Fast-moving, stylized, and theatrical, it is verbatim theatre. All of it comes from public statements, case evidence, and the official court transcript.
NOW CASTING:
[SON] 19, sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength, determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned and brokenhearted by what his father has become. Seeking a skilled young actor with a deep emotional well who can carry the complex lead of a play.
Rehearsal starts January 23, 2024. Opens February 22, ends March 30. Performances Friday & Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, Monday 8pm.
Union Status: AEA. Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Contract ($20/hour).
Actors submit via Breakdown Services, Actors Access, or email: [email protected]
Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, audition, Fountain Theatre
Tagged actors, audition, Fatherland, Fountain Theatre, January 6, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere
How do families stay together, even when they are kept apart? The Fountain Theatre presents a gripping new docudrama, a compilation of true stories that explores the rippling impact of mass deportations on families. The world premiere of Detained, written by The Lillys 2021 Lorraine Hansberry Award-winning playwright France-Luce Benson and directed by Mark Valdez, winner of the 2021 Zelda Fichandler Award, opens February 19 at the Fountain Theatre. Performances will continue through April 10, with three public previews taking place February 16, 17, and 18 at 8pm.
Originally commissioned by immigration attorney Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Detained is based on interviews with longtime U.S. residents held in immigration detention, and with their family members, advocates, attorneys and representatives of ICE. Inspired by their stories, Detained explores how families fight to stay together as increasingly cruel U.S. immigration legislation keeps them apart through mass deportations and immigration detention centers. It offers a heart-wrenching and in-depth look at the human lives behind the policies, and celebrates the strength and determination of the ordinary people who must fight against an unjust system while keeping their hope and faith in humanity intact.
“All of the stories in this play are true, and they are heartbreaking,” says Benson. “The more people I met, the more time I spent with them, the more important it became to tell their stories. When you go through trauma, you want to be seen, to be given a voice. My own family immigrated to America in the 1970s, and my father received a humanitarian award for the work he did at Krome Detention Center in the ’80s and ’90s. This is his story too, and a way for me to honor the sacrifices he made for us.”
Theodore Perkins in rehearsal for Detained.
When Rabinovitz first approached Benson, President Obama was still in office. Under his administration, more people were being deported than ever before. Since then, with harsher immigration legislation enacted under President Trump and the current Covid-19 health crisis, the situation for many immigrants has become ever more dire. As more stories of injustice persist and legislation changes, so does the play.“This play is a living document, and I’m constantly updating it,” Benson says. “People think that now that Biden is president, things are better. But thousands of people are still facing deportation every day. Many of these people have been living in this country for decades. They own houses, run businesses, pay taxes, have families.”Characters in the play include a teenage foodie aspiring “chef-lebrity,” a U.S. Veteran, and a mother of two who works as a roofer in New York City. Together, their collective voices weave a compelling and complicated tapestry.
Ensemble members, who play a range of roles, include Liana Aráuz, Camila Betancourt Ascencio, Christine Avila, Will Dixon, Jan Munroe, Theo Perkins, Marlo Su and Michael Uribes. The creative team includes scenic designer Sarah Krainin; lighting designer Christian V. Mejia; composer and sound designer Marc Antonio Pritchett; media designer Matt Soson; props designer Katelyn Lopez; and costume designer Jeanette Godoy. Movement choreography is by Annie Yee. The production stage manager is Anna Kupershmidt. Stephen Sachs, Simon Levy and James Bennett produce for the Fountain Theatre. Producing underwriters include the Phillips–Gerla Family and Donald and Suzanne Zachary. Executive producers are Miles Benickes and Diana Buckhantz.
Detained was developed, with a generous grant from the Miranda Family Foundation, at Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York under artistic director Billy Carden.
Detained opens February 19 and runs to April 10. Proof of both vaccination and booster will be required for admission. Patrons must be masked at all times in the theatre, except when actively eating or drinking in our upstairs indoor café/outdoor deck. Snug, surgical grade respirator masks (N-95/KN-95/KF-94) that cover both mouth and nose, are strongly encouraged, but blue surgical masks are acceptable. Cloth masks are no longer approved.
For reservations and information, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.
Tagged ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Anna Kupershmidt, Camila Betancourt Ascencio, Charles McNulty, Christian Mejia, Christine Avila, Deborah Culver, Diana Buckhantz, Donald and Suzanne Zachary, Eric Garcetti, Fountain Theatre, France-Luce Benson, James Bennett, Jan Monroe, Jeanette Godoy, Judy Rabinovitz, Katelyn Lopez, Liana Arauz, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Marc Antonio Pritchett, Mark Valdez, Marlo Su, Matt Soson, Michael Uribes, Miles Benickes, Miranda Family Foundation, new plays, Phillips-Gerla Family, Sarah Kranin, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, Theo Perkins, Will Dixon, world premiere
Hollywood Food Coalition
by France-Luce Benson
As we all hunker down, I’ve been thinking a lot about home. As a playwright/performer, I’ve lived a kind of gypsy lifestyle for most of my adulthood. Home is wherever the gig happens to be. For the last year and a half, home is Los Angeles. Of course, in Los Angeles, I can’t think about home without thinking of the millions of men, women, and children who are experiencing homelessness today. As our public officials urge us all to “stay home”, rightfully so, I can’t help but wonder what that means for those who don’t have a home.
Like many theatres across the country, The Fountain made the painful decision to suspend performances of Human Interest Story, which grappled with several issues around homelessness. Sadly, this also meant cancelling all of our BID events, including a panel discussion with representatives from several homeless relief organizations in our community.
Although the show cannot go on, we’ve decided to keep the conversation going with one of our esteemed panelists, John Billingsley. As the Board President of Hollywood Food Coalition, Billingsley knows firsthand about what it means to be on the front lines of the fight to end homelessness in L.A.
FLB: First, can you please tell us about Hollywood Food Coalition’s mission and what services you provide:
Billingsley: Every night of the year we serve the most immediate needs of people in our community: we provide a healthy and nutritious five course meal to all comers, no questions asked (soup, salad, choice of vegetarian or non-vegetarian entree, fruit, bread, desserts, milk, water). We also distribute shoes, blankets, sleeping bags, clothing, bus passes, laundry vouchers, toiletry kits, and etc. We have medical, dental and vision vans from UCLA visiting our campus on a regular basis. We are secular, but we serve our meal on the campus of the Salvation Army, (in one of their two dining halls) and we also help clients access way cool stuff provided by other community social service organizations (our neighbors and buds). Additionally, insofar as we rescue approximately 7000 pounds of food a week, we aim to distribute the food we cannot use to other Not For Profits serving our community.
FLB: What led you to Hollywood Food Coalition?
Billingsley: Approximately 4 years ago, apres the disastrous 2016 election, I was looking for ways to get more involved in my community. In addition to doing some political fundraising, I started making bad fruit salads at the Hollywood Food Coalition. (I washed dishes badly, as well). I was foolish enough to shoot off my mouth a bit about ways to grow the board, raise more moolah, blah blah blah . . . and now I’m the Board President! It (almost) reaffirms my faith in America. Or, perversely, makes me question the sanity of our Executive Director, Sherry Bonanno.
FLB: What has been your focus as Board President?
Billingsley: We believe food is a medium for coalition building. My specific interest revolves around what it means to build coalitions, to make pals, to get to know our non-for-profit neighbors. We’re interested in helping to bring NFP’s in our community together to collaborate, where possible, on ‘common actions’, like we’re doing with The Fountain Theatre. We’re interested in exploring mechanisms by which we can further each other’s missions: Can we help you do what you do better? Can you help us do what we do better? How?
FLB: In Stephen Sachs’ play, Human Interest Story, the Jane Doe character offers a raw look at the realities of homelessness. She talks about being assaulted, feeling invisible, and the stigma attached to homelessness. In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge homeless men and women face?
Tanya Alexander and Rob Nagle, Human Interest Story.
Billingsley: First off, and apropos of nothing – ‘people who re experiencing homelessness’ is a more artful construction, I have been taught – when we use the term ‘homeless’, and God knows we all use it, we kinda consign people to a bit of a Dante-esque ‘circle’, a ‘home’, oddly enough . . .
People go through shit.
One can say: I am going through this time in my life, I am experiencing yada yada yada . . . it’s subtly, but legitimately, different than saying: I am a this. I am a that. People ain’t homeless. They’re living a particular kind of life, they’re experiencing homelessness at this time in their life . One hopes that they will be living a different kind of life soon.
But to answer your question:
The biggest challenge homeless people face is the biggest challenge most of us face: the folks who rule our country, and many other countries around the world, actively attempt to delegitimize, if not actively dehumanize, people who don’t agree with them, or look like them, or in any way challenge their values or their hold on power. The challenge we all face, or can’t even begin to face (or intellectually recognize) is a deep and internalized acquiescence in the face of systemic and organized political disenfranchisement; perhaps to the perpetuation of our own diminution. Continue reading
Posted in Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Homeless, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, racism, Social justice, Theater, theatre
Tagged Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Community Engagement, coronavirus, Fountain Theatre, France-Luce Benson, Hollywood, Hollywood Food Coalition, home, homeless, homelessness, Human Interest Story, John Billingsley, Katherine Boo, Los Angeles, new play, PLAY, Rob Nagle, Stephen Sachs, Tanya Alexander, theater, theatre, virus, world premiere
Posted in actors, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged actor, Fountain Theatre, Human Interest Story, Los Angeles, new play, Rob Nagle, Tanya Alexander, theater, theatre, world premiere
The company of Human Interest Story celebrate Opening Night.
The opening night of the world premiere of a new play at the Fountain Theatre is always an event to celebrate. Such was the case on Saturday, February 15, with the official launch of Human Interest Story, written and directed by Stephen Sachs. A sold-out house gave the powerful and timely new play a standing ovation, and then gathered upstairs in our charming cafe for a catered reception with the company.
In the play, newspaper columnist Andy Kramer is laid off when a corporate takeover downsizes the City Chronicle. In retaliation, Andy fabricates a letter to his column from an imaginary homeless woman named “Jane Doe” who announces she will kill herself on the 4th of July because of the heartless state of the world. When the letter goes viral, Andy is forced to hire a homeless woman to stand-in as the fictitious Jane Doe. She becomes an overnight internet sensation and a national women’s movement is ignited.
early reviews have been laudatory. Theatre Notes has hailed the Fountain production as “Astonishing” and On Stage Los Angeles declares it “A Must See.”
Get your tickets now. Enjoy these photos from the Opening Night!
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Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Aleisha Force, Barbara Goodhill, Fountain Theatre, France-Luce Benson, Human Interest Story, James Bennett, James Harper, Los Angeles, Matt Kirkwood, Miles Benickes, new play, Nyla Arslanian, opening night, Oscar Arslanian, Rob Nagle, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, Tanya Alexander, Tarina Pouncy, theater, theatre, world premiere
Deborah Culver and Stephen Sachs founded the Fountain Theatre in an intimate, Spanish-style, East Hollywood building that belies the sizable local impact and international reach of the company’s acclaimed and award-winning productions. Now entering its 30th year as one of the most highly regarded theaters in Los Angeles, the Fountain is announcing a celebratory 2020 season of dynamic premieres and events.
“Thirty years ago, when we first entered this theater and stepped onto its stage, we knew we had found it. A place to call home,” Culver and Sachs said in a joint statement. “Since that April three decades ago, our charming haven on Fountain Avenue has been home to thousands of artists and millions of patrons. Fountain plays are now performed worldwide and seen on TV. Our flamenco concerts are first class. Our outreach programs change lives. Our legacy is noteworthy. And our future looks bigger and brighter than ever.”
The season opener, the world premiere of Human Interest Story — written and directed by Sachs who, in addition to his role as co-founder and co-artistic director of the Fountain, is an internationally acclaimed playwright — will open on Feb. 15. In this timely drama about homelessness, celebrity worship and truth in American journalism, newspaper columnist Andy Kramer (Rob Nagle) is laid off when a corporate takeover downsizes his paper. In retaliation, Andy fabricates a letter to his column from an imaginary homeless woman named “Jane Doe” who announces she will kill herself on the 4th of July because of the heartless state of the world. When the letter goes viral, Andy is forced to hire a homeless woman (Tanya Alexander) to stand-in as the fictitious Jane. She becomes an overnight internet sensation and a national women’s movement is ignited.
Slated for Spring, 2020, the Los Angeles premiere of If I Forget by Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen) will be directed by Fountain producing director Simon Levy. In this viciously funny, unflinchingly honest portrait of a Jewish family and a culture at odds with itself, a liberal Jewish studies professor reunites with his two sisters to celebrate their father’s 75th birthday. Both political and deeply personal, this play about history, responsibility, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for a new beginning was a New York Times “Critic’s Pick,” while DC Metro calls it “one of the greatest Jewish plays of this century.”
Summer brings the Los Angeles premiere of An Octoroonby 2016 MacArthur fellow Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who won the Obie for this radical, incendiary and subversively funnyriff on Dion Boucicault’s once-popular 1859 mustache-twirling melodrama set on a Louisiana plantation. A spectacular collision of the antebellum South and 21st-century cultural politics, An Octoroon twists a funhouse world of larger-than-life stereotypes into blistering social commentary to create a gasp-inducing satire that The New York Times calls “This decade’s most eloquent theatrical statement on race in America today.” Judith Moreland directs.
Another noteworthy Los Angeles premiere closes out the season in the Fall: Escaped Alone is a caustically funny and surreal afternoon of tea and calamity by celebrated British playwright Caryl Churchill. In a serene British garden three old friends are joined by a neighbor to engage in amiable chitchat — with a side of apocalyptic horror. The women’s talk of grandchildren and TV shows breezily intersperses with tales of terror in a quietly teetering world where all is not what it seems. In his Off-Broadway review for Escaped Alone, New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley hailed the play as “wondrous” and Caryl Churchill as “the most dazzlingly inventive living dramatist in the English language.”
Also coming up in 2020:
Forever Flamenco: The dancers, musicians and singers of the Fountain’s monthly serieswill continue to delight audiences throughout 2020. The Los Angeles Times hails Forever Flamenco as “the earth and fire of first-class flamenco,” and LA Splash says, “the way you feel when you walk out of a Forever Flamenco performance is pretty darn fabulous.”
Hollywood Dreams: CBS star and Fountain family member Simone Missick (All Rise) and Fountain board chair Dorothy Wolpert will be honored at the Fountain’s dazzling 30th AnniversaryGala at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday, June 27.
Walking the Beat Hollywood, a pioneering arts education program for inner city high school youth and police officers, will return for its second year this August.
The Candidate: The Fountain’s third annual celebrity reading at Los Angeles City Hall, a stage adaptation of the 1972 Academy Award-winning movie that starred Robert Redford as a young, straight-talking candidate for the U.S. Senate, is set for Thursday, Oct. 22. One night only.
For more information about the Fountain Theatre’s 2020 30th anniversary season, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com
Posted in Anniversary, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, flamenco, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Homeless, immigration, Jewish, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, racism, Social justice, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged 2020 Season, 30th Anniversary, An Octoroon, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Caryl Churchill, Dear Evan Hansen, Deborah Culver, Dorothy Wolpert, educational outreach, Escaped Alone, Forever Flamenco, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Hollywood Dreams, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, homeless, Human Interest Story, If I Forget, Jewish, journalism, Judith Moreland, Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Hall, racism, Rob Nagle, Robert Redford, Simon Levy, Simone Missick, Stephen Sachs, Steven Levenson, Tanya Alexander, The Candidate, theater, theatre, Walking the Beat, world premiere
Rob Nagle and Tanya Alexander in Human Interest Story.
by Gil Kaan
A stalwart member of the Los Angeles Theatre community, the multi-award-winning Rob Nagle will next be appearing on The Fountain Theatre stage in the world premiere of Stephen Sachs‘ HUMAN INTEREST STORY, opening February 15, 2020. Rob essays Andy Kramer, who just having been laid off, fabricates a letter to the editor; then, has to mastermind an elaborate charade to justify it. Rob’s HUMAN INTEREST STORY onstage accomplices include: Tanya Alexander, Richard Azurdia, Aleisha Force, James Harper, Matt Kirkwood and Tarina Pouncy.
The ever-busy Rob managed to find some time to answer a few of my queries.
What criteria do you look for in taking on a new role/character?
I try to keep a very open mind when I am first looking at a new role. I read the script, trying to keep my mind a tabula rasa, a blank slate, so that I do not have any preconceptions about what I am reading, and I can simply respond to the material. I want to see if it is a story that I would like to tell, and then I more closely examine if the character says things that I would like to say. It does not matter whether or not I agree with the character’s point of view; the story and the words just need to resonate for me. Once the part and the script have passed muster for me, I then consider the people involved in the project and the place where it will be performed. After that, I take a look at the pay. But it’s never really about the pay for me, it’s about the story.
What cosmic forces of creativity first brought you together with this new world premiere by Stephen Sachs?
The cosmic forces of creativity seem to work when you stay involved in the Los Angeles theatre community. I have admired Stephen’s work for many years now, and apparently he mine, as well. In January of 2018, he invited me to take part in a one-night-only reading of ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MENin the Council Chambers at Los Angeles City Hall. I believe that was our first creative foray together. In July of 2019, he asked me take part in an early read of HUMAN INTEREST STORY, then titled JANE DOE. I was reading a different role, but I loved what he was doing with this script.
If you were writing a letter of recommendation for Andy, what qualities of his would you emphasize?
His tenacity and strength of purpose. His empathy and his heart. His curiosity and searching nature. And his passion for telling stories.
What character flaws would you sugarcoat?
His pride. His ego. And the little boy who is still seeking his father’s approval.
What for you, Rob Nagle, would be the most satisfying thoughts/emotions audience leave The Fountain Theatre with after your HUMAN INTEREST STORY curtain call?
I hope all of our hearts grow a little bit while we’re all together experiencing this play. Maybe we’ll think a little differently about all those ideas we were so certain of when we walked in and sat down together, all the things we think we know about the world. I hope audiences feel an enlarged sense of compassion, greater understanding and deeper concern for their fellow human beings, no matter the color or gender or creed. We all tend to take care of our own circles of family and friends – but there are people out there who have been kicked out of their circles, or who have wandered out of them, or who have lost their connections to them. They are worthy of our care, of our attention, and even of our love. There are eight million stories in this naked city, and every homeless person you encounter can tell you one of them. I hope we start talking less, and listening a little more.
Get tickets to HUMAN INTEREST STORY
This post originally appeared on BroadwayWorld.com.
Posted in Acting, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Homeless, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, Social justice, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged acting, actor, All the President’s Men, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, homeless, homelessness, Human Interest Story, Los Angeles, new play, Rob Nagle, theater, theatre, world premiere
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Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Homeless, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, racism, Social justice, Theater, theatre
Tagged drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, homeless, Human Interest Story, James Harper, journalism, Los Angeles, new play, Rob Nagle, Stephen Sachs, Tanya Alexander, theater, theatre, world premiere
Rob Nagle and Tanya Alexander in “Human Interest Story.”
“The line between where you are now and sleeping in your car is much thinner than you think.” The Fountain Theatre presents the world premiere of a timely new play, written and directed by Stephen Sachs (Arrival & Departure, Citizen: An American Lyric, Bakersfield Mist), about homelessness, celebrity worship and the assault on American journalism. Human Interest Story opens at the Fountain on Feb. 15, where performances continue through April 5.
Set in the fast-moving world of new media, Human Interest Story chronicles the journey of newspaper columnist Andy Kramer, played by award-winning actor Rob Nagle (recent credits include Apple Season at Moving Arts andThe Judas Kiss at Boston Court). Suddenly laid off when a corporate takeover downsizes his paper — a print publication struggling for readers in changing times — Andy fabricates a letter to his column in retaliation. The letter, from an imaginary homeless woman named “Jane Doe” who announces she will kill herself on the 4th of July because of the heartless state of the world, goes viral, and Andy is forced to hire a homeless woman (Tanya Alexander — Mono/Poly at the Odyssey and Future Sex Inc. at the Lounge) to stand-in as the fictitious Jane. She becomes an overnight internet sensation and a national women’s movement is ignited.
According to Sachs, the play is about how contrary and opposing impulses can hide in the same human being. “A newspaper columnist, in the course of writing a human interest story on another individual, is forced to confront truths about himself,” he explains.
The cast also includes James Harper, previously seen at the Fountain in The Accomplices, as newspaper publisher Harold Cain. Playing multiple roles are Richard Azurdia (My Mañana Comes at the Fountain), Aleisha Force (Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at Virginia Shakes, Maggie in Dancing at Lughnasa at Barnstormers Theatre), Matt Kirkwood (Our Class at Son of Semele, The Goat or, who is Sylvia? at the LGBT Center) and Tarina Pouncy (Vendetta Chrome at Coeurage Theatre; Les Blancs at Rogue Machine; and The Old Settler at International City Theatre, for which she garnered an NAACP award).
The creative team for Human Interest Story includes scenic and video designer Matthew G. Hill; lighting designer Jennifer Edwards; composer and sound designer Peter Bayne; costume designer Shon LeBlanc; video hair and makeup designer Diahann McCrary; and prop master Michael Allen Angel. The production stage manager is Emily Lehrer,and the assistant stage manager is Nura Ferdowsi. Simon Levy, James Bennett and Deborah Culver produce for the Fountain Theatre. Producing underwriters include David and Mary Jo Volk; Laurel and Robert Silton; Lois Tandy; and Toby and Daniel Bernstein. The executive producer is Karen Kondazian.
The story was initially inspired by the 1941 Frank Capra classic film Meet John Doe.
Stephen Sachs is the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Fountain Theatre and the author of 15 plays. Recent work includes his Deaf/Hearing love story, Arrival & Departure (“Critic’s Choice,” Los Angeles Times); his stage adaptation of William Goldman’s screenplay for All the President’s Men, starring Bradley Whitford and Joshua Malina at L.A. City Hall; and his stage adaptation of Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric, which premiered at the Fountain Theatre and was remounted by Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. His play Bakersfield Mist is performed worldwide. Sachs’ screenplay Sweet Nothing in my Ear, based on his play, was made into a CBS TV movie starring Jeff Daniels and Marlee Matlin. As director, he is a two-time Ovation Award winner and was recently honored by the Los Angeles City Council for “his visionary contributions to the cultural life of Los Angeles.”
The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. The Fountain has won hundreds of awards, and Fountain projects have been seen across the U.S. and internationally. Recent highlights include all-star readings of Ms. Smith Goes to Washington and All the President’s Men at Los Angeles City Hall. The Fountain’s 2018 productions of The Chosen and Arrival & Departure each enjoyed months-long sold out runs and was named a Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choice.” The company’s recent West Coast premiere of Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cost of Living, was named to the Los Angeles Times’ “Best of 2018” list. This season, the Southern California premiere of Daniel’sHusband and the currently extended Los Angeles premiere of Between Riverside and Crazy were each named to multiple “Best of 2019” lists.
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Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Homeless, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, race, racism, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged actor, actress, Aleisha Force, director, Fountain Theatre, Human Interest Story, James Bennett, James Harper, Jennifer Edwards, Matt Kirkwood, Matthew G. Hill, Meet John Doe, new play, Peter Bayne, playwright, Richard Azurdia, Rob Nagle, Shon LeBlanc, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, Tanya Alexander, Tarina Pouncy, theater, theatre, world premiere
Playwright/Director Stephen Sachs shares his thoughts on the new play.
Here we go! A new year. A new season. Company members assembled on Tuesday for the first rehearsal of the upcoming world premiere of Human Interest Story, written and directed by Stephen Sachs. The riveting drama opens Feb 15.
The cast includes Tanya Alexander, Richard Azurdia, Aleisha Force, James Harper, Matt Kirkwood, Rob Nagle, Tarina Pouncy.
In Human Interest Story, Newspaper columnist Andy Kramer is laid off when a corporate takeover downsizes the City Chronicle. In retaliation, Andy fabricates a letter to his column from an imaginary homeless woman named “Jane Doe” who announces she will kill herself on the 4th of July because of the heartless state of the world. When the letter goes viral, Andy is forced to hire a homeless woman to stand-in as the fictitious Jane Doe. She becomes an overnight internet sensation and a national women’s movement is ignited.
Enjoy these photos!
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Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Aleisha Force, drama, Fountain Theatre, homelessness, Human Interest Story, James Harper, journalism, Lucy Pollak, new play, non-profit arts organization, Richard Azurdia, Rob Nagle, Stephen Sachs, Tanya Alexander, Tarina Pouncy, theater, theatre, world premiere
Among the many lessons learned in 2020, the most crucial may be our urgent need to have open and honest conversations about race in America. As the grisly video of George Floyd’s murder surfaced, it became painfully clear that we could not afford to look away. Protesters spilled into the streets of cities across the country with a powerful message: If we are silent about injustice, we are complicit.
Angie Kariotis, Program Facilitator and Curriculum Director for Walking the Beat Los Angeles, has devoted her work to fostering these difficult conversations. Kariotis, along with Fountain Theatre Board member Theo Perkins, created Walking the Beat as a tool for community building for high school students. The nine-week multi-media workshop combines performance, creative writing, film, and research to initiate positive interactions between youth and police.
The Arts Education program began in New Jersey in partnership with Elizabeth Youth Theatre Ensemble, and in 2019 the Fountain Theatre launched Walking the Beat Hollywood. This year, the Fountain expanded the program, making it possible for students and police officers outside Hollywood to participate. On August 25, the Fountain will screen Walking the Beat Los Angeles’ culminating multi-media presentation, BLACKOUT 2021.
I had the pleasure of talking to Kariotis about the evolution, impact, and future of this vital program.
–What kind of impact did the events of 2020 have on the students, based on your work with them this past month?
If we are scared as a nation, we will forget all the lessons hard learned. You can see it happening already. No one is talking about all the changes we want to keep. What do we want to keep? Instead of rushing to “normal” (which wasn’t!), 2020 necessitated an activation. We’re activated. One thing the students are is ready.
–Was it difficult getting the officers and students to open up?
No, it wasn’t difficult for anyone to open up, by themselves and with each other. People, and I believe most people, want to do just that. But they need permission and they don’t want to be alone doing it.
–How has the program evolved since its inception, particularly in the last year?
We got research-heavy this year. We turned this workshop into a popular education. We practiced critique and analysis. We studied. We grew into our work as research-based performance artists. We aimed to challenge public policy formally. We are working to move our practice into the theater that is public policy.
–How have your own background and experiences prepared you to do this?
I am studying design thinking and collaborative group processes. This framework is about divergent thinking, collaboration, experimentation, and honoring failure. Creativity — and not just the art-making transactional kind — is a necessary skill. We need people who are able to identify problems before they become problems.
–Who should see BLACKOUT 2021? Why?
Anyone who wants to know how to have hard conversations with others. People interested in learning how to get people to the table. How to talk about things no one knows how to talk about. Right now we all want to talk about a lot, but we don’t know how.
–What is your vision for the future of Walking the Beat and beyond?
For Walking the Beat, my vision is doing policy brief work, where we move beyond survivance and reconnect with the Earth. I wonder how our workshop can tackle the larger theme of power and how that affects our relationship with the planet. We talk about public safety. Do we have planetary safety? What does that mean? How is the way we treat each other impacting climate? This is the ethos moving me into this space and beyond.
* * *
It is this passion and progressive vision that have inspired the ensemble of students and officers to create work that is bold, brave, and charged with the urgency of this moment in our country. In addition to serving as Program Facilitator and Curriculum Director of Walking the Beat, Kariotis offers community workshops for parents on How to Raise Anti-Racist Kids, works at Brookdale Community College as Director of Diversity and Inclusion/CCOG, and has published a chapter in Musing the Margins, an anthology examining the influence of culture and identity on the craft of fiction.
BLACKOUT 2021 will premiere on the Fountain Theatre’s outdoor stage this Wednesday, August 25, at 7pm. It will also be available to view on Fountain Stream in the fall.
France-Luce Benson is an award-winning playwright and the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Fountain Theatre.
The Fountain Theatre is casting the lead role for its upcoming World Premiere of Fatherland, a new play conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. The riveting and powerful docu-drama opens February 22nd, 2024, and runs to March 30.
Fatherland tells the true story of a nineteen-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Fast-moving, stylized, and theatrical, it is verbatim theatre. All of it comes from public statements, case evidence, and the official court transcript.
NOW CASTING:
[SON] 19, sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength, determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned and brokenhearted by what his father has become. Seeking a skilled young actor with a deep emotional well who can carry the complex lead of a play.
Rehearsal starts January 23, 2024. Opens February 22, ends March 30. Performances Friday & Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, Monday 8pm.
Union Status: AEA. Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Contract ($20/hour).
Actors submit via Breakdown Services, Actors Access, or email: [email protected]
Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, audition, Fountain Theatre
Tagged actors, audition, Fatherland, Fountain Theatre, January 6, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere
The Fountain Theatre is casting the lead role for its upcoming World Premiere of Fatherland, a new play conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. The riveting and powerful docu-drama opens February 22nd, 2024, and runs to March 30.
Fatherland tells the true story of a nineteen-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Fast-moving, stylized, and theatrical, it is verbatim theatre. All of it comes from public statements, case evidence, and the official court transcript.
NOW CASTING:
[SON] 19, sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength, determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned and brokenhearted by what his father has become. Seeking a skilled young actor with a deep emotional well who can carry the complex lead of a play.
Rehearsal starts January 23, 2024. Opens February 22, ends March 30. Performances Friday & Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, Monday 8pm.
Union Status: AEA. Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Contract ($20/hour).
Actors submit via Breakdown Services, Actors Access, or email: [email protected]
Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, audition, Fountain Theatre
Tagged actors, audition, Fatherland, Fountain Theatre, January 6, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere
Posted in Acting, actors, African American, Central Avenue, Citizen: An American Lyric, Fountain Theatre, performing arts, playwright, playwriting, poem, poetry, The Ballad of Emmett Till
Tagged actors, Ben Bradley, Fountain Theatre, Ifa Bayeza, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, Shirley Jo Finney, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre
How do families stay together, even when they are kept apart? The Fountain Theatre presents a gripping new docudrama, a compilation of true stories that explores the rippling impact of mass deportations on families. The world premiere of Detained, written by The Lillys 2021 Lorraine Hansberry Award-winning playwright France-Luce Benson and directed by Mark Valdez, winner of the 2021 Zelda Fichandler Award, opens February 19 at the Fountain Theatre. Performances will continue through April 10, with three public previews taking place February 16, 17, and 18 at 8pm.
Originally commissioned by immigration attorney Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Detained is based on interviews with longtime U.S. residents held in immigration detention, and with their family members, advocates, attorneys and representatives of ICE. Inspired by their stories, Detained explores how families fight to stay together as increasingly cruel U.S. immigration legislation keeps them apart through mass deportations and immigration detention centers. It offers a heart-wrenching and in-depth look at the human lives behind the policies, and celebrates the strength and determination of the ordinary people who must fight against an unjust system while keeping their hope and faith in humanity intact.
“All of the stories in this play are true, and they are heartbreaking,” says Benson. “The more people I met, the more time I spent with them, the more important it became to tell their stories. When you go through trauma, you want to be seen, to be given a voice. My own family immigrated to America in the 1970s, and my father received a humanitarian award for the work he did at Krome Detention Center in the ’80s and ’90s. This is his story too, and a way for me to honor the sacrifices he made for us.”
Theodore Perkins in rehearsal for Detained.
When Rabinovitz first approached Benson, President Obama was still in office. Under his administration, more people were being deported than ever before. Since then, with harsher immigration legislation enacted under President Trump and the current Covid-19 health crisis, the situation for many immigrants has become ever more dire. As more stories of injustice persist and legislation changes, so does the play.“This play is a living document, and I’m constantly updating it,” Benson says. “People think that now that Biden is president, things are better. But thousands of people are still facing deportation every day. Many of these people have been living in this country for decades. They own houses, run businesses, pay taxes, have families.”Characters in the play include a teenage foodie aspiring “chef-lebrity,” a U.S. Veteran, and a mother of two who works as a roofer in New York City. Together, their collective voices weave a compelling and complicated tapestry.
Ensemble members, who play a range of roles, include Liana Aráuz, Camila Betancourt Ascencio, Christine Avila, Will Dixon, Jan Munroe, Theo Perkins, Marlo Su and Michael Uribes. The creative team includes scenic designer Sarah Krainin; lighting designer Christian V. Mejia; composer and sound designer Marc Antonio Pritchett; media designer Matt Soson; props designer Katelyn Lopez; and costume designer Jeanette Godoy. Movement choreography is by Annie Yee. The production stage manager is Anna Kupershmidt. Stephen Sachs, Simon Levy and James Bennett produce for the Fountain Theatre. Producing underwriters include the Phillips–Gerla Family and Donald and Suzanne Zachary. Executive producers are Miles Benickes and Diana Buckhantz.
Detained was developed, with a generous grant from the Miranda Family Foundation, at Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York under artistic director Billy Carden.
Detained opens February 19 and runs to April 10. Proof of both vaccination and booster will be required for admission. Patrons must be masked at all times in the theatre, except when actively eating or drinking in our upstairs indoor café/outdoor deck. Snug, surgical grade respirator masks (N-95/KN-95/KF-94) that cover both mouth and nose, are strongly encouraged, but blue surgical masks are acceptable. Cloth masks are no longer approved.
For reservations and information, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.
Tagged ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Anna Kupershmidt, Camila Betancourt Ascencio, Charles McNulty, Christian Mejia, Christine Avila, Deborah Culver, Diana Buckhantz, Donald and Suzanne Zachary, Eric Garcetti, Fountain Theatre, France-Luce Benson, James Bennett, Jan Monroe, Jeanette Godoy, Judy Rabinovitz, Katelyn Lopez, Liana Arauz, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Marc Antonio Pritchett, Mark Valdez, Marlo Su, Matt Soson, Michael Uribes, Miles Benickes, Miranda Family Foundation, new plays, Phillips-Gerla Family, Sarah Kranin, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, Theo Perkins, Will Dixon, world premiere
In between BLM protests and existential quarantine queries, writer/creator Larry Powell adapted his play The Gaze…No Homo (2020/2021 Eugene O’Neill NPC finalist) into a new media series. The Fountain Theatre’s new digital platform, Fountain Stream, has partnered with Powell and Angelica Robinson of Tell Me a Story Productions to present thisbold, funny episodic tragicomedy for our times, a 12-part, multi-platform online experience unlike anything audiences have seen before. The first three short-form episodes of The Gaze… No Homo will begin streaming on Friday, Nov. 20, with episodes four, five and six going online Friday, Nov. 27; episodes seven, eight and nine on Friday, Dec. 4; and the final three episodes becoming available on Friday, Dec. 11. Tickets are free at fountaintheatre.com/now-upcoming/the-gaze.
No Homo is the first in Powell’s The Gaze cycle of plays that examines the process of building culturally specific and queer works of color in certain historically white spaces. The story of an openly Black queer artist as he navigates the rehearsal process at a very white American theater festival, The Gaze tackles hard topics head on. It wrestles with the question, “Why strain to be free under a gaze fixed on your imprisonment, when it’s you who is holding the key?”
In episode one, we meet protagonist Jerome Price, played by Galen J. Williams (national touring and Broadway productions of Motown the Musical) as he arrives at the prestigious Evergreen Theatre Festival (“where the brightest and boldest new American voices are watered with wisdom, fed with fodder and nurtured with nourishment”). Evergreen interim artistic director Miranda Cryer (Sharon Lawrence of NYPD Blue, Dynasty, Shameless, The Ranch and much more) has always been an outspoken champion of diverse voices — including that of emerging, Black queer playwright Shaun Korey, played by Devere Rogers (My Spy and IFC’s Sherman’s Showcase). Relegated to Zoom by the pandemic, Cryer is directing the world premiere of Korey’s newest work, No Homo, but “artistic differences” between her and festival newbie Price threaten to blow up the process. Eugene Byrd (Dr. Clark Edison in Bones) and TC Carson (Living Single)star as Price’sfellow actors Kendrell Thompson and Buddy DuPois, each of whom has learned to navigate the hidden dangers and microaggressions of the entertainment business in his own way — as has long-time stage manager Sherry Grosse (Yvette Cason, original Broadway cast and feature film version of Dreamgirls) andgender-fluid ASM Tee (internet personality, actor and model Jason “Freckle” Greene).
Powell states, “In order to properly experience my own exodus of the decentralization of the white gaze in my creative work and reclaim my black ass imagination I had to stare the poison in the face and, through the telling of Jerome’s story, turn it into the medicine decolonization so fiercely provides. That I was able to make this piece in the summer of 2020 and share this piece that same summer and beyond is a divine triumph. A blessing standing on sacred ground and under one gaze only: the ancestral one. Thankful to any and all who make it possible for others to catch the vision.”
The creative team behind The Gaze… No Homo includes episode directors Joanna Strapp (episode 1), Larry Powell (episodes 2, 11 and 12), Zhailon Levingston (episode 3), Satya Bhabha (episode 4), Reginald L. Douglas (episode 5), Amber A Harris (episode 6), Jonathan McCrory (episode 7) and Bianca Laverne Jones (episodes 8 and 9); as well as editor Joey Scoma, composer Robert Revell, branding and graphic design artist Samia Zaidi, website designer Nick Ducassi, and co-producer Haley Rawson. The series is produced by producer/executive producers Angelica Robinson, Spencer Williams and Matt Lubetich, along with executive producers Larry Powell, Zhailon Levingston and Devere Rogers and executive producer/director of photography John Macdonald.
Larry Powell
Larry Powell is a writer, actor, director and producer born and raised in South Central L.A. As an actor, he’s originated and premiered roles in some of the most exciting new plays in America including The Christians by Lucas Hnath, The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez, Father Comes Home From The Wars by Suzan Lori Parks (opposite Sterling K. Brown), Brokeology by Nathan Louis Jackson, and he played the title role in While I Yet Live by Billy Porter. He is a two-time Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award-winner, and has been nominated for numerous Ovation, NAACP and San Francisco Bay Area theater awards as well as for Audelco and Audie awards. Larry is also a published playwright and professional screenwriter, with three plays scheduled to receive world premieres over the next two years. He is a core playwright at the Lark Play Development Center. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama, Larry is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts MFA Acting program. He is the founder and creative director of the Powell Academy of the Performing Arts, an arts organization providing high-performance training and resources to historically marginalized artists on the rise in the mainstream entertainment industry.
CLICK HERE To watch The Gaze… No Homo beginning Friday, Nov. 20.
Posted in actors, African American, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, performing arts, plays, playwright, racism, Theater, theatre
Tagged Angelica Robinson, Fountain Stream, Fountain Theatre, Galen J. Williams, Larry Powell, new plays, racism, Sharon Lawrence, Tell Me a Story Productions, The Gaze
by France-Luce Benson
Josh Wilder might be the most down to earth wunderkind I’ve ever met. Barely in his 30s, he is the winner of numerous awards including the Jerome Many Voices Fellowship, the Lorraine Hansberry Award, and Holland New Voices – among others. But the Philly native truly represents “brotherly love” – spending his time guiding and nurturing young writers, and developing his green thumb. Wilder is currently based here in Los Angeles, and graciously agreed to appear on this week’s Saturday Matinee. In this interview I learned that although he is an Angeleno at the moment, his Philly roots are firmly intact.
FLB: Philadelphia is a recurring character in many of your plays. What about the city inspires you?
Everything! The murals; the culture; the accent; you can walk anywhere and find a story. Philly is a city of rowhomes with thin walls, so ear-hustling was the everyday. THE LOVE. We really are “The City of Brotherly Love”. Most importantly, it’s the attitude. Philly is an attitude, and everybody you know from Philly got one! PHILLY ALL DAY, BABY!
FLB: I understand you’re based in Los Angeles now. How long have you been here and what has the transition from east to west coast been like for you?
I’ve been here since April. The transition has been very smooth. I love that I can escape to the beach and just think. There’s something about the ocean…
FLB: What do you miss most about Philly?
The food. I want a mushroom cheesesteak with friend onions from Max’s so bad…. Water ice and soft pretzels; the Reading Terminal; block parties in the summertime. Sitting on the porch with my brother.
FLB: I read that you started as an actor? Does that inform your writing process? Do you have any desire to return to acting?
Yes, my favorite playwrights are actors. My writing process is actor focused—being in the room with actors is the ultimate experience. Better than the actual run of the show. There’s so much magic in the room that I never want to leave my side of the table. I don’t have a strong desire to return to acting— I really love being in my lane.
FLB: What was the very first play you ever wrote?
My very first play I wrote and produced was called Michael’s Testimony. I was in my senior year at the Creative and Performing Arts High School. I’ll never forget how the audience left the theater that night.
FLB: In addition to the Pandemic, we (Black and Brown folx) are in the midst of an uprising while simultaneously continuing to see our people suffer at the hands of police brutality. How have you been processing all of this? Do you feel that it has fueled/informed/or radicalized your work in any way?
ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I LOVE BEING BLACK. I WAS BORN BLACK, I’MA DIE BLACK, AND I’MA CONTINUE BEING BLACK NO MATTER HOW HARD THESE EVIL-ASS PEOPLE TRY AND THAT’S ON THAT. MY GOD AND MY ANCESTORS GOT ME. MY PRESIDENT WILL ALWAYS BE BARACK OBAMA.
FLB: Lol! Agreed!!
FLB: What’s been keeping you sane?
My teaching. As soon as COVID-19 shut the country down—everything changed for me. I was let go from a teaching position in Atlanta just as I was getting the hang of Zoom. Once that happened, I packed up my apartment, got in my car, drove to LA and I set up shop by starting a Playwrights Workshop in April. So far I’ve connected with over 40+ playwrights around the country and the world! I’ve never worked with so many Black and POC playwrights in my whole teaching career—90% women. These women keep me sane– they’re gonna be the ones to watch when the theater reopens. I also became a Plant Daddy J
FLB: What gives you hope? Knowing that the sun is shining, and the sky is blue.
France-Luce Benson is a playwright, the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Fountain Theatre, and host of the livestream programSaturday Matinees.
Posted in African American, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Black Lives Matter, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Livestream, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, Online, performing arts, plays, playwright, racism, Theater, theatre
Tagged Black Lives Matter, Fountain Theatre, France-Luce Benson, Josh Wilder, Los Angeles, new plays, Philadelphia, playwright, playwrighting, Saturday Matinees, theater, theatre
Jon Lawrence Rivera
Playwrights Arena Founding Artistic Director Jon Lawrence Rivera joins Stephen Sachs on Theatre Talk next Wed July 22 @ 4pm PT/7pm ET. They’ll chat about Playwrights Arena, Jon’s process as a director, and his advocacy for diversity and antiracism awareness in our LA theatre community.
JON LAWRENCE RIVERA is the recipient of the first Career Achievement Award from Stage Raw. Most recently, Rivera directed the following critically-acclaimed world premieres for Playwrights’ Arena: SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, BABY EYES by Donald Jolly, I GO SOMEWHERE ELSE by Inda Craig-Galván, LITTLE WOMEN by Velina Hasu Houston, BILLY BOY by Nick Salamone, THE HOTEL PLAY (performed in an actual hotel), BLOODLETTING by Boni B. Alvarez (also at Kirk Douglas Theatre), @THESPEEDOFJAKE by Jennifer Maisel, CIRCUS UGLY by Gabe Rivas Gomez, PAINTING IN RED by Luis Alfaro, and THE ANATOMY OF GAZELLAS by Janine Salinas Schoenberg. Other recent works include: AMERICA ADJACENT by Boni B. Alvarez, BINGO HALL by Dillon Chitto, FAIRLY TRACEABLE by Mary Kathryn Nagle, OBAMA-OLOGY by Aurin Squire, CRIERS FOR HIRE by Giovanni Ortega, STAND-OFF AT HWY #37 by Vicky Ramirez, FLIPZOIDS by Ralph B. Peña (also in Manila). Recipient of a NY Fringe Festival Award, an LA Weekly Award, and a five-time Ovation Award nominee, Rivera is the founding artistic director of Playwrights’ Arena, dedicated to discovering, nurturing and producing bold new works for the stage written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights.
Jon’s comments on inclusion and diversity in the Los Angeles Theatre Community were recently included in this LA Times feature by Charles McNulty.
Theatre Talk is the Fountain Theatre’s livestream conversation program hosted by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs, engaging theatermakers, theatergoers and theater-thinkers. Live on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Zoom and seen here on our website.
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Posted in artist, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged advocacy, diversity, Fountain Theatre, Jon Lawrence Rivera, Los Angeles, new plays, Playwrights Arena, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, Theatre Talk
The Fountain Theatre is pleased to announce a grant award from the Shubert Foundation in the amount of $25,000 for general operating support to the organization. The Shubert Foundation provides grants only to organizations that have an established artistic and administrative track record, as well as a history of fiscal responsibility.
The award marks the fourth consecutive year that the Fountain Theatre has received support from the Shubert Fountain. Each year the award amount has increased.
“We are very pleased and proud of our association with the Shubert Foundation,” commented Fountain Co-Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. “The Shubert name is synonymous with excellence in the American Theatre. We sincerely thank the Shubert Foundation for its ongoing support.”
The Shubert Foundation is especially interested in providing support to professional resident theatre companies that develop and produce new American work.
“We want to help lift some of the financial burden,” said Foundation Chairman, Philip J. Smith. “So that the companies we support are able to focus on producing thought-provoking, relevant work for the widest possible audience.”
This year, The Shubert Foundation has awarded a record total of $30 million to 533 not-for-profit performing arts organizations across the nation. This marks the 38th consecutive year that the Foundation has increased its giving. The Shubert Foundation, Inc., was established in 1945 by Lee and J.J. Shubert, in memory of their brother Sam. Since the establishment of the Shubert Foundation grants program in 1977, over $443 million has been awarded to not-for-profit arts organizations throughout the United States.
Posted in Art, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, grants, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged arts, arts organization, award, Fountain Theatre, grant, Los Angeles, new plays, Philip J. Smith, Shubert Foundation, Shubert organization, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre
George Roland, Paul Burt and Anna Baumgarten read “Eldritch” at Fountain Theatre.
Monsters Are Made by Hannah C. Langley was voted by audience members as the Round 2 winner in last week’s 5th Annual ‘Rapid Development Series for Young Writers. In Langley’s play, Ricki is faced with a difficult set of questions when Hunter, her rapist and former friend, forces his way back into her life a year after he’s declared not guilty in the court of public opinion.
As the winning script, Monsters Are Made will receive a professional staged reading at the Fountain Theatre later this month.
Langley explains the journey of writing Monsters Are Made:
After years of telling the story of my own “bad experience” with a former friend in a hotel room as a short comic anecdote, I realized that it was anything but funny. It was terrifying, but the only way I could process that level of betrayal for a long time was by rewriting it, sanitizing it, making it into something you could talk about at a party. What I really needed to do (and what I’ve tried to do with this play) was keep rewriting it—researching and raising the stakes—until the story wasn’t about what happened to me anymore. It needed to be someone else’s. It needed to be Ricki’s and it needed to be Hunter’s. And, I hope, even though it’s no longer my story, it’s a more truthful one.”
Playwright Hannah Langley outside the Fountain Theatre.
Hannah C. Langley is an emerging playwright, screen and television writer from Valencia, California. Her plays approach political topics on a personal scale. With a mix of magic and modern technology, Langley creates protagonists who are young, female-identifying, and on the verge of finding themselves. Her USC thesis play, Losing My Religion (in 140 Characters or Less), received a workshop production at USC, staged readings at Cypress College and the Pasadena Playhouse, and was recorded as a podcast by At the Table: A Play Reading Series, featuringBroadway’s Abby Church, Max Crumm, Aneesh Sheth, and Tony nominee Isabel Keating. The play has since earned semifinalist status in both The Road and Sanguine Theatre NYC’s summer play festivals.
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Created and produced in 2014 by James Bennett and Jessica Broutt, The Fountain Theatre’s Rapid Development Series is designed to showcase the work of previously unproduced, Los Angeles-based playwrights under the age of 30.
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Posted in arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, Outreach Program, performing arts, plays, playwright, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Hannah C. Langley, James Bennett, Jessica Broutt, Monsters Are Made, new plays, playwright, Rapid Development Series, theater, theatre
The Fountain Theatre has announced a 2019-20 season of vibrant, thought-provoking, fresh and funny new work by a diverse group of playwrights, each of whom explores important social and cultural issues from a wholly unique perspective.
Over the course of 16 months, the company will offer up a series of Los Angeles, California, Southern California, West Coast and world premieres that tackle questions of politics, racism, gun control, human rights, cultural identity and more.
“Our 2019-20 season is our most ambitious ever,” says Fountain co-artistic director Stephen Sachs. “It perfectly reflects who and what we are as a theater organization. It’s a season of diversity, a rich mixture of new plays representing a wide variety of communities. Our goal is for Los Angeles to see itself on our stage, and this season certainly offers that.”
Details of the Fountain Theatre’s 2019-20 season are as follows:
Hype Manby Idris Goodwin
West Coast premiere. In Idris Goodwin’s “break beat play,” a diverse hip-hop trio is on the verge of making it big on national TV when a police shooting of a Black teen shakes the band to its core, forcing them to confront questions of race, gender, privilege and when to use artistic expression as an act of social protest. Winner, 2018 Elliot Norton Award. Directed by Deena Selenow. Feb. 23 – April 14, 2019
Daniel’s Husband by Michael McKeever
Southern California premiere.Michael McKeever’s witty, passionate, funny and, ultimately, heartrending play takes an unflinching look at how we choose to tie the knot — or not. Daniel and Mitchell are the perfect couple. What isn’t so perfect is that Daniel desperately longs to be married, but Mitchell doesn’t believe in it. Then, a life-altering event forces both men to realize that, even in an enlightened society, the denial of fundamental rights leads to devastating results. Starring Bill Brochtrup, Tim Cummings and Jenny O’Hara; directed by Simon Levy. May 4 – June 23, 2019
Hannah and the Dread Gazebo by Jiehae Park
California premiere. Hannah is two weeks away from becoming a board-certified neurologist when she receives a strange package from her grandmother, who may—or may not—have just ended her life in a most flamboyant fashion. The mystery leads Hannah and her family on a surreal, funny, heartbreaking adventure back to their roots in South and North Korea and the forbidden Demilitarized Zone that divides them. Wildly theatrical, Jiehae Park’s startling new comedy twists together creation myths and family histories to explore what it means to walk the edge between cultures. July 13 – Sept 1, 2019
Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Los Angeles premiere. You can’t beat City Hall, but you can try. In this darkly comic, 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Stephen Adly Guirgis, ex-cop and recent widower Walter ‘Pops’ Washington has made a home for his newly paroled son in his sprawling, rent-controlled Riverside Drive apartment. But now the NYPD is demanding his signature to close an outstanding lawsuit, the landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed, and the church is on his back — leaving Pops somewhere between Riverside… and crazy. Sept. 21 – Nov. 10, 2019
Jane Doe by Stephen Sachs
World premiere. In this contemporary retelling of the 1941 Frank Capra classic film Meet John Doe adapted by Fountain Theatre co-artistic director Stephen Sachs (Cyrano, Arrival & Departure, Citizen: An American Lyric), a newspaper writer fabricates a letter to his column from an imaginary homeless woman named “Jane Doe” who announces she will kill herself on the 4th of July because of greedy corporations, corrupt politicians and how hostile and heartless the world has become. When the writer hires a woman to stand-in as the fictitious “Jane”, a national movement is ignited by citizens aching for a savior. Jan. 18 – March 8, 2020
If I Forget by Steven Levenson
Los Angeles premiere. Simon Levy directs this powerful tale of a Jewish family and a culture at odds with itself by Steven Levenson (book-writer of the hit musical Dear Evan Hansen). Michael is a liberal Jewish studies professor reuniting with his two sisters to celebrate their father’s 75th birthday. A political and deeply personal play about history, responsibility, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for a new beginning, told with vicious humor and unflinching honesty. If I Forget was a New York Times “Critic’s Pick,” while DC Metro calls it “one of the greatest Jewish plays of this century.” March 28 – May 17, 2020
In addition, the Fountain will continue to offer its acclaimed Forever Flamenco dance series every month.
The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. The Fountain has won hundreds of awards, and Fountain projects have been seen across the U.S. and internationally. Recent highlights include being honored for its acclaimed 25th Anniversary Season in 2015 by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles City Council; the inclusion of the Fountain’s Citizen: An American Lyric in Center Theatre Group’s Block Party at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and again, last year, as the centerpiece of Our L.A. Voices at Grand Park; and an all-star reading of All The President’s Men at Los Angeles City Hall. The Fountain’s 2018 productions of The Chosen and Arrival & Departure each enjoyed months-long sold out runs and were named Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choices.” The company’s most recent production, the West Coast premiere of Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Cost of Living, was named to the Los Angeles Times’ “Best of 2018” list by theater critic Charles McNulty, who called the Fountain “on par with the Mark Taper Forum and Geffen Playhouse at their best. The Fountain Theatre’s production of Majok’s ‘Cost of Living’ confirmed just how indispensable 99-seat theaters still are to a healthy theater ecology.”
For more information about the Fountain Theatre’s 2019-20 season, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.
Posted in Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre
Tagged Between Riverside and Crazy, Bill Brochtrup, Daniel’s Husband, Fountain Theatre, Frank Capra, Hannah and the Dread Gazebo, hip hop, Hype Man, Idris Goodwin, If I Forget, Jane Doe, Jenny O’Hara, Jihae Park, Korea, Los Angeles, Meet John Doe, Michael McKeever, new plays, season, Simon Levy, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Stephen Sachs, Steven Levenson, theater, theatre, Tim Cummings
Deborah Lawlor and Stephen Sachs
Fountain friends, longtime and new, enjoyed an unforgettable afternoon Sunday at the magnificent Hollywood apartment of actress and Fountain board member Karen Kondazian. Delicious middle eastern fare from Adana was served to thirty invited special guests who marveled at Karen’s extraordinary home, the panoramic view of Hollywood, and chatted about the achievements and future of the Fountain Theatre.
The afternoon salon was organized so distinguished friends and supporters of the Fountain could stay connected with the theatre and each other. New colleagues and associates from the Los Angeles business and arts communities were introduced to the Fountain’s inner circle. And the Fountain unveiled a new level of sponsorship, the Artistic Directors Circle, for elite donors who underwrite specific plays or programs or an entire season.
Fountain Co-Artistic Directors Deborah Lawlor and Stephen Sachs were joined by Producing Director Simon Levy, Associate Producer James Bennett and Director of Development Barbara Goodhill.
“Diversity sits at the heart of our artistic mission,” said Sachs. “When Deborah and I founded the Fountain back in 1990, it was to offer an artistic home for theatre and dance artists, of all backgrounds, to create and develop new work that reflects the cultural diversity of our city and our nation. The Fountain Theatre sits in the center of District 13, the most ethnically and culturally diverse district in Los Angeles. 32 languages are spoken at the local high school.
“Our programing is community-driven. When we think about putting a season together, we ask ourselves which community needs to be served? Which cultural, religious or ethnic group is struggling with an issue that needs to be dramatized? Who’s voice needs to be heard?”
The 2017-18 Fountain Theatre season includes the world premiere of Building the Wall by Robert Schenkkan, Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, the world premiere of Runaway Home by Jeremy Kamps, the world premiere of Freddie by Deborah Lawlor, the stage adaption of The Chosen by Chaim Potok, and the world premiere of Arrival and Departure by Stephen Sachs performed in Spoken English and American Sign Language.
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Fountain Board members Dorothy Wolpert, Karen Kondazian, Dick Motika, Jerrie Witfield, Don Zachary, and Oscar Arslanian welcomed guests Nyla Arslanian, Miles and Joni Benickes, Lorraine Evanoff, Bennard Gillison, Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, Lucinda Cowell and Ron Michaelson, Victoria Meyers, Bonnie Nijist and Arthur Zeesman, Jacqueline Schultz, Mark Stankevich, Ron and Elaine Stein, , and Stanley Wolpert.
Stephen Sachs and Deborah Lawlor spoke to the group, reviewing the recent accomplishments of the Fountain Theatre, its fundraising goals, and outlining the upcoming 2017-18 season. They expressed the artistic heart and soul of the company and its dedication to diversity and inclusion by serving a wide variety of communities throughout Los Angeles. And they articulated the challenges and objectives moving forward, describing the Fountain as an essential treasure on the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. And declared that the Fountain’s longtime dedication to diversity was essential in these turbulent times.
“We are an immigrant nation, ” stated Sachs. “Los Angeles is a world city, rich with the multi-colored fabric of diversity. At this moment in history, now more than ever, it is crucial that the Fountain Theatre maintain its mission of diversity and inclusion and community focus, where people from all backgrounds are seen on our stage and in our audiences.”
“The Fountain Theatre may be small in size, ” he concluded. “But we are large in vision, in purpose, and in our commitment to creating and producing meaningful work that has the power to change lives.”
Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, Fountain Theatre, fundriaser, Hollywood, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, Theater, theatre
Tagged Arthur Zeesman, Barbara Goodhill, Bennard Gillison, Bonnie Nijist, Daniel Greenberg, Deborah Lawlor, Dick Motika, diversity, Don Zachary, Dorothy Wolpert, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, immigration, Jacqueline Schultz, James Bennett, Jerrie Whitfield, Joni Benikes, Karen Kondazian, Lorraine Evanoff, Los Angeles, mark Stankevich, Miles Benickes, new plays, Nyla Arslanian, Oscar Arslanian, season, Simon Levy, Stanley Wolpert, Susan Steinhauser, Suzanne Zachary, theater, theatre
The Fountain Theatre is casting the lead role for its upcoming World Premiere of Fatherland, a new play conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. The riveting and powerful docu-drama opens February 22nd, 2024, and runs to March 30.
Fatherland tells the true story of a nineteen-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Fast-moving, stylized, and theatrical, it is verbatim theatre. All of it comes from public statements, case evidence, and the official court transcript.
NOW CASTING:
[SON] 19, sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength, determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned and brokenhearted by what his father has become. Seeking a skilled young actor with a deep emotional well who can carry the complex lead of a play.
Rehearsal starts January 23, 2024. Opens February 22, ends March 30. Performances Friday & Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, Monday 8pm.
Union Status: AEA. Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Contract ($20/hour).
Actors submit via Breakdown Services, Actors Access, or email: [email protected]
Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, audition, Fountain Theatre
Tagged actors, audition, Fatherland, Fountain Theatre, January 6, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere
The Fountain Theatre is casting the lead role for its upcoming World Premiere of Fatherland, a new play conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. The riveting and powerful docu-drama opens February 22nd, 2024, and runs to March 30.
Fatherland tells the true story of a nineteen-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Fast-moving, stylized, and theatrical, it is verbatim theatre. All of it comes from public statements, case evidence, and the official court transcript.
NOW CASTING:
[SON] 19, sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength, determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned and brokenhearted by what his father has become. Seeking a skilled young actor with a deep emotional well who can carry the complex lead of a play.
Rehearsal starts January 23, 2024. Opens February 22, ends March 30. Performances Friday & Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, Monday 8pm.
Union Status: AEA. Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Contract ($20/hour).
Actors submit via Breakdown Services, Actors Access, or email: [email protected]
This entry was posted in Acting, actors, Arts, audition, Fountain Theatre and tagged actors, audition, Fatherland, Fountain Theatre, January 6, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere. Bookmark the permalink.
The Fountain Theatre is casting the lead role for its upcoming World Premiere of Fatherland, a new play conceived and directed by Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. The riveting and powerful docu-drama opens February 22nd, 2024, and runs to March 30.
Fatherland tells the true story of a nineteen-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI because of his dad’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Fast-moving, stylized, and theatrical, it is verbatim theatre. All of it comes from public statements, case evidence, and the official court transcript.
NOW CASTING:
[SON] 19, sensitive, bright, and soft-spoken. His gentle demeanor does not diminish his inner strength, determination. A liberal-minded socialist, his progressive beliefs fly against his father’s extreme right-wing manifesto. Emotionally and morally torn, he’s stunned and brokenhearted by what his father has become. Seeking a skilled young actor with a deep emotional well who can carry the complex lead of a play.
Rehearsal starts January 23, 2024. Opens February 22, ends March 30. Performances Friday & Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm, Monday 8pm.
Union Status: AEA. Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Contract ($20/hour).
Actors submit via Breakdown Services, Actors Access, or email: [email protected]
Casting is complete and rehearsals begin this week for the Los Angeles premiere of a radical, incendiary and subversively funny Obie award-winning play by MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” recipient Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Performances of An Octoroon will inaugurate the new outdoor stage at The Fountain Theatre on June 18. Performances will continue through Sept. 19, with four public previews set for June 11, June 12, June 13 and June 16, and a special press preview on June 17.
Judith Moreland directs Jacobs-Jenkins’s outrageous deconstruction of a moustache-twirling melodrama by 19th century playwright Dion Boucicault. Matthew Hancock (LADCC, Stage Raw and Ovation award-winner for Hit the Wall at the L.A. LGBT Center, previously seen at the Fountain in Between Riverside and Crazy, Hype Man, The Brothers Size, I and You) stars as a modern-day Black playwright struggling to find his voice among a chorus of people telling him what he should and should not be writing. He decides to adapt his favorite play, Boucicault’s The Octoroon, an 1859 melodrama about illicit interracial love.
The Black playwright quickly realizes that getting White, male actors of today to play evil slave owners will not be easy… so, he decides to play the White male roles himself — in whiteface. What ensues is an upside down, topsy-turvy world where race and morality are challenged, mocked and savagely intensified. A highly stylized, theatrical, melodramatic reality is created to tell the story of an octoroon woman (a person who is one-eighth Black) and her quest for identity and love.
The cast includes Rob Nagle (Human Interest Story at the Fountain, The Judas Kiss at Boston Court) as Boucicault; Hazel Lozano (America Adjacent at the Skylight, Othello at Griot Theatre) as the production assistant; Mara Klein (The Judas Kiss at Boston Court, Sucker Punch at Coeurage) as the octoroon, Zoe; and Vanessa Claire Stewart (Louis & Keely: Live at the Sahara at the Geffen, Finks at Rogue Machine) as Dora, a rich Southern belle in love with the plantation owner (who is also played by Hancock). Meanwhile, Leea Ayers (BLKS at Steppenwolf, Incendiary at the Goodman Theatre), Kacie Rogers (NAACP award-winner for No Place to be Somebody at Robey Theatre Company and An Accident at Griot Theatre Company; The Heal at Getty Villa) and Pam Trotter (And Her Hair Went With Her at the Fountain, national tour of The Color Purple) portray three startlingly modern slave women.
An Octoroon brutally satirizes racial stereotypes in a funny and profoundly tragic whirlwind of images and dialogue that forces audiences to look at, laugh at, and be shattered by America’s racist history.
“The more you experience this play, the more it turns into something else,” says Moreland. “It’s an extraordinary piece of theater — hilarious, but also shocking, profound, moving… and designed to provoke and offend. We have a terrific group of actors who are completely game and up for the challenge. It’s a celebration of how theater can both move you and change lives.”The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellows Program, commonly but unofficially known as the “Genius Grant,” awards no strings attached cash prizes to individuals who demonstrate “extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” The website described Jacobs-Jenkins as “a playwright [who draws] from a range of contemporary and historical theatrical genres to engage frankly with complicated issues around identity, family, class and race. Many of Jacobs-Jenkins’s plays use a historical lens to satirize and comment on modern culture, particularly the ways in which race and class are negotiated in both private and public settings. Although the provocation of his audience is purposeful, Jacobs-Jenkins’s creation of unsettling, shocking, often confrontational moments is not gratuitous; these elements are of a piece with the world he has established on stage and in the service of the story he is telling.”
The Fountain Theatre creative team includes scenic designer Frederica Nascimento, lighting designer Derrick McDaniel, sound designer Marc Antonio Pritchett, video designer Nicholas E. Santiago, costume designer Naila Aladdin Sanders; prop master Michael Allen Angel; choreographer Annie Yee; fight director Jen Albert; and dramaturg Dr. Daphnie Sicré. The production stage manager is Emily Lehrer, assistant stage manager is Deena Tovar, and production manager for the Fountain’s outdoor stage is Shawna Voragen. Stephen Sachs and Simon Levy co-produce for the Fountain Theatre, and the associate producer is James Bennett. Barbara Herman and Susan Stockel are executive producers.
The Fountain’s outdoor stage is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Karen Kondazian, Barbara Herman, the Vladimir and Araxia Buckhantz Foundation, Rabbi Anne Brener, Carrie Chassin and Jochen Haber, Miles and Joni Benickes, and the Phillips-Gerla Family.
The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. The Fountain has won hundreds of awards, and Fountain projects have been seen across the U.S. and internationally.
An Octoroon runs June 18 through Sept.19, with performances on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays at 7 p.m., except Saturday, June 19, which will be at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a special Juneteenth event, and July 30 through Aug. 2 and Aug. 27 through Aug. 30 which will be dark. Four preview performances will take place on June 11, June 12, June 13 and June 16 at 7 p.m. There will be one press preview on Thursday, June 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $25–$45; Pay-What-You-Want seating is available every Monday night in addition to regular seating (subject to availability). The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles.For reservations and information, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.
Posted in Acting, actors, African American, An Octoroon, casting, designers, director, Diversity, Donors, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Outdoor Stage, race, racism, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Annie Yee, Barbara Herman, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Carrie Chassin, Deena Tovar, Derrick McDaniel, Dr. Daphnie Sicre, Emily Lehrer, Frederica Nascimento, Hazel Lozano, James Bennett, Jen Albert, Jochen Haber, Joni Benikes, Judith Moreland, Juneteenth, Kacie Rogers, Karen Kondazian, Leea Ayers, Mara Klein, Marc Antonio Pritchett, Matthew Hancock, Michael Allen Angel, Miles Benickes, Naila Aladdin Sanders, Nicholas E. Santiago, Pam Trotter, Phillips-Gerla Family, Rabbi Anne Brener, Rob Nagle, Shawna Voragen, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, Susan Stockel, Vanessa Claire Stewart, Vladimir and Araxia Buckhantz Foundation
Stage Managers Deena Tovar and Emily Lehrer, “Arrival & Departure,” Fountain Theatre
You may know that the Fountain Theatre’s smash hit world premiere, Arrival & Departure, is highlighted as Critic’s Choice in the Los Angeles Times, has earned rave reviews everywhere, and has been delighting audiences in sold-out houses since it opened in July. What you don’t know is that the magical mixture of lights, video, sound, music and open captioning is operated by only two stage managers in the booth — executing the play’s 3,500 technical cues in a fast-paced running time of 90 minutes. How do they do it?
Production Stage Manager Emily Lehrer and Assistant Stage Manager Deena Tovar make an excellent team. They share years of professional experience between them but Arrival & Departure marks the first time they have worked together. It’s also the first time they’ve managed a cast of Deaf and hearing actors.
“There was a learning curve on the American Sign Language front, for sure,” admits Emily. “That being said, everyone has been so helpful and supportive as I fumbled my way through.”
Deena echoes the same enthusiasm. “This has been an amazing experience. Everyone involved with the show are truly remarkable and supportive. Even with my signing skills — or rather the lack thereof — everyone made sure I was learning.”
“I really want to start studying ASL more seriously,” adds Emily. “It’s a gorgeous language, and as a Stage Manager, communication is at the heart of everything I do. So having that asset in my communication toolbox would be amazing.”
Emily Lehrer is from Los Angeles and has worked as Production Stage Manager on several plays at the Fountain Theatre. She has also stage managed for The Latino Theatre Company, The Garry Marshall Theatre, The Odyssey Theatre, Sacred Fools, and at Universal Studios Hollywood. Deena grew up in Eagle Rock. She has worked as a Stage Manager all over Los Angeles at such companies as Circle X, Open Fist, Casa0101, Shakespeare Center of LA and many more.
“The Fountain is a great place to work,” Deena beams. “It really is like a family. Anything I need is almost always available. Everyone is here to support the art and you can really feel that when you walk in every day.”
They clearly enjoy working together and make a kick-ass team in the booth and in the rehearsal room. What makes them such a dynamic duo?
“Complimentary skill sets, ” says Emily. “Honestly, a lot of it comes from Deena also being a great PSM, and because she knows how to think like a PSM, she is able to anticipate needs and fill in the gaps beautifully. It also doesn’t hurt that we enjoy each other’s company as people. Having team members you genuinely enjoy working with is a gift, and it makes every aspect of the process go more smoothly and easily.”
Deena agrees. “We both absolutely love our jobs as Stage Managers. We don’t come to work wishing we were doing something else, we walk in knowing we are working in our dream profession. It also helps that we both have very similar styles of stage managing and from that we are able to predict exactly what is needed before it’s said out loud.”
When Deena first read Stephen Sachs‘ script for Arrival & Departure, and its blend of both Deaf and hearing actors in a production that mixes lights, sound, music, video and open captioning, she was unsure how it would all come together.
“I originally felt it would be difficult for the audience to keep up with everything going on,” she admits. “But during the rehearsal process my concerns were very quickly extinguished. I saw exactly how each word and each scene had to be portrayed to make sure no one was missing out on any moment.” Emily agrees. “I am so thrilled with the way it turned out.”
Both have been blown away by the audience reaction.
“It has been such a balm to see how audiences have responded to the show, ” says Emily. “Especially our Deaf audiences, as they realized with utter joy that this is a production created with them in mind.”
“The audiences have loved it, ” exclaims Deena. “They really enjoy the way the show captures both the Deaf and hearing experiences. I love looking at the audience during intense moments and seeing their reactions. My personal favorite was the reaction of these two women sitting in the front row. Just as the characters Sam and Emily are about to kiss, the two women grabbed each other and shook their heads like they wanted to yell out, “don’t do it!”
Both Emily and Deena feel the play — how it was conceived and the way it is performed — serves a valuable purpose.
“This production is truly important because it incorporates elements of sign language, captioning and spoken English, ” Deena explains. “This show isn’t only for one audience. It is open for everyone. Everyone can watch and relate. That kind of inclusion is sadly lacking in the entertainment industry.”
“We live in weird, difficult, and downright terrifying times,” states Emily. “Times where hatred, bigotry, and closed mindedness are becoming the new normal. In times like these, creating art is an act of resistance. Creating art that is, by design, inclusive, a celebration of a woman coming into her own, a love story — is nothing short of revolutionary. “
And now that the celebrated run is soon reaching its final performance?
“I got to meet some of the funniest, most energetic, and kind-hearted people, ” Deena confesses. “It really has been an excellent experience.”
“It has been such a beautiful, hopeful reminder of what we can be when we open our arms and our hearts to those who may on the surface appear different than us,” states Emily. “I will cherish it.”
Arrival & Departure ends September 30.
Posted in actors, Art, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Deaf, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre
Tagged actors, American Sign Language, Arrival & Departure, ASL, deaf, Deena Tovar, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, stage manager, Stephen Sachs
Baby Doll tech rehearsal
It happens so often at tech rehearsal. And yet, each time it happens, it feels like the first. That magic moment when the colored lights are turned on the first time, the sound is turned up, the costumes are put on, the props are placed in hand. Suddenly the weeks of hard work in the empty rehearsal room blossom to life as the design elements add their wonder. This happened, this week, in tech rehearsals for our upcoming West Coast Premiere of Tennessee Williams’ Baby Doll. It opens July 29.
The cast worked through their cues under the watchful eyes of lighting designer Ken Booth, set designer Jeff McLaughlin, sound designer/composer Peter Bayne, costume designer Terri A. Lewis and props designer Terri Roberts, all under the guidance of production stage manager Emily Lehrer and director Simon Levy.
The meticulous process of technical rehearsals — when light & sound cues are painstakingly timed and drilled — can be tedious. But the end result can be marvelous. As was the case this week with Baby Doll. It’s going to be a beautiful production.
Enjoy these snapshots from tech rehearsal. You’ll be dazzled when you see the finished production.
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Posted in designers, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Tennessee Williams, Theater, theatre
Tagged actors, arts organizations, baby doll, costume design, Daniel Bess, drama, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, Jeff McLaughlin, John Prosky, Ken Booth, lighting design, Lindsay LaVanchy, Los Angeles, performing arts, Peter Bayne, plays, Rehearsal, set design, Simon Levy, sound design, stage adaptation, technical rehearsal, Tennessee Williams, Terri A. Lewis, Terri Roberts, theater, theatre, West Coast Premiere
Lindsay LaVanchy is Baby Doll at Fountain Theatre
This summer, L.A. audiences get to see a brand new play by Tennessee Williams. Simon Levy directs the West Coast premiere of Baby Doll, adapted by Pierre Laville and Emily Mann from the 1956 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name – the first-ever Williams Estate-approved adaptation of this Williams screenplay. Baby Doll opens at the Fountain Theatre on July 16, starring Daniel Bess, Karen Kondazian, Lindsay LaVanchy, John Prosky and George Roland.
John Prosky
Darkly comic and crackling with sexual tension, Baby Doll is the story of 19-year-old married virgin “Baby Doll” Meighan (LaVanchy), who must consummate her marriage in two days, on her 20th birthday — as long as her middle-aged husband, Archie Lee (Prosky), upholds his end of the bargain to provide her with a comfortable life. When Archie Lee burns down his neighbor’s cotton gin to save his failing business, his rival, Sicilian immigrant Silva Vacarro (Bess), arrives to seek revenge. What ensues is a complex mix of desire and desperation, with Baby Doll as both player and pawn.
“The miracle of Tennessee Williams is that he can write these wonderful, wacky, wildly rich and complex characters and situations, yet underneath it all are timeless social and political themes,” says Levy. “It’s almost as if this play is a look at today’s America. It’s astonishing.”
Karen Kondazian
The Fountain Theatre, Levy and Kondazian, who plays the role of dotty Aunt Rose Comfort, have a long combined history with Williams. Levy has previously directed five of his plays for the Fountain, including Orpheus Descending (1996); Summer and Smoke (1999); The Night of the Iguana (2001); The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Any More (2007); and A House Not Meant to Stand (2011), and the Fountain additionally produced Four X Tenn in 1996. By the time she appeared in Orpheus, Iguana and Milk Train for the Fountain, Kondazian had already starred in numerous Williams productions, including a 1979 production of The Rose Tattoo for which she received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award – and which led to a steadfast friendship with Williams until his death in 1983.
Daniel Bess
Adapted for the screen by Williams from his one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton,Baby Doll was directed by Elia Kazan and starred Karl Malden, Carroll Baker and newcomer Eli Wallach. It immediately caused a sensation, due in large part to the poster image depicting Baker in a crib sucking her thumb. It was labeled variously “notorious,” “salacious,” “revolting,” “steamy,” “lewd,” “suggestive,” “provocative” and “morally repellent,” and Cardinal Francis Spellman, the Archbishop of New York, personally denounced the film before it was even released, declaring that Catholics would be committing a sin if they saw it. Baby Doll premiered as a stage play at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ in 2015; the Fountain production is only its second.
“Adapting the screenplay of Baby Doll to the stage has been an exciting process,” Mann said. “Every word is Tennessee’s; my co-adaptor, Pierre Laville, and I simply freed the play within the screenplay to allow the four main characters to live on stage.”
Set design for Baby Doll is by Jeffrey McLaughlin; lighting design is by Ken Booth; sound design is by Peter Bayne; costume design is by Terri A. Lewis; props and set dressing are by Terri Roberts; fight director is Mike Mahaffey; dialect coach isTyler Seiple; production stage manager is Emily Lehrer; assistant stage manager isMiranda Stewart; associate producer is James Bennett; and Stephen Sachs andDeborah Lawlor produce for the Fountain Theatre.
Tennessee Williams, 1956.
Tennessee Williams (1911-1983), born Thomas Lanier Williams III, explored passion with daring honesty and forged a poetic theater of raw psychological insight that shattered conventional proprieties and transformed the American stage. The autobiographical The Glass Menagerie (1945) brought what Mr. Williams called “the catastrophe of success.” He went on to win two Pulitzer Prizes, for A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948 and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955. Among his many other masterpieces are Vieux Carre, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Rose Tattoo, Orpheus Descending, The Night of the Iguana and Camino Real.
The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. The Fountain has won over 225 awards, and Fountain projects have been seen across the U.S. and internationally. Recent highlights include being honored for its acclaimed 25th Anniversary Season in 2015 by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles City Council; the 2014 Ovation Award for Best Season and the 2014 BEST Award for overall excellence from the Biller Foundation; the recent production of the Fountain’s Citizen: An American Lyric in Charleston, S.C. to commemorate the tragic shooting at Mother Emanuel Church; and the naming of seven Fountain productions in a row as “Critic’s Choice” in the Los Angeles Times.
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Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, stage, Tennessee Williams, Theater, theatre
Tagged 1956 film, actors, arts organizations, baby doll, Carroll Baker, Daniel Bess, Deborah Lawlor, director, Elia Kazan, Emily Lehrer, Emily Mann, Fountain Theatre, George Roland, James Bennett, Jeff McLaughlin, John Prosky, Karen Kondazian, Ken Booth, Lindsay LaVanchy, Los Angeles, McCarter Theatre, Miranda Stewart, new plays, performing arts, Peter Bayne, Pierre Vaville, plays, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, Tennessee Williams, Terri A. Lewis, theater, theatre, West Coast Premiere
Sometimes you have a first reading of a play with a new cast and it doesn’t go so well. The script may be solid and the cast experienced and professional. But the magic may not happen immediately.
This was not the case yesterday at our first read-through of Tennessee Williams’ Baby Doll with this fabulous cast. The magic happened. Immediately.
It was one of those wondrous occasions when actors, director, production team and play all came together in a thrilling first read-through of a colorful and dynamic script. As the actors read the script together for the first time, the play soared off the page.
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The gathering began in extraordinary fashion. Actress Karen Kondazian, playing Aunt Rose Comfort, has starred in many Williams plays and knew the playwright personally. Before rehearsal began yesterday, Karen displayed a small black box and slowly opened it. She carefully unwrapped the contents and held it up in the palm of her hand like a scared relic: a pair of Tennessee Williams’ glasses. It was passed around the table. Each company member examined the glasses, some put them on and had the unique experience of “seeing through the eyes” of one of America’s great playwrights.
Fountain Co-Artistic director Stephen Sachs welcomed the company and guided them through the paperwork at hand. Director Simon Levy spoke briefly about the play. Then the cast — Daniel Bess, Karen Kondazian, Lindsay LaVanchy, John Prosky and George Roland — read the script. And the play immediately leapt to life.
Joined at the table were Co-Artistic Director Deborah Lawlor, associate producer James Bennett, production stage manager Emily Lehrer, assistant stage manager Miranda Stewart, props designer Terri Roberts and publicist Lucy Pollak.
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Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Tennessee Williams, Theater, theatre
Tagged actors, arts organizations, baby doll, Daniel Bess, Deborah Lawlor, Emily Lehrer, first rehearsal, Fountain Theatre, George Roland, James Bennett, John Prosky, Karen Kondazian, Lindsay LaVanchy, Los Angeles, Miranda Stewart, performing arts, plays, playwriting, Rehearsal, script, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, Tennessee Williams, Terri Roberts, theater, theatre, West Coast Premiere
Lawrence Stallings, Richard Azurdia, Jossara Jina, Pablo Castelblanco, Armando Molina, Emily Lehrer
The house was packed Saturday night for the opening night of our Los Angeles Premiere of Elizabeth Irwin’s fast, funny and powerful new play, My Mañana Comes.
The thrilling performance was followed by a lively reception upstairs in our charming cafe. The delicious food was provided by Marouch, a local Lebanese and Armenian restaurant. Fountain Friends and audience members had a wonderful time meeting the cast and company.
Directed by Armando Molina, My Mañana Comes features Richard Azurdia, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter pasco and Lawrence Stallings. The play offers an inside look at four busboys in a fancy NY restaurant as they joke wildly with each other and struggle to better their lives and chase the American Dream.
Our Fountain LA Premiere is already earning rave reviews. “This production of My Mañana Comes is an exemplar of ensemble acting, ” hails Theatre Notes.”The players are extraordinary.”
Enjoy these photos from the Opening Night Party!
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My Mañana Comes Now playing to June 26 (323) 663-1525 MORE/Get Tickets
Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, immigration, Latino, Los Angeles, Mexican American, new plays, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre
Tagged actor, actors, Armando Molina, Barbara Goodhill, busboy, Daniel Sachs, Deborah Lawlor, Dillon Nelson, Elizabeth Irwin, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, immigration, Jeanne Valleroy, Jossara Jina, Latino, Lawrence Stallings, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Premiere, Marouch, My Manana Comes, new plays, opening night, Pablo Castelblanco, party, performing arts, Peter Pasco, plays, restaurant, Richard Azurdia, Sarah Boulton, Stephen Sachs, Tamara Bunker, Terri Roberts, theater, theatre
Design and production team at work during tech weekend.
There are no two ways about it. Tech rehearsals are a long, incremental process. Light cues are programmed into computers, sound levels are meticulously adjusted, set and prop elements are continuously added, costumes are inspected under actual lighting. Actors work out the timing of cues, all under the eye of the director. It can be a slow, repetitive and exacting undertaking.
Over 26 years, we have found the key to a successful Tech Weekend: donuts. Lots of them. Actually, our three sacred virtues of Tech Weekend are Diligence, Patience and a Sense of Humor. The cast, design and production team for My Mañana Comes demonstrated all three last weekend as we began integrating the design elements into our upcoming LA Premiere.
The play takes place in the kitchen of an upscale New York restaurant. Michael Navarro’s red brick and stainless steel set design creates the environment. The seating at the Fountain has been restored to its original configuration (we were in-the-round for Dream Catcher) and the audience is expected to feel like fine diners with theatre programs designed like restaurant menus.
My Mañana Comes is a funny and fast-paced new play about four busboys in a fancy bistro who juggle plates, their friendship and chase the American Dream. Written by Elizabeth Irwin and directed by Armando Molina, our LA premiere stars Richard Azurdia, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco and Lawrence Stallings. It runs April 16 – June 26.
Enjoy these photos from Tech Weekend
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My Mañana Comes April 16 – June 26 MORE/Get Tickets
Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, designers, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Latino, Los Angeles, Mexican American, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, restaurant, Theater, theatre
Tagged Armando Molina, Dillon Nelson, Elizabeth Irwin, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Jeanne Valleroy, Lawrence Stallings, lighting design, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Premiere, My Manana Comes, new play, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco, plays, Richard Azurdia, set design, sound design, stage, technical rehearsal, theater, theatre
Fun time in our upstairs cafe.
Even the most vivid dreams come to an end. The Dream Catcher company awoke Monday night from their 2-month reverie and enjoyed their final performance followed by a lively reception in our upstairs cafe. Another magical evening at the Fountain.
Dream Catcher enjoyed an extended two-month run that earned rave reviews. Actors Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell gave a thrilling performance Monday night. They were joined at a fabulous party in our upstairs cafe by director Cameron Watson, playwright Stephen Sachs, stage manager Emily Lehrer, Co-Artistic Director Deborah Lawlor and producer Simon Levy, associate producer James Bennett and props designer Terri Roberts. Others attending were Jennifer Finch (“I and You”), Sabina Zuniga Varela (“El Nogalar”), Barbara Beckley (Colony Theatre), Michael Seel (Theatre@Boston Court), Dany Margolies, Sandy Baldonado, Kevork & Cecile Keshishian, and videographer Paolo Durazzo.
This dream now ends. Another dream begins.
Enjoy these photos!
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Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, designers, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, Theater, theatre
Tagged arts organizations, Barbara Beckley, Brian Tichnell, Cameron Watson, Cecile Keshishian, Colony Theatre, Dany Margolies, Deborah Lawlor, Dream Catcher, Elizabeth Frances, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, James Bennett, Jennifer Finch, Kevork Keshishian, Los Angeles, Michael Seel, new play, Paolo Durazzo, performing arts, plays, playwriting, Sandy Baldonado, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, Terri Roberts, theater, theatre, Theatre@Boston Court, world premiere
Just beyond the elegant dining room of an Upper East Side restaurant, service workers angle for shifts, pray for tips and cling to dreams of life beyond their daily back-of-house grind. Armando Molina directs the Los Angeles premiere of My Mañana Comes by Elizabeth Irwin, opening April 16 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.
The minimum wage crisis and rights for undocumented workers lie at the center of Irwin’s funny and powerful new play.
Starring as four busboys working in the kitchen of an upscale French restaurant in Manhattan are Richard Azurdia (Backyard at Echo Theater Company, Bill & Joan at Sacred Fools, one of 54 “fascinating Angelenos” profiled in LA Weekly’s 2015 People issue), Pablo Castelblanco (Sálvese quien pueda at the Leonardus Theatre in his native Bogotá, Colombia) Peter Pasco (Our Lady of 121st Street at the Victory, Seven Spots on the Sun at Theatre @ Boston Court) and Lawrence Stallings (original productions of Book of Mormon on Broadway, Hair and Passing Strange off-Broadway).
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Expertly juggling delicate entrees and fussy customers, the young men face off with management and with each other when a sudden pay cut threatens their dignity, their dreams for a better life — and their friendship.
“This is exactly the kind of play we like to do at the Fountain,” suggests co-artistic director Stephen Sachs. “It’s fast-paced, hip and funny, but it also opens a window into a community we don’t often see, gives voice to a community that is usually not heard. You really get to know and care about these guys – the relationships, camaraderie and the sharing of dreams.”
According to Molina, “Irwin gets to the truth about who these guys are, the reality beneath the tropes. She shatters preconceptions.”
Irwin, who worked in the restaurant industry for many years, wanted to explore what undocumented immigration means to people who are directly affected by it — both those who are undocumented and those who work alongside and have relationships with them.
“This story explores the complications and nuances of their lives,” she said in an interview.
Set design for My Mañana Comes is by Michael Navarro; lighting design is by Jennifer Edwards; sound design is by Christopher Moscatiello; costume design is by Magdalena Guillen; props and set dressing are by Dillon Nelson; production stage manager is Emily Lehrer; associate producer is James Bennett; and Stephen Sachs, Simon Levy and Deborah Lawlor produce for the Fountain Theatre.
Join us! Your dining experience will be excellent. More Info/Get Tickets
Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, designers, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, immigration, Latino, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged actor, Armando Molina, busboys, Christopher Moscatiello, Deborah Lawlor, Dillon Nelson, Elizabeth Irwin, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, James Bennett, Jennifer Edwards, Latino, Lawrence Stallings, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Premiere, Magdalena Guiilen, Michael Navarro, My Manana Comes, new play, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco, restaurant, Richard Azurdia, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre
The cast: Peter Pasco, Richard Azurdia, Pablo Castelblanco, Lawrence Stallings
Did we have a good time Friday night or what? The cast and Fountain production team gathered for the first rehearsal of our upcoming LA Premiere of Elizabeth Irwin’s My Manana Comes. Directed by Armando Molina, this funny, fast-moving and powerful new play stars Richard Azurdia, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco and Lawrence Stallings. It opens April 16th.
In My Manana Comes, four kitchen workers in an upscale restaurant learn the hard way how to deal with pay cuts that could jeopardize their dreams for a better life, their dignity and their friendship. Fast-paced, hip and funny, the play brings to colorful life the camaraderie, sharing of dreams, competition and traitorous backstabbing that climaxes with a powerful dramatic turn at the end. Immigration, the minimum wage crisis, rights for undocumented workers, and citizenship lie at the center of this fast-moving, funny and powerful new LA premiere that examines the true meaning of “home” and how far we’re willing to go to get there.
At Friday night’s first rehearsal, producer Stephen Sachs welcomed the group and guided them through production business. Director Armando Molina spoke about his vision for the play. Joining the actors were Producing Director Simon Levy, Associate Producer James Bennett, Director of Development Barbara Goodhill, publicist Lucy Pollak, costume designer Magdalena Guillen, and production stage manager Emily Lehrer.
After business and paperwork were finished, the four actors sat at the table and read the script together for the first time. The play instantly came alive from the first few pages. Funny, hip, heartfelt, with a strong dramatic turn at the end. Instant chemistry developed between these four talented actors, feeling like these four characters had worked together closely for years. It was hard to believe the cast had just met Friday night for the first time.
Audiences are going to love this funny new play and enjoy the four dudes in this chaotic kitchen. My Manana Comes opens April 16th. Join us! The service will be excellent!
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More Info/Get Tickets
Posted in Acting, actors, arts organizations, designers, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Latino, Mexican American, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre
Tagged actors, Armando Molina, Barbara Goodhill, busboys, Elizabeth Irwin, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, immigration, kitchen workers, Lawrence Stallings, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Premiere, Lucy Pollak, My Manana Comes, new play, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco, plays, restaurant, Richard Azurdia, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs
We have all been gathered together, to again bring our best
As actors speak the words of an author who has bled for his story
Where we all get to creatively breathe life through it, for all its glory.
Every day each of us spends the time to be inspired with this script
To do our job passionately, for this is how we live
With the spirits of creativity, the Gods and Goddesses of imagination
It is us the artist, appearing in many forms who inspires all nations.
So, as your day goes, the hours tick and the minutes fly by
Take a moment to be thankful for the way you live your life
For it is no accident that you and me and all of us are together
Honey, the things we will do come October 20th, will be completely untethered
With magic, mystery, song, dance, lights, costume, set,
The director, the stage manager, pr, producers and support team we’ve yet met
Passion, truth, vulnerability blown wide, in this marvelous journey we lead here,
Will inspire the audiences who will witness your brilliance
at the magnificent Fountain Theatre!
– Iona Morris
Iona Morris is a stage, film, television and voice-over actress. She plays Aunt Elegua in our upcoming LA Premiere of In the Red and Brown Water.
In the Red and Brown Water Oct 20 – Dec 16 (323) 663-1525More This entry was posted in actors, Fountain Theatre, performing arts, plays, poem, poetry, theatre and tagged Fountain Theatre, In The Red and Brown Water, Iona Morris, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Premiere, poem, Tarell Alvin McCraney. Bookmark the permalink.
Theodore Perkins in rehearsal for Detained.
Deborah Culver and Stephen Sachs founded the Fountain Theatre in an intimate, Spanish-style, East Hollywood building that belies the sizable local impact and international reach of the company’s acclaimed and award-winning productions. Now entering its 30th year as one of the most highly regarded theaters in Los Angeles, the Fountain is announcing a celebratory 2020 season of dynamic premieres and events.
Angie Kariotis, co-creator of Walking the Beat
Larry Powell
The Fountain Theatre has announced a 2019-20 season of vibrant, thought-provoking, fresh and funny new work by a diverse group of playwrights, each of whom explores important social and cultural issues from a wholly unique perspective.
Over 26 years, we have found the key to a successful Tech Weekend: donuts. Lots of them. Actually, our three sacred virtues of Tech Weekend are Diligence, Patience and a Sense of Humor. The cast, design and production team for My Mañana Comes demonstrated all three last weekend as we began integrating the design elements into our upcoming LA Premiere. 
Just beyond the elegant dining room of an Upper East Side restaurant, service workers angle for shifts, pray for tips and cling to dreams of life beyond their daily back-of-house grind. Armando Molina directs the Los Angeles premiere of My Mañana Comes by Elizabeth Irwin, opening April 16 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.
Iona Morris is a stage, film, television and voice-over actress. She plays Aunt Elegua in our upcoming LA Premiere of In the Red and Brown Water.