December | 2015 | Intimate Excellent

7 Oct 2022

The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

As the year draws to an end, the Fountain Theatre is delighted to be highlighted on many of the annual “Best of 2015” lists that are starting to appear.

Los Angeles Times theatre critic Charles McNulty selected our west coast premiere of Athol Fugard’s The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek to his Best Theater of 2015, hailing it as “Another in the Fountain Theatre’s series of expertly acted productions of the great South African playwright.”

The LA Theatre website Bitter Lemons named The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek as its Top Rated Production of 2015.

And critic Travis Michael Holder honored the Fountain Theatre with several of his TicketHolder Awards for 2015:

BEST PRODUCTION OF 2015

The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

RUNNERS-UP: Citizen: An American Lyric

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A PLAY

Gilbert Glenn Brown, Thomas Silcott, Phillip Solomon, Suanne Spoke, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

RUNNERS-UP: Bernard K. Addison, Leith Burke, Tina Lifford, Tony Maggio, Simone Missick, Lisa Pescia, Citizen: An American Lyric

Citizen: An American Lyric

NEW DISCOVERY 2015

Phillip Solomon, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

BEST PLAYWRIGHT

Athol Fugard, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

BEST ADAPTATION

RUNNERS-UP: Stephen Sachs, Citizen: An American Lyric

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY

Simon Levy, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

RUNNERS-UP: Shirley Jo Finney, Citizen: An American Lyric

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

RUNNERS-UP: Naila Aladdin-Sanders, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

BEST SOUND DESIGN

RUNNERS-UP: Peter Bayne, Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek

BEST VIDEO DESIGN

RUNNERS-UP: Yee Eun Nam, Citizen: An American Lyric

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Anastasia Coon, Movement, Citizen: An American Lyric

A marvelous end to a memorable year marking our 25th Anniversary season. More “best” lists will be appearing.

Posted in Fountain Theatre

Tagged Anastasia Coon, Athol Fugard, Bernard K. Addison, Charles McNulty, Citizen: An American Lyric, Fountain Theatre, Gilbert Glenn Brown, Leith Burke, Lisa Pescia, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times, Naila Aladdin-Sanders, Peter Bayne, Philip Solomon, Shirley Jo Finney, Simon Levy, Simone Missick, Stephen Sachs, Suanne Spoke, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, theater, theatre, Thomas Silcott, Tina Lifford, Tony Maggio, Travis Michael Holder, West Coast Premiere, world premiere, Yee Eun Nam

When actors Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell arrived at the Fountain yesterday to shoot the highly charged publicity photos for our upcoming world premiere of Dream Catcher, they had only met once before and hardly knew each other. But you wouldn’t know it once the camera started clicking. The two actors, playing lovers Roy and Opal, bravely leapt into the passionate world of the new play with fearless abandon.

Photo shoots can be uncomfortable and awkward. Not this time. With director Cameron Watson and photographer Ed Krieger guiding the way, the afternoon went smoothly and the room heated up fast.

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Solar power confronts spirit power in this new drama by Stephen Sachs about climate change, cultural change and the moral consequences of personal choice.

Roy is the youngest member on a team of high-level engineers brought in to launch the most important project of his career — the construction of a solar energy plant in the middle of the Mojave Desert — when the sudden discovery of long-buried Native American artifacts threatens to bring the billion-dollar operation to a halt. The disaster gets deeply personal when the whistle-blower turns out to be Opal, the fiery and unpredictable young Mojave Indian woman with whom Roy has been having an affair.

Dream Catcher Jan 30 – March 21 (323) 663-1525 More/Get Tickets

Posted in Acting, actors, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, new plays, performing arts, plays, playwriting, Theater, theatre

Tagged actors, Brian Tichnell, climate change, Dream Catcher, Elizabeth Frances, Fountain Theatre, global warming, Mojave Indian, new plays, solar power, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere

Solar power confronts spirit power in a new drama by Stephen Sachs about climate change, cultural change and the moral consequences of personal choice. Cameron Watson directs Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell in the world premiere of Dream Catcher, opening January 30 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.

Inspired by a true event, Sachs wanted to address global warming, climate change and other large issues but weave them into something personal and intimate.

“I’ve always been interested in the battle between science and spirituality, and where they intersect,” he says. “How they are similar, each relying on a kind of faith to explain what we sometimes can’t see. And the paradox of moral certainty. Even when we’re campaigning for something good, sometimes we are forced to discover that we are not who we think we are.”

“This play is messy, complicated, volatile and exciting,” says Watson. “There’s no right or wrong, no bad guy – at least not for the obvious reasons. The muscularity of it got my attention right away. As soon as I read it, I knew I had to be involved, which doesn’t happen often.”

Cameron Watson has received critical acclaim for directing Antaeus Theatre Company hit productions of Picnic (“Best Plays of 2015,” Time Out Los Angeles, and “Best of Los Angeles Theater 2015, Bitter Lemons) and Top Girls, which The Los Angeles Timesnamed one of the “Ten Best Stage Productions of 2014.” Other credits include the Los Angeles premiere of Cock (Rogue Machine Theatre); All My Sons (The Matrix Theatre Company); Trying, The Savannah Disputation, Grace and Glorie (The Colony Theatre); I Never Sang for My Father (The New American Theatre); I Capture the Castle, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); and Rolling with Laughter in London’s West End. He wrote and directed the Miramax feature film Our Very Own, starring Allison Janney in an Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance. He created the new comedy series Break a Hip, starring Christina Pickles alongside Octavia Spencer, Peri Gilpin, Priscilla Barnes, Jim Rash and Allison Janney.

Elizabeth Frances has performed at various theaters including the Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, Los Angeles Theater Center, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Native Voices and the Kirk Douglas Theater. She has worked with artists such as Travis Preston, Phil Soltanoff (Mad Dog Theater), Jim Findlay (Wooster Group), Shirley Jo Finney and Chris Anthony, and performed in world premiere by writers Randy Reinholz, Marcus Gardley, Josefina Lopez, Carolyn Dunn and Melinda Lopez. Film/TV credits include Ghost Forest,Hunting (Cannes), Her Story (produced by Eve Ensler) and Drunktown’s Finest(Sundance) with executive producer Robert Redford. Elizabeth was featured as one of twelve actors in the ABC Networks’ Talent Showcase. She holds a BFA from CalArts.

Brian Tichnell’s theater credits include Circle Jerk (REDCAT); Some Cars (Padua Playwrights); Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (L.A. Theatre Works national tour);Peace In Our Time, The Curse of Oedipus and Macbeth (Antaeus Theatre Company); Camino Real (Theatre @ Boston Court); and Hamlet (Oxford Shakespeare Festival). On TV, he recurs as Eric on Silicon Valley and has also been seen in Castle, The Newsroom, Body of Proof and Happy Endings among others. Originally from South Mississippi, Brian attended the University of Mississippi and California Institute of the Arts.

Stephen Sachs’ plays include Citizen: An American Lyric (adapted from the internationally acclaimed book by Claudia Rankine); Heart Song (Fountain Theatre, Florida Stage); Bakersfield Mist (2012 Elliot Norton Award, Best New Play; produced in London’s West End with Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid, in regional theaters across the US, and translated into other languages and performed worldwide); Cyrano (LA Drama Critics Circle Award, Best Adaptation); Miss Julie: Freedom Summer (Fountain Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Canadian Stage Company, LA Drama Critics Circle award and LA Weekly award nomination for Best Adaptation, and recently published by Dramatist’s Play Service); Gilgamesh (Theatre @ Boston Court); Open Window(Pasadena Playhouse, Media Access Award for Excellence); Central Avenue (PEN USA Literary Award finalist, Back Stage Garland award, Best Play); Sweet Nothing in My Ear(PEN USA Literary Award finalist, Media Access award, NEA grant award); Mother’s Day; The Golden Gate (Best Play, Drama-Logue); and The Baron in the Trees. He wrote the teleplay for Sweet Nothing in My Ear for Hallmark Hall of Fame which aired on CBS starring Marlee Matlin and Jeff Daniels. Sachs co-founded The Fountain Theatre with Deborah Lawlor in 1990.

Consulting with the Fountain on Dream Catcher are Jean Bruce Scott, producing executive director and co-creator of Native Voices at the Autry, and her staff. Set design is by Jeffrey McLaughlin; lighting design is by Luke Moyer; sound design is by Peter Bayne; costume design is by Terry A. Lewis; props are by Terri Roberts; production stage manager is Emily Lehrer; associate producer is James Bennett; andSimon Levy and Deborah Lawlor produce for the Fountain Theatre.

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 just-closed West Coast premiere of Athol Fugard’s The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, named to Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty’s “Best Theater of 2015” list; and the last seven Fountain productions consecutively highlighted as “Critic’s Choice” in the Los Angeles Times.

Dream Catcher opens January 30 and runs to March 21.

More Info/Get Tickets (323) 663-1525

Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, arts organizations, Climate Change, director, Fountain Theatre, Global warming, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, playwriting, Theater, theatre

Tagged actors, Brian Tichnell, Cameron Watson, climate change, Dream Catcher, Elizabeth Frances, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, global warming, Jeff McLaughlin, Los Angeles, Luke Moyer, Mojave Indian, Native American, Native Voices, performing arts, Peter Bayne, Simon Levy, solar power, Stephen Sachs, Terri A. Lewis, Terri Roberts, theater, theatre, world premiere

The production and design team for our upcoming world premiere of Dream Catcher met at the Fountain yesterday for its first meeting to discuss launching the exciting new play by Stephen Sachs. Solar power confronts spirit power in this riveting new drama about climate change, cultural change and the moral consequences of personal choice. Inspired by a true incident, Dream Catcher opens in January.

Thursday’s production meeting was led by producer Simon Levy. Playwright Sachs and director Cameron Watson shared their vision for the new play with set designer Jeffrey McLaughlin, lighting designer Luke Moyer, sound designer Peter Bayne, costume designer Terri Lewis, and props designer Terri Roberts. Also present were technical director Scott Tuomey, associate producer James Bennett and stage manager Emily Lehrer.

In Dream Catcher, Roy is the youngest member on a team of high-level engineers brought in to launch the most important project of his young career: the construction of a solar energy plant in the middle of the Mojave desert. But Roy suddenly finds himself thrust into the center of a crisis when the discovery of long-buried Native American artifacts threaten to bring the billion-dollar operation to a halt. The disaster gets deeply personal when the whistle-blower turns out to be Opal, the fiery and unpredictable young Mojave Indian woman with whom Roy has been having an affair.

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Fountain Co-Artistic Director Stephen Sachs is the author and/or adaptor of thirteen plays, including such Fountain hits as Citizen: An American Lyric, Heart Song, Cyrano, Bakersfield Mist, Miss Julie: Freedom Summer, Sweet Nothing in my Ear and Central Avenue.

Cameron Watson recently directed acclaimed productions of Picnic and Top Girls at The Antaeus Company, and Cock at Rogue Machine Theatre.

More Info

Posted in Arts, arts organizations, designers, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, playwright, playwriting, Theater, theatre

Tagged Cameron Watson, climate change, Dream Catcher, Emily Lehrer, Fountain Theatre, global warming, James Bennett, Jeff McLaughlin, Los Angeles, Luke Moyer, Mojave Indian, Native American, new play, Peter Bayne, Scott Tuomey, Simon Levy, solar power, Stephen Sachs, Terri Lewis, Terri Roberts, world premiere

In addition to the glorious playwriting, acting and directing, our west coast premiere of Athol Fugard’s The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek has earned joyous accolades from critics and audiences alike for its exquisite set. Designed by Jeff McLaughlin, the Fountain stage has been transformed into a South African hillside decorated with exuberant, vibrantly colored rocks. Guess what? Now these rocks can be yours!

Because each of these marvelous hand-painted rocks are truly one-of-kind art pieces, the Fountain is offering them for sale. They are too unique and artful to be ignored when the production ends on December 14th. Each rock is being offered for only $100. All proceeds benefit the Fountain Theatre.

Looking for a unique holiday gift for someone with an artistic soul who would appreciate a present that is out of the ordinary? Or a one-of-a-kind decoration for your garden, yard or patio? An original art piece for your home?

Rock 1 Rock 2 Rock 3
Rock 4 Rock 5 Rock 6
Rock 7

Each rock:

Has been individually hand-painted by artist Clairfoster Josiah Browne.
Is a real rock with a unique size and shape. Each is approximately two feet wide and one foot high.
Is covered with a waterproof sealant.

Your rock will be available December 15th and must be picked up at the Fountain Theatre. Each rock fits easily into the trunk or on the seat of a car.

Is this cool or what? Get this one-of-a-kind holiday gift or unique decoration for your home — and support the Fountain Theatre!

Click here to order your rock now!

Posted in African American, Art, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Athol Fugard, Drama, Fountain Theatre, non-profit organization, Outsider Art, South Africa, stage, The Train Driver, Theater

Tagged Athol Fugard, Fountain Theatre, holiday gift, Jeff McLaughlin, Los Angeles, Outsider Art, performing arts, plays, rocks, set design, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, theater, theatre, West Coast Premiere

Our west coast premiere of Athol Fugard’s beautiful new play, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, has earned sold-out houses and rave reviews everywhere. Final two weeks! This acclaimed production must end December 14th. More Info/Get Tickets

Posted in Acting, Art, arts organizations, Athol Fugard, Drama, Fountain Theatre, new plays, non-profit organization, Outsider Art, playwriting, Theater, theatre

Tagged actors, Athol Fugard, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, Nukain Mabuza, performing arts, plays, South Africa, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, theatre, West Coast Premiere

Oscar Arslanian

The Fountain Theatre is very pleased and proud to welcome Oscar Arslanian as a new member of its Board of Directors.

“I have known and admired Oscar for many years,” said Fountain Co-Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. “He is a longtime advocate for the arts in Hollywood. There isn’t a person in the Hollywood business and arts community who doesn’t know and love Oscar and his wife, Nyla. He brings decades of expertise and a wide network of business and arts friendships to the Fountain. We are fortunate to have him with us.”

“It’s great to be associated with such a fine company,” beamed Arslanian.

Publisher/Owner of Discover Hollywood Magazine and the Hollywood Visitors Guide, Oscar has been a positive force for the renaissance that is presently underway in Hollywood.

Oscar’s roots are in the entertainment industry. He has been at the forefront of the “Oldies” or classic rock music genre for over 30 years. Oscar represents Fabian, Chris Montez, Johnny Tillotson, Brian Hyland and Kathy Young and produces concerts at major venues throughout the U.S. He produced the first live Oldies Rock ‘n Roll pay-per-view TV broadcast before 85,000 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and The Mamas & Papas “California Dreamin” tour for the California Department of Tourism.

He is currently the Executive Producer of “The Chris Montez Story” a documentary feature film.

Oscar is an active member of the Board of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and has served as its Chairman of the Board. He is a tireless advocate for Hollywood’s iconic role for tourism in California and as an economic engine for the entire Los Angeles region.

He currently serves on the boards of the Hollywood Historic Trust and is the Chairman of the Hollywood Arts Council’s Advisory Board.

He is the Publisher of Discover Hollywood Magazine, a free quarterly publication for “people who love Hollywood” that has a 75,000 distribution and provides visitors and residents information about the unique culture and lore of Hollywood.

In 1998, the California Travel Industry Association named Oscar to the California Tourism Hall of Fame. Oscar received The Golden Award in 2009 for his contribution to the Hollywood community from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation.

Oscar is a graduate of Dartmouth College and while serving recently as President of his class, created the “Class of 1961 Legacy: The American Tradition in Performance Endowment Fund” which to date has raised over $1 million.

In 2010 Oscar and his wife Nyla were recipients of the Anastasia K. Mann Leadership Award from the Travel and Tourism Marketing Association of Southern California for their vision and direction as leaders at the forefront of the Southern California Tourism Industry and in 2011 they received the Hollywood Star Award for their dedication and commitment to Hollywood.

Posted in arts organizations, Board of Directors, Fountain Theatre, non-profit organization, performing arts, Theater, theatre

Tagged arts organizations, Board of Directors, California Travel Industry Association, Dartmouth College, Discover Hollywood Magazine, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles, Nyla Arslanian, Oscar Arslanian, performing arts, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre