January | 2019 | Intimate Excellent

More Info/Get Tickets

Posted in actors, artist, Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, hip hop, Los Angeles, Music, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, playwright, race, racism, Social justice, Theater, theatre

Tagged break beat, Chad Addison, Clarissa Thibeaux, Fountain Theatre, hip hop, Hype Man, Idris Goodwin, Los Angeles, Matthew Hancock, theater, theatre

Rams quarterback Jared Goff.

by Stephen Sachs

I’m used to it by now. I expect it. I wait for it. Whenever I travel anywhere in the country, to any state in our union, whether on a personal vacation with my wife or attending  a professional theatre conference in a faraway region,  once I share where I’m from and what I do for a living I am asked the same question: is Los Angeles a theatre town?

My guard quickly goes up. I shift into protective mode. Defending my city and my art form. My talking points ready. Did you know that more theatre is produced in Los Angeles, more productions of plays and musicals, than in any other city in the world — more than New York, Chicago or London? Did you know that Los Angeles is home to more working artists than any other major metropolis in the United States, including New York? According to a 2010 report commissioned by the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), Los Angeles hosts the largest pool of artists of any city in the nation.  Los Angeles supports more than five times as many performing artists (actors, directors, producers), outpacing New York substantially.  These facts always trigger startled looks of surprise.

Now Los Angeles is facing the same skepticism about football. With Super Bowl Sunday approaching this weekend, the nation wants to know: Is Los Angeles a football town? The answer is yes. In fact, Los Angeles is one of only two cities in the nation that has two NFL teams, the Rams and the Chargers. The other metropolis with more than one team? You guessed it. Our theatre rival, New York.  Always bent on outshining us, New York  has three teams.

While theatre has been performed consistently in Los Angeles since the city was founded in 1781,  the Rams’ history with LA has been bumpy and uneven. The franchise began in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in Ohio.  The team moved to Los Angeles in 1946. After the 1994 season, the Rams left LA and moved to St. Louis. They returned to Los Angeles in 2016, suffering through a disappointing season. Then, like a true Hollywood story, magic happened.

In 2017, Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay became the new Rams head coach at the age of 30, making him the youngest in modern NFL history. McVay is a rock star. He is what slick and glamorous basketball coach Pat Riley was to the Lakers in the 1980’s era of Showtime.  McVay is young, movie star handsome, charismatic. And a winner.  In their first year under McVay, the Rams won their first NFC West title since 2003. This season, the team’s 13–3 record tied for the second-most wins in a single season in franchise history and were the most ever for any NFL team in Los Angeles. On Sunday, they perform on the league’s biggest stage. The Broadway of football. A Los Angeles team hasn’t reached the Super Bowl since 1980.

Is LA a football town? Ask Rams star defensive tackle Aaron Donald. “It’s a football town now.” The team’s average home attendance in the regular season was more than 72,000 fans per game at the Rams’ temporary home at the LA Coliseum.

Artist rendering of the new Rams Stadium in Inglewood.

Inglewood is now building the team a new state-of-the-art 70,240-seat stadium, scheduled to open in 2020. At a cost of more than $5 billion, it will be the world’s most expensive sports complex.  More than three times the size of Disneyland and twice as big as Vatican City. The last time Los Angeles built an arts complex even close to that size was the Music Center downtown in 1964.  Although one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States, the 11-acre Music Center is 1/27th the size of the future 298-acre LA Stadium campus.  And you thought tickets to Hamilton were expensive? The best seat at Los Angeles’ newest stadium will come with a licensing bill of $100,000 for Rams season-ticket holders, not including the price of each ticket per game.

I hold no illusion that theatre will ever be as popular in Los Angeles as football. More human beings worldwide will watch our LA Rams in this Sunday’s Super Bowl than have seen every performance of every play and musical ever produced in Los Angeles in two hundred years. That’s okay. Something exciting is happening in this town. I can feel it. LA is undergoing a renaissance, blossoming into the city of the future. Money is pouring in, new urban development is underway everywhere, our progressive city laws and lifestyle embrace diversity and inclusion and the hope of opportunity.

For many artists across the country, LA is still the land of dreams. The region’s record in home-growing, attracting and retaining artists is unmatched. Los Angeles is still the nation’s premier place to pursue and maintain an artistic career. Its theatre community is vast, richly varied and thriving.

And the Rams are playing in the Super Bowl. Whatever the outcome this Sunday, Los Angeles comes out a winner.

Stephen Sachs is the Co-Artistic Director of the Fountain Theatre and a longtime Rams fan.

Posted in Arts, arts organizations, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, performing arts, stage, Theater, theatre

Tagged Aaron Donald, artist, arts, Center for Cultural Innovation, Fountain Theatre, Inglewood, Lakers, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Rams, Music Center, Pat Riley, Rams, Sean McVay, stadium, Super Bowl, theater, theatre

Last night, the company of actors, director, design and production team for our upcoming West Coast Premiere of Hype Man gathered together for the exciting first rehearsal.  After filling out paperwork and planning schedules, the cast read the script and the award-winning “break beat play” by Idris Goodwin came to life.

Social injustice, racial identity, gender inequity, career ambition and friendship converge — and collide — in Hype Man, directed by Deena Selenow.

Hype man Verb, played by Matthew Hancock (The Brothers Size, I and You at the Fountain, Honky at Rogue Machine, LADCC and Stage Raw awards for Hit the Wall), has been backing up front-man rapper Pinnacle (Chad Addison, seen in Connect, The Perfect Crime, My Plastic Girlfriend and more at Theatre 68) since they were kids. Adding beat maker Peep One (Clarissa Thibeaux of Echo Theater Company’s The Found Dog Ribbon Dance) to their group sparked a flame, and now the interracial trio is flexing serious hip-hop muscle. But when an unarmed black teenager is shot by police, it forces the group to navigate issues of friendship and race.

Opening night is set for a Feb. 23, with performances continuing through April 14.

More info

Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, designers, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, hip hop, Hollywood, Music, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, race, racism, stage, Theater, theatre

Tagged Chad Addison, Clarissa Thibeaux, Deena Selenow, Fountain Theatre, Hype Man, Idris Goodwin, Los Angeles, Matthew Hancock

Sam Waterston

Sam Waterston (Law & Order, The Newsroom, Gracie and Frankie) will join Scandal co-stars Joshua Malina, Jeff Perry and Bellamy Young for a one-night only, all-star reading of Ms. Smith Goes to Washington at Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m.

The gender-switched adaptation of Sidney Buchman’s screenplay for the 1939 Jimmy Stewart classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is adapted and directed by Fountain co-artistic director Stephen Sachs. The free reading is being presented by the Fountain Theatre in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and with exclusive permission from SONY Pictures. It will be hosted by Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell and will take place in the John Ferraro Council Chamber.  A catered reception will follow in the City Hall Rotunda.

In Sachs’ version, an idealistic, newly elected female senator finds herself fighting corruption in male-dominated Washington. Young will star in the title role, and Waterston has been cast in the pivotal role of Senator Paine.

The full cast includes Joshua Malina, Jeff Perry, Bellamy Young, Sam Waterston, Alan Blumenfeld, Gilbert Glenn Brown, Leith Burke, Tim Cummings, Cameron Dye, Spencer Garrett, Chet Grissom, Morlan Higgins, Aurelia Myers, Jenny O’Hara, Felix Solis, Jack Stehlin, Mark Taylor and Sal Viscuso.

The event is a follow-up to the Fountain’s hugely successful 2018 celebrity reading of All the President’s Men. It is sponsored, in part, by the Feminist Majority Foundation and in association with the League of Women Voters.

Ms. Smith Goes to Washington takes place on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the John Ferraro Council Chamber, Room 340 of Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N Spring St.,Los Angeles, CA 90012. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Admission is free; however, seating is extremely limited. For more information, and to enter the ticket lottery, go to www.mssmith.org. Due to high security at the venue, no walk-ups will be permitted.

Posted in actors, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, movies, non-profit organization, performing arts, Theater, theatre

Tagged Alan Blumenfeld, Aurelia Myers, Bellamy Young, Cameron Dye, Chet Grissom, City Hall, Felix Solis, Feminist Majority Foundation, Fountain Theatre, Gilbert Glenn Brown, Jack Stehlin, Jeff Perry, Jenny O’Hara, Joshua Malina, League of Women Voters, Leith Burke, Los Angeles, Mark Taylor, Mitch O’Farrell, Morlan Higgins, Ms. Smith Goes to Washington, Sal Viscuso, Sam Waterston, Spencer Garrett, Stephen Sachs, Tim Cummings

The Fountain Theatre follows its hugely successful 2018 celebrity reading of All the President’s Men with a one-night only, all-star reading of Ms. Smith Goes to Washington, starring Bellamy Young (ABC’s Scandal) in the title role, along with her Scandal co-stars Joshua Malina and Jeff Perry, with more to be announced. 

Adapted and directed by Fountain co-artistic director Stephen Sachs, presented by the award-winning Fountain Theatre in partnership with the City of Los Angeles and with exclusive permission from SONY Pictures, this free event will be hosted by Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell and will take place in the John Ferraro Council Chamber of Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. A catered reception will follow in the City Hall Rotunda.

In this gender-switched adaptation of Sidney Buchman’s screenplay for the 1939 Jimmy Stewart classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, an idealistic, newly elected female senator finds herself fighting corruption in male-dominated Washington.

“With more than one hundred women newly elected to Congress, this classic movie reimagined with Smith as a woman could not be more timely and urgent,” says Sachs. “I’m excited for the opportunity to build on the overwhelming success of last year’s event at City Hall. Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell is a longtime friend of the Fountain Theatre and an advocate for the arts in Los Angeles. What other major city in the country would hand over City Hall to its artists for one night? When local artists and city government officials work together, all citizens of Los Angeles benefit.”

According to Councilmember O’Farrell, “With change in the air in Washington after an unprecedented number of diverse women were just sworn into Congress to counter the corrupt, divisive, and destructive agenda of the Trump administration, I am thrilled to announce a staged reading of a beloved Hollywood classic film at Los Angeles City Hall, but with a modern twist that will no doubt prove more illuminating and poignant than it would have otherwise: Ms. Smith Goes to Washington! I am proud to continue what is now an annual artistic tradition at City Hall. The City of Los Angeles must exhibit a commitment to inspire and uplift communities — and sometimes the best way to make that point is through the arts. I want to thank The Fountain Theatre and the artists for volunteering their time and resources to this project.”

The event is sponsored, in part, by the Feminist Majority Foundation, and in association with the League of Women Voters. The FMF is a cutting-edge organization dedicated to women’s equality, reproductive health and non-violence. In all spheres, FMF utilizes research and action to empower women economically, socially and politically. FMF also publishes Ms. magazine, the oldest national feminist publication in the world, and will be distributing copies of their special Inauguration issue — featuring profiles of the new feminists elected to political offices across the country — to all attendees. The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

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 the inclusion of the Fountain’s Citizen: An American Lyric in the Music Center’s Our L.A. Voices festival 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 was named a Los Angeles Times “Critic’s Choice.” 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.

Ms. Smith Goes to Washington takes place on Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the John Ferraro Council Chamber, Room 340 of Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Admission is free; however, seating is extremely limited. For more information, and to enter the ticket lottery, go to www.mssmith.org. Due to high security at the venue, no walk-ups will be permitted.

Posted in actors, Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, film, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, movies, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Social justice, Theater, theatre

Tagged actors, Bellamy Young, celebrity reading, City Hall, female, Feminist Majority Foundation, Fountain Theatre, Frank Capra, James Stewart, Jeff Perry, Joshua Malina, League of Women Voters, Los Angeles, Mitch O’Farrell, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ms. Magazine, Ms. Smith Goes to Washington, Scandal, Sony Pictures, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, women

Deanne Bray and Troy Kotsur in “Arrival & Departure”

Broadway World announced that the Fountain Theatre’s acclaimed world premiere of Arrival & Departure, written and directed by Stephen Sachs, earned four Broadway World Los Angeles Awards, including Best Play in 2018.

Other Broadway World Los Angeles Awards for Arrival & Departure went to Troy Kotsur for Leading Actor in a Play, Deanne Bray for Leading Actress in a Play, and Donny Jackson, Lighting Design.

Nominations were reader-submitted and voted by local theatergoers in Los Angeles.  Regional productions, touring shows, and more were all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018.

This year the BroadwayWorld Regional Awards included over 100 cities across America, Canada, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia.

Posted in Acting, actors, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Deaf, designers, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, performing arts, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre

Tagged actor, Arrival & Departure, award, best play, Broadway World, Deanne Bray, Donny jackson, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, Troy Kotsur

Natural Shocks is a darkly hilarious tour-de-force written by Lauren Gunderson, the most-produced playwright in America. A woman is forced into her basement when she finds herself in the path of a tornado. Trapped there, she spills over into confession, regret, long-held secrets, and giddy new love. But as the storm approaches, she becomes less and less sure where safety lies — and how best to defy the danger that awaits.

The Fountain Theatre is proud to partner with the Echo Theatre Company, Rogue Machine Theatre, and Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble to bring their unique artistic visions, backgrounds, and skills to this event of theatre activism against gun violence. FEMEST is the Fountain Theatre’s play reading series of new plays by/about women.

Jan 12 – Feb 3, 2019 (323) 663-1525 http://www.fountaintheatre.com

Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Social justice, Theater, theatre

Tagged Adenrele, Amy Pietz, Anna Khaja, Clarissa Thibeaux, Echo Theatre, FemFest, Fountain Theatre, Janet Song, Jenny Soo, Lauren Gunderson, Los Angeles, Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble, Makeda Declet, Natural Shocks, Nicole DuPort, Rogue Machine Theatre, Sabina Zuniga Varela, Suanne Spoke, Susan Wilder, theater, theatre, Tracie Lockwood, Veralyn Jones, Yvonne Huff

The Fountain Theatre is now casting for its West Coast Premiere of the award-winning new hip hop play, HYPE MAN by Idris Goodwin. The director is Deena Selenow. 

Audition Date(s): 01/11/2019 – 01/12/2019

Rehearsal Date(s): 01/21/2019 – 02/19/2019

Preview Date(s): 02/20/2019 – 02/22/2019

Opening Date(s): 02/23/2019

Closing Date(s): 04/14/2019

SPECIAL NOTE:

The role of VERB has already been cast.

Roles:

[PINNACLE]

Male, 30-35, Caucasian. The Rapper. A fierce and fiery white dude who grew up among African-Americans but remains an outsider and separates him from Verb. His swaggering confidence hides his confusion and inner conflict. Because has a cop in his family, he mourns the city’s recent police shooting but thinks the group should stay the course.

[PEEP ONE]

Female, 25-30, mixed race, a “woman of color” upon initial glance, however her specific ancestry is less obvious. The Beat-Maker. The crew’s dynamic and spirited newcomer who crafts the beats and produces their tracks. She yearns for artistic recognition, struggling to get heard musically in this testosterone-fueled world. Peep finds herself caught between competing loyalties as Pinnacle’s and Verb’s previously unspoken views on race threaten to destroy not just their shot at success but also their friendship.

STORYLINE:

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 their art as an act of social protest. When the Hype Man takes matters into his own hands, the ensuing beef exposes the long-buried rifts of race and privilege that divide them. Will it tear them apart or can they find a way to still breathe together?

Rate of Pay / Contract: AEA 99-Seat Agreement

Email headshot/resume to: [email protected]

Posted in Acting, actors, artist, Arts, arts organizations, audition, casting, Fountain Theatre

Tagged actor, actors, audition, casting notice, Deena Selenow, drama, Fountain Theatre, hip hop, Hype Man, Idris Goodwin, Los Angeles, music, race, rap, rapper, theater, theatre, woman of color

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 Man by 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