Mojave Indian | Intimate Excellent

The important issues of climate change and global warming dramatized in our hit new play Dream Catcher will be igniting a fascinating Q&A Discussion immediately following the performance this Saturday night, March 5th, at 8pm. Special guest panelists are Sabina Virgo from 350.0rg, Mark Morris from Save Porter Ranch, and Ross Berman of Solar City.

In the critically acclaimed new drama, Roy is an engineer on a billion-dollar solar energy plant being built in the Mojave Desert. Construction is threatened to come to a halt when Roy is confronted by Opal, his Mojave Indian lover, who claims the plant is being built on the site of ancient tribal burial grounds. Solar power confronts spirit power as the two issues of climate change versus cultural preservation collide.

Sabina Virgo

Sabina Virgo is an acclaimed speaker, writer and political analyst. Her presentations are dynamic, creative and thought provoking. Along with her facilitation and mediation skills, Sabina’s written work has been published in the The Nation, The Guardian, Crossroads, and Peaceworks. Her essays have been published by South End press under the title of Criminal Injustice.

Ms Virgo holds a degree from UCLA, and has a long history of work in the field of human rights, disability rights and diversity training.

For the last twenty years, Sabina has been a community activist and leader in the labor movement. While employed as a Rehabilitation Counselor for the State of California, Ms. Virgo organized the first union of state social service professionals – and became the founding president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Local 2620, which now represents over 5,000 state employees.

For the last several years, Sabina has focused her work on climate change and environmental justice. Understanding the critical and immediate threat of climate disruption, Sabina is a member of the steering committee of SoCal 350 Climate Action, and is a facilitator of their Labor Outreach group.

Mark Morris

Mark Morris is from Porter Ranch and a native Los Angelino. Along with being an active union member he also sits on the board of the Valley Interfaith Council and serves as co chair of their social justice committee. About one year ago he became vice president of the non profit Save Porter Ranch, a community organization addressing fracking in the hills of North San Fernando Valley.

He currently is working on making others aware of the dark history of man made environmental disasters that have plagued the San Fernando Valley from the Saint Francis Dam disaster of 1928 to the most recent disaster in Aliso Canyon releasing tons of methane gas into the atmosphere for almost four months.

Ross Berman is an engineer from Solar City, America’s largest solar power provider. Solar City makes clean energy available to homeowners, businesses, schools, non-profits and government organizations at a lower cost than they pay for energy generated by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.

The panelists will be joined by Dream Catcher actors Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell and playwright Stephen Sachs immediately after the performance this Saturday, March 5th.

Join us this Saturday night for a powerful new play and thought-provoking discussion. More Info/Get Tickets

Posted in actors, arts organizations, Climate Change, Fountain Theatre, Global warming, performing arts, plays, Theater, theatre

Tagged 350.org, Brian Tichnell, climate change, Dream Catcher, Elizabeth Frances, Fountain Theatre, global warming, Los Angeles, Mark Morris, Mojave desert, Mojave Indian, new plays, performing arts, plays, Ross Berman, Sabina Virgo, Save Porter Ranch, Solar City, solar energy, solar power, Stephen Sachs, theatre

The Fountain Theatre continued its association with Native Voices at the Autry by hosting a post-show discussion Monday night following the performance of our acclaimed new play Dream Catcher by Stephen Sachs, directed by Cameron Watson.

Inspired by a true story, the powerful and thought-provoking new play dramatizes the passionate confrontation between Roy, a young engineer, and his fiery Mojave Indian lover Opal who claims the billion dollar solar energy plant Roy is helping to design is actually being built on the site of ancient tribal burial grounds.

Native Voices at the Autry is the only Equity theatre company devoted exclusively to developing and producing new works for the stage by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nations playwrights. Founded in 1994 by Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz (Choctaw) and Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott, Native Voices became the resident theatre company at the Autry Museum of the American West in 1999.

After the performance of Dream Catcher Monday night, actors Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell and playwright Sachs joined Reinholz and Scott for a Q&A discussion with the audience. Patrons shared their reactions to the play and examined such issues as cultural diversity, the peril of global warming, and the intersection of science and spirit.

“We had a great night,” exclaims Randy Reinholz, Producing Artistic Director of Native Voices. He hailed Dream Catcher as “Theatre about the important issues of our time.”

“Randy and I both love Fountain Theatre’s commitment to tackling difficult issues,” says Jean Bruce Scott, Producing Executive Director of Native Voices. “The production is wonderful and the cast fantastic. Superb script, acting, direction. Thank you so much for a wonderful night in the theater and for the lively and friendly talkback afterward.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Dream Catcher runs to March 21st. More Info/Get Tickets

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

Tagged actors, Brian Tichnell, Dream Catcher, Elizabeth Frances, Fountain Theatre, Jean Bruce Scott, Los Angeles, Mojave Indian, Native American, Native Voices, new plays, performing arts, plays, Randy Reinholz, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere

Randy Reinholz and Jean Bruce Scott of Native Voices

Join the cast and creative team of Dream Catcher and Native Voices Producing Artistic Director Randy Reinholz, Producing Executive Director Jean Bruce Scott, and Ensemble Leader Jennifer Bobiwash in a post-show Q&A discussion with the audience after the performance this Monday night, February 22 at 8pm.

Elizabeth Frances

The panel will include Dream Catcher actors Elizabeth Frances, Brian Tichnell, director Cameron Watson and playwright Stephen Sachs. The discussion will focus on the tribal issues raised in the play, the challenges faced by Native actors in this era of diversity casting, and an assessment of how Native people are dramatized in theatre, film and television.

Dream Catcher actress Elizabeth Frances is a member of Native Voices.

Native Voices at the Autry is the only Equity theatre company devoted exclusively to developing and producing new works for the stage by Native American, Alaska Native, and First Nations playwrights.

In Dream Catcher, construction of a billion dollar solar energy plant in the Mojave Desert is threatened to be brought to a halt when it is discovered that the plant may be sitting on a Mojave Indian burial site. Inspired by a true event, the world premiere production has earned rave reviews and runs to March 21.

More Info/Get Tickets

Posted in Acting, actors, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Native American, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, playwriting, stage, Theater, theatre

Tagged arts organizations, Brian Tichnell, Cameron Watson, diversity, Dream Catcher, Elizabeth Frances, Fountain Theatre, Jean Bruce Scott, Jennifer Bobiwash, Los Angeles, Mojave Indian, Native Voices, new plays, performing arts, plays, Randy Reinholz, solar energy, solar power, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, world premiere

Brian Tichnell and Elizabeth Frances

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.

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.

More Info/Get Tickets

Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Global warming, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwriting, stage, Theater, theatre

Tagged Actors Equity Association, Brian Tichnell, Cameron Watson, climate change, Dream Catcher, Elizabeth Frances, Fountain Theatre, global warming, Los Angeles, Mojave Indian, Native American, new play, plays, solar energy, solar power, Stephen Sachs, theater, world premiere

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.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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

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.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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

The Fountain Theatre is now casting and holding auditions for the world premiere of Dream Catcher by Stephen Sachs, directed by Cameron Watson. The new play will open January 23rd, launching the Fountain’s 2016 season.

STORYLINE:

Inspired by a true event. Solar power confronts spirit power in this new drama 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 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.

SEEKING:

OPAL

Female, 20’s, Mojave Indian. Tough, edgy, bold, sensual, fiery “Rez chick”. Passionate, wild, unpredictable, powerful, foul-mouthed, speaks her mind. Under-educated but world-wise, smarter than she looks. Burns for love and a better life but feels unworthy of both. A fighter, a survivor, she suddenly finds herself thrust into a turning point that could change her life path. Seeking a strong, skilled powerful Native American stage actress with a very wide range and a deep emotional well.

RAY

Male, 30’s, solar power engineer. Clean-cut, nice-looking, WASP New Englander. Well educated, articulate, logical, science-minded. Aches with ambition and the need to be seen and approved by his colleagues. The Genesis power plant is his life-or-death opportunity to make a name for himself. His driving ambition blinds him to the painful truth about himself. His fierce desire for success hides a sad, inner loneliness. Seeking a strong, skilled powerful stage actor with a very wide range and a deep emotional well.

SCHEDULE

Auditions start December 2nd, 2015
Rehearsals start on/about December 14, 2015
Previews January 16 – 22, 2016
Opens January 23 – March 14, 2016

CONTRACT/RATE: AEA 99-Seat Transitional, $25 per performance plus $200 rehearsal stipend. Non-union permitted.

Submit headshot & resume to: [email protected]

Multiple award-winner Stephen Sachs is the author of twelve plays including such Fountain productions as Citizen: An American Lyric (adaptor), Bakersfield Mist, Cyrano, Heart Song, Miss Julie: Freedom Summer, Sweet Nothing in my Ear and Central Avenue.

Heralded by The Los Angeles Times as “one of our finest contemporary directors,” Cameron Watson has earned critical acclaim for recently directing Picnic and Top Girls at Antaeus Theatre Company, Cock at Rogue Machine Theatre, and Trying at The Colony Theatre starring Alan Mandell.

This notice will also be posted on Breakdown Services and Backstage.com.

Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Theater, theatre

Tagged actor, audition, Cameron Watson, casting, climate change, Dream Catcher, Fountain Theatre, global warming, Los Angeles, Mojave desert, Mojave Indian, Native American, new play, performing arts, solar power, Stephen Sachs, theater, world premiere