November | 2011 | Intimate Excellent

Adolphus Ward is well-known to Fountain audiences for his mesmerizing and award-winning work as an actor in such acclaimed productions as Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Coming Home, and The Train Driver. What you may not know is that he is also a writer: a published novelist.

Adolphus has been honored with acting awards from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and the LA Weekly. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and has received writing awards from the Wisconsin Arts Board, Playwrights’ Fellowship, and the National Endowment For The Arts.

Ward has written an African-American trilogy chronicling the Tallman family: Harvest the Dust, Milk the Iron Cow, and Stand Upside Down. Harvest the Dust introduces the sharecropper’s family during  the 1930’s Great Depression. Milk the Iron Cow explores how Milwaukee factories changed in the 1940’s from making autos and washing machines to building warplanes and bombs,  as the Tallmans find themselves embroiled in labor struggles and the start of the civil rights movement. Stand Upside Down rests on grandson Calvin Tallman’s shoulders, which evoke white corporate shivers behind unfair policies for Black workers in the 1980’s

Adolphus in the Fountain cafe with playwright Athol Fugard.

How long have you been writing novels?

I am a writer of African-American Family Fiction.  I’ve completed three novels following the lives of three successive generations of the same family.  I began work on the trilogy September 1984 — I was learning to write fiction while working on the first novel: Harvest the Dust.

My story grew to be much too involved for one story.

The aim of acting and writing is, I think, much the same.  Both actor and writer works to have the audience completely involved in the story.  They are different in that one works on the stage and the other on the page.

I’m working on a one-man show bringing elements of the trilogy to the stage.  Also, doing preliminary work on a fourth novel.

Adolphus Ward in “The Train Driver”.

I’ve lived long enough to know that people are the most important element in the quality of my life experiences.  I feel that way about family, friends, and the places I hold membership.  From the start the Fountain Family has been like blood-family-members to me.  Ben Bradley introduced me to the rest of the staff, some patrons, and it was — and still is — like I’ve known them for years.  I love the Fountain Theatre.

Were I working in a production my favorite would be that one — my next production at the Fountain will be my favorite.

Going to the City of Bones in Gem of the Ocean. Thanks August, it was a damn good trip.

Adolphus Ward and Jeris Poindexter in August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean”.

Posted in actors, Fountain Theatre, theatre

Tagged Adolphus Ward, African American, Athol Fugard, August Wilson, Coming Home, Fountain Theatre, Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Los Angeles, novel, The Train Driver, trilogy

Stephen Sachs

Fountain Co-Artistic Director Stephen Sachs will travel to China this week to direct the docudrama, TOP SECRET: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers  for LA Theatre Works. The play, written by Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons, dramatizes the Freedom of the Press confrontation in 1971 between the Washington Post and the Nixon administration over the newspaper’s right to print the government’s classified documents on the Viet Nam War made public by Daniel Ellsberg.

This unique international project has been initiated and launched by LA Theatre Works, under the leadership of producer Susan Loewenberg.

Top Secret will not be performed in LA Theatre Works’ usual “radio drama” format with actors standing in front of microphones reading from scripts held in hand. For this China tour, the play is being fully staged and produced with actors off-book, lines memorized, utilizing props, costumes, light and sound cues. Sachs and the cast have been in rehearsal for two weeks in Los Angeles. The cast includes Amy Pietz, Josh Stamberg, James Gleason, Henry Clarke,  Nicholas Hormann, JD Cullum, Russell Soder, Steve Vinovich, TomVirtue, Peter Van Norden, and Myndy Crist.

Sachs and company leave for China on Saturday, November 19, for a  3-city performance tour to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Many Chinese in the audience speak English as a second language. The play will be performed in English with projected title-captioning in Chinese. The venues range in size from an intimate 300-seat proscenium theater to a much larger 2,000-seat performing arts center. Post-show discussions, workshops, and panels have been scheduled after each performance and throughout the run in each city. Sachs and company return to the US on December 5th.

Downtown Beijing

At a time when intellectuals and artists are being imprisoned in China and the very issues the play raises are being challenged on all fronts, LA Theatre Works and its local institutional partners in China will use theater as a conduit to give Chinese audiences insight into the human struggles behind issues considered ‘taboo’ there, and thereby promote people-to-people cross-cultural understanding.

The National Library, Beijing

For Chinese students of the American court system and lawyers interested in international law, this docudrama is a compelling and engaging vehicle to provide an accurate and penetrating analysis and demonstration of the American judicial system and freedom of the press.

“It’s a thrilling once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to China and engage audiences there,” says Stephen. “I’m eager to see how Chinese citizens respond to this play and the issues of freedom that  it raises. What an unforgettable experience this will be.”

The Great Wall

Stephen will chronicle his adventures in China on the Fountain Blog.  Stay tuned!

Ben Cameron

by Ben Cameron

We must begin by asking, why must we  exist today? Because we have a building is not enough. Because we have a history and awards and a reputation is not enough. What is it in the world—in an external world—that mandates the flourishing of the arts in our communities today?

I expect the artist to do more than engage in expression—I expect the artist to refine that expression through discipline, craft, patience, listening—to essentially think more deeply, feel more deeply, express more deeply and to lead me more deeply into unexplored terrain where I have yet to wander. I believe the arts invite us to access, not the easiest or most facile parts of ourselves, but the best parts, the deepest parts, the deepest emotions, the most generous impulses, and yet at times the most urgent fears. ”When you meet your life in a great poem, it becomes expanded, extended, clarified, magnified, deepened in color, deepened in feeling,” says poet Jane Hirschfield. ”Aren’t we enlarged by the scale of what we are able to desire?” writes poet Mark Doty—a question that invites the reverse: aren’t we diminished by the scale of the easy with which we content ourselves? In the arts, we not only ask for more: we demand more—more of one another, more of ourselves.

In essence, we must recognize and celebrate the role of the arts in the search for common meaning.

Many of us did not choose this work; it chose us. But when we choose to answer that call, what we really do is, we honor the past, we commemorate the present, we shape and we change the future in a way that does honor to all and violence to none. I don’t care how much opponents may try to shame us from that path. For those of us who are spiritually inclined, it is God’s work we do.

A thrilling and inspiring talk on The Power of the Arts by Ben Cameron

Ben Cameron assumed his current position as Program Director for the Arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in New York, NY, in 2006. Previously, he served for more than 8 years as the Executive Director of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for the American nonprofit professional theater, significantly expanding its programs, membership base and grantmaking activities.

The 2011  Ovation Awards will be held Monday night, November 14th, at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. The Ovation Awards ceremony is the “big night” of LA Theater, our version of the Tony Awards.  Launched in 1989, the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles, created to recognize excellence in theatrical performance, production and design in the Greater Los Angeles area. Each year, 400 productions compete in 35 Ovation Categories, and are evaluated by a pool of 250 vetted Ovation Voters, who are all currently working theatre professionals.

This year, the Fountain Theatre has received nine Ovation Award nominations, including the prestigious category of Best Season for overall excellence year-round (for this season’s The Train Driver, A House Not Meant to Stand, and Bakersfield Mist). In the three years since the new Best Season category was created, the Fountain has been nominated all three years — and won the award last year for its season of Shining City, The Ballad of Emmett Till, and Opus. In the history of the Ovation Awards, the Fountain has the distinction of being nominated and winning more Ovation Awards overall than any other intimate theatre in Los Angeles.

Ben Bradley

Monday are the 2011 Ovations Awards. At the same time, Monday marks the beginning of the second week of the Ben Bradley murder trial. The black-tie Awards Ceremony downtown will be unfolding just a few blocks down the street from the Criminal Courts Building where the trial is taking place. The painful irony of these two events occurring simultaneously must be acknowledged. Ben, of course, had just started rehearsal to direct last year’s big Award winner, The Ballad of Emmett Till, when he was savagely murdered on New Year’s Day, 2010.  The glorious Shirley Jo Finney then stepped in as director, leading us all with her healing artistic spirit.

We look forward to Monday night’s Ovation Awards. And look back to last year’s ceremony when The Ballad of Emmett Till won Best Production of a Play, Best Director, and Best Acting Ensemble.

Our thoughts are with Ben. And we are reminded — we reaffirm — why we create art, why we do theatre, why we do what we do. And why it matters.

A video peek,  one year ago:

Simon Levy and Stephen Sachs: Ben Bradley and Emmett Till

The Emmett Till cast: “Why Theatre Matters” and “The Power of Family”

Posted in Fountain Theatre, plays, theatre

Tagged A House Not Meant to Stand, Bakersfield Mist, Ben Bradley, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, Opus, Ovation Awards, plays, Shining City, Simon Levy, Stephen Sachs, The Ballad of Emmett Till, The Train Driver

Roy Allen

I brought a guest to last Friday’s performance of Bakersfield Mist and we were both swept away by the brilliant script and the masterful performance of two pros in their prime! The script was pitch perfect and the actors never put a wrong foot forward! Miraculous! Thank you for the uncompromising work and transcendent values this performance represents.

My compliments on the production itself – and the extraordinary reception it has won among LA audiences – but equally important, to the Fountain Theatre and it’s management for the path you have chosen and the excellence and consistency you have achieved. It’s truly astonishing in a town where theater on this level is a rare find!

My experience at the Fountain reminds me of when I lived in NYC and attended Broadway and Off Broadway performances. I didn’t want to have to be concerned about the quality of the production. I wanted to count on a standard that would always be sufficient to allow me to be swept away by the experience of the play! Such is the character of the performances at the Fountain Theatre!

Bravo!

Regards,

Roy Allen

Los Angeles

Bakersfield Mist runs to Dec 18 (323) 663-1525

Terri Roberts

by Candyce Columbus, LA Theater Examiner

Without stage managers the show would not go on. Yet they are the most unsung of theatrical professionals. Believing they should have a chance to shine, this is part of a series of Q & A articles with Southland stage managers. Next up is Terri Roberts who is currently stage managing the hit Bakersfield Mist at the Fountain Theatre.

How did you become a stage manager?

I fell into it by accident. Or not – depending on your point of view. In the fall of 2003 I set up and ran concessions for The Theatre @ Boston Court for their inaugural production of Romeo and Juliet,  Antebellum New Orleans 1836. That led to me becoming a dresser for Juliet and the women, doing costume repairs, moving sets and props – generally pitching in wherever help was needed. The stage manager, Jennifer Scheffer, was impressed with my work, so the following fall she invited me to be her ASM for a new musical she was stage managing. It was an Equity gig, so I was eligible to join the union on my very first stage management job!

“The Ballad of Emmett Till”

There have been a few, actually, and for several different reasons (although the common denominator is the cast and/or director and designers. You just can’t beat working with really good, talented people!) However, The Ballad of Emmett Till at the Fountain Theatre holds a particularly tender place in my heart. Our dear Ben Bradley was just beginning rehearsals for it when he was murdered on New Year’s Day 2010. It was Ben who brought me into the Fountain in the first place, so when Stephen Sachs asked me if I would be willing to be the assistant stage manager, I immediately said “yes” – not only because I needed the work, but because it was something I could do to honor Ben. I only came into the show right before tech, but Shirley Jo Finney (who took over as director) and the cast and stage manager were incredibly welcoming and loving, and I bonded quickly with them. We were all connected both by the show (which was brilliant) and by the tragedy of losing Ben, so the whole thing was an extraordinarily personal, profound experience.

Do you have any funny stage managing memories that you cherish?

Well, it wasn’t funny while it was happening, but now…!

In late 2006 I was stage managing a show called Rockers at Theatre West. It had been cold and stormy all day, and during the show it began to rain. It was the first storm of the season, and it was a really heavy rain. About 15 minutes from the end of the show I started to hear a strange noise in the wall. It was rushing water, and the water was starting to pour into the booth through an opening in the wall.

I grabbed the small booth trashcan and stuck it under the flow of water, then snuck out of the booth and grabbed another trashcan from the lobby. I spent the last part of the show doing a wild, one-woman bucket brigade between the booth and the lobby bathrooms, carrying and dumping trash cans full of water to keep the booth from flooding while simultaneously trying to not disturb the audience (who were just a few feet in front of me), trying to call theatre staff for help on my cell phone, and trying to run the last few cues and get the show properly ended!

As soon as the show was over I was able to grab members of the cast and crew to help . . . the whole thing made for a great combined sense of drama, hilarity, accomplishment and teamwork!

Terri with “Bakersfield Mist” actors Jenny O’Hara and Nick Ullett

What is your current project?

I’m currently stage managing Bakersfield Mist at the Fountain Theatre, which opened on 11 June – and we’re still running! Bakersfield Mist is a wonderfully fun show about the nature and perception of art, and the audience response to it has been unbelievable. This is my sixth show at the Fountain, and my second working with Stephen on a production he has both written and directed. (And hopefully, it won’t be my last!) We’re definitely closing on 18 December, so if you haven’t seen it yet, well, as Maude would say, what the *$#! are you waiting for?!

More info on Bakersfield Mist (323) 663-1525

Posted in Fountain Theatre, plays, theatre

Tagged Bakersfield Mist, Ballad of Emmett Till, Fountain Theatre, Jenny O’Hara, Nick Ullett, Shirley Jo Finney, stage management, stage manager, Stephen Sachs, Terri Roberts, Theatre@Boston Court

Ben Bradley

Nearly two years after the brutal homicide of our beloved colleague Ben Bradley, the murder trial of the young man accused of killing him, Jose Fructuoso, has finally begun. The trial is being held at the Superior Court, Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles. Opening arguments began yesterday.

The prosecution is led by LA District Attorney Mario Haydar. Official charges against Fructuoso are felony murder and burglary.

The trial is expected to take approximately two weeks. More updates soon.

Ben Bradley Memorial page

Timo Nunez

Hot-blooded flamenco dancer Timo Nunez sets the stage ablaze for Forever Flamenco on Sunday, November 20, at beautiful Barnsdall Park in Hollywood. The performance begins at 8pm.

Produced by Deborah Lawlor, Forever Flamenco is now in its 8th Smash Year and considered the most prestigious Flamenco series in Los Angeles. Now featured in the lovely 299-seat Gallery Theatre,  nestled on an enchanting hilltop overlooking the Hollywood Hills in Barnsdall Park, Forever Flamenco is the perfect destination for passionate Flamenco in a romantic setting.

Video Highlights of TIMO NUNEZ:

 Guitarist Antonio Triana has selected a line-up of local faves and special out-of-town guests for the November 20 concert.

Fanny Ara

The artists are: 

Dancers: Fanny Ara, Melissa Cruz, Timo Nuñez, Briseyda Zarate
Guitarists: Kai Narezo, Antonio Triana
Percussion: Joey Heredia
Singer: Jesus Montoya

Sunday, November 20 @ 8 pm

Gallery Theatre, Barnsdall Art Park
(323) 663-1525

More Info

Laurie Woolery

Acclaimed LA Theatre artist Luis Alfaro and director Laurie Woolery will lead the artistic team for the West Coast Premiere of Tanya Saracho‘s El Nogalar, the next production opening at the Fountain in January. Woolery will direct the new play, Alfaro will serve as dramaturg.

Laurie Woolery is the Associate Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theatre in Los Angeles. Recently, Ms. Woolery directed The Language Archive by Julia Cho at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She has also directed Amor Eterno – Six Lessons in Love (an anthology by six Latino playwrights) for the grand opening of the Ricardo Montalban Theatre, Bryan Davidson’s Reflecting Back at the Los Angeles Central Library as part of the National Tour of the American Originals exhibit and Richard Coca’s solo piece The Day I Flipped Off Jimmy Carter for SCR’s Hispanic Playwrights Project.

As a director, educator and actor, Laurie has worked at South Coast Repertory (former Director of the Theatre Conservatory), Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Inge Center for the Arts, Denver Center, Los Angeles Theatre Center, Ricardo Montalban Theatre, Deaf West Theatre, fofo Theatre, Highways Performance Space, A Noise Within, Bonderman, Sundance Playwrights Lab as well as the Sundance Children’s Theatre.

Luis Alfaro

Luis Alfaro is a Chicano writer/performer/director known for his work in poetry, theatre, short stories, performance and journalism. He is also a producer/director who spent ten years at the Mark Taper Forum as Associate Producer, Director of New Play Development and co-director of the Latino Theatre Initiative.

Luis is the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowship, popularly known as a “genius grant,” awarded to people who have demonstrated expertise and exceptional creativity in their respective fields. A Rockefeller Fellow and University of California Regents Chair Fellow, he is the only artist to have won two awards in the same year from The Kennedy Center’s Fund for New American Plays. He is also the recipient of awards from the National Endowment of the Arts, Theatre Communications Group and PEN USA, among others. He is featured in over 25 anthologies, has an award-winning spoken word CD, and was nominated for a local Emmy for his short film, Chicanismo.

His recent plays include Oedipus El Rey (Magic Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Theatre@BostonCourt) and  Electricidad (Teatro Vision-San Jose, Mark Taper Forum-Los Angeles, Goodman Theatre-Chicago, Borderlands Theatre-Tuscon).

World premiere production of “El Nogalar” at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago.

El Nogalar (The Pecan Orchard) by Tanya Saracho is inspired by Anton Chekhov’s classic The Cherry Orchard and charts a Mexican family’s experience as their way of life is threatened by encroaching drug cartels, violence and economic upheaval. Set in present-day Northern Mexico and infused with Spanish, Spanglish and Espanglés, it’s a comical and moving story about the choice between adapting to the changing world or being left behind.

Video Trailer from the Goodman production:

El Nogalar at the Fountain Theatre will begin previews Jan 14, opens Jan 21 – Feb 26. (323) 663-1525

Posted in Fountain Theatre, theatre

Tagged Anton Chekhov, Chicano, Cornerstone Theatre Company, El Nogalar, Electricidad, Fountain Theatre, Hispanic, Latino, laurie Woolery, Luis Alfaro, Mark Taper Forum, Mexico, Oedipus El Rey, plays, playwriting, Tanya Saracho, The Cherry Orchard, Theatre@Boston Court