November | 2016 | Intimate Excellent
Fountain actress Simone Missick currently co-stars on the Netflix hit series Luke Cage. She has appeared on our Fountain stage in our acclaimed Los Angeles Premiere of Tarell McCraney’s In the Red and Brown Water, and our award-winning stage adaptation of Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine.
The Fountain Theatre is Simone’s theatre home in Los Angeles. Like any home, the Fountain needs care and upkeep and investment to maintain its value and longevity.
“I have been allowed to grow and change and I’ve been nurtured in ways I could only have dreamed of by my Fountain Family,” says Simone.
The Fountain Theatre is a dream worth supporting. A dream worth fighting for. Don’t you agree? Give now
How Can I Help Keep the Fountain Dream Alive?
Posted in Arts, arts organizations, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, Theater, theatre
Tagged Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine, donate, dream, Fountain Theatre, In The Red and Brown Water, Los Angeles, Luke Cage, Marvel, Netflix, Simone Missick, support, Tarell Alvin McCraney, theater, theatre
Reaching out to students and making theatre available to young people is vitally important to the Fountain Theatre. And we love it when students reach back. Such was the case on October 24th when the Fountain hosted teacher Alan Goodson and his students from Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising to a performance of our sizzling West Coast Premiere of Tennessee Williams’ Baby Doll.
Alan Goodson
Goodson, also an actor who has appeared on our Fountain stage, led his college students in a post-show discussion with the professional actors following the Baby Doll performance. The students asked questions of cast members, discussed the issues raised in the play and shared thoughts and feelings about the theatre-going experience itself. For some, it was their first time seeing a live professional production of a play.
The students then returned to the classroom and wrote papers outlining their insights and describing how the play and production impacted them emotionally, intellectually and artistically.
The Fountain recently received a sampling of their comments:
“Arguably the most powerful moment of the play comes at the very end. Baby Doll and Aunt Comfort sit outside the house after Archie Lee and Silva have been arrested. Silva has said he will come back for Baby Doll, but her future is uncertain at best….Although it is at the very end of the play, this moment, so beautifully directed by Levy, is when the message of the Fountain Theatre’s performance of Baby Doll comes through loud and clear: sexism in 1950’s America was rampant, and the patriarchal mindset of the culture and characters ultimately led to their crippling stagnancy. The Fountain Theatre’s production of Baby Doll is like a fine wine – it gets better with time. You leave the theatre with the assurance that you have just seen an incredible play put on by a talented group; however, the true meaning of the play seeps through more and more the longer you stew on it.”
This student was drawn into the play by the intimacy of the theatre:
“The play environment was intriguing. I have never been to a production that was so intimate. The theatre itself was very small, the seats were close together, and the stage was right in front of your eyes. I felt the audience was in this play experience together. The actors were so close I could see every detail in their faces. They made eye contact with us and were able to engage us in the storyline. I was intrigued by the fact that I could examine every small detail about the costumes and the set. Being so close to the actors and the set is very different from going to a big theatre where you can barely see their facial expressions or the set theme.”
For this student, overcoming doubts about seeing the play led to a meaningful experience in the theatre:
“Before seeing Baby Doll at the Fountain Theatre, I was a bit skeptical if I would enjoy the play after reading the synopsis. But I was pleasantly surprised. The actors portrayed their roles remarkably, showing every emotion and movement as if they were really living in the play….the way the cast fed off of one another made it that much more enjoyable….While there was much controversy surrounding the movie when it first came out, I think Tennessee Williams created a phenomenal and important script. The women empowerment and sexuality themes not only made the play witty and comical, but also made the audience think about how life was once like for women of that time. Baby Doll may have started out in the cinema, but it was meant for the theatre. It is a superb play that is brought to life by extremely talented actors.”
In the post-show Q&A with the cast, perhaps the most important question was asked by a blushing young female student when our handsome, beefy leading man, Daniel Bess, met the group:
Question: “How many times a week do you work out?”
Answer: “Three.”
See? A life in the theatre can be enhancing in so many ways …
Young people today are the theatre audiences — and theatre makers — of tomorrow. The Fountain maintains its ongoing dedication to staying connected to young audiences and broadening its reach to high school and college students regionwide. With school budgets being cut for arts education everywhere, the Fountain offers an important role in arts learning.
This event was made possible by Theatre as a Learning Tool, the Fountain Theatre’s educational outreach program making the life-enhancing experience of live theatre accessible to young people and students throughout Southern California.
More Info on Theatre as a Learning Tool
Posted in actors, Arts, Arts education, arts organizations, Drama, Education, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, non-profit organization, Outreach Program, performing arts, plays, Tennessee Williams, Theater, theatre
Tagged Alan Goodson, Arts education, baby doll, college students, Daniel Bess, drama, educational outreach, Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, outreach, Simon Levy, Southern California, students, Tennessee Williams, theater, theatre, Theatre as a Learning Tool, West Coast Premiere
A fabulous performance, an exuberant standing ovation, and a lively party afterward highlighted the opening night of our remounting of the hit comedy/drama, Bakersfield Mist. The relaunch Saturday night was enjoyed by a full house of happy patrons, Fountain Friends and Family, and exclusively invited VIP Donors.
Written and directed by Stephen Sachs and performed by the splendid original cast of Jenny O’Hara and Nick Ullett, Bakersfield Mist tells the story of trailer trash dumpster diver Maude Gutman, who is convinced the painting she bought at a thrift for $3 is actually a long-lost masterpiece by Jackson Pollock worth millions. The hit play was created and developed at the Fountain Theatre in 2011, earning rave reviews and a 7-month sold-out run. The play is now performed across the United States and around the world.
At Saturday’s re-opening night, delighted audience members joined the company upstairs in our cafe for a catered reception with the actors and Fountain production and creative team. Fountain VIP Donors in attendance included Carol Ardura, Rabbi Anne Brener, Anita Lorber, Edike and Victoria Ndefo, Harold Shabo, Abner and Roz Goldstine, Fran and Arnie Stengel, Patty Paul, Carol Kline, Karen Kondazian, Ester Lee Alpern, Hugh and Marleen Scheffy.
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Bakersfield Mist Now Playing! (323) 663-1525 More Info/Get Tickets
Posted in actors, Art, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, Theater, theatre
Tagged Bakersfield Mist, comedy, drama, Fountain Theatre, Jenny O’Hara, Los Angeles, Nick Ullett, opening night, party, reception, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre
More Info/Get Tickets
Posted in actors, Art, arts organizations, Bakersfield Mist, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Bakersfield Mist, comedy, drama, Fountain Theatre, Jackson Pollock, Jenny O’Hara, Los Angeles, Nick Ullett, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre
Lawrence Stallings, Pablo Castelblanco, Richard Azurdia, Peter Pasco
The Fountain Theatre has been honored with three Ovation Award nominations for its Los Angeles Premiere of My Mañana Comes by Elizabeth Irwin. Directed by Armando Molina, the fast-paced comedy/drama about four busboys in the kitchen of an upscale restaurant drew rave reviews. The talented cast featured Richard Azurdia, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco and Lawrence Stallings.
The 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.
The Fountain Theatre production of My Mañana Comes has received the following nominations:
- Best Production of a Play
- Best Acting Ensemble of a Play – Richard Azurdia, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco and Lawrence Stallings
- Best Scenic Design – Michael Navarro
For the 2015/16 Ovation Awards voting season, there were 280 productions registered from 116 different organizations, resulting in nominations for 70 productions from 45 organizations. These productions were voted on by 233 Ovation Awards voters — vetted individuals from the Greater Los Angeles area who are working theatre professionals.
The 27th Annual LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards will occur on Tuesday, January 17, 2017 at The Ahmanson Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. More info
Full list of nominees
Posted in Acting, actors, arts organizations, designers, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Latino, Los Angeles, Mexican American, new plays, non-profit organization, Ovation Awards, performing arts, plays, restaurant, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Ahmanson Theatre, Armando Molina, award, busboys, Elizabeth Irwin, Fountain Theatre, Lawrence Stallings, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Premiere, Michael Navarro, My Manana Comes, new plays, nominations, Ovation Awards, Pablo Castelblanco, Peter Pasco, restaurant, Richard Azurdia, theater, theatre