by Terri Roberts Like most of us here in Los Angeles, I’ve spent much of this week watching in stunned disbelief as terrifying images of apocalyptic fires decimated LA neighborhoods, destroyed schools, centers of worship, and cultural landmarks, and redefined the landscape of LA County. Pacific Palisades? Virtually wiped out. Altadena? Decimated. Sunset Blvd.? Wrecked. […]
The Wallis Annenberg Foundation has awarded The Fountain Theatre a $40,000 grant for general operating support. The Annenberg Foundation is one of the top private philanthropies in the country, and is dedicated to using its resources to support organizations that are fostering positive change in the world. As Wallis Annenberg stated in an article in […]
By Brendan Kiley What’s so special about theater? I’ve been asked that last question so many times, and asked it in return, never getting further than the theater enthusiast’s shopworn answer: “There’s something magical about seeing it live.” Sure, sure. But why? What’s so damn magical? This summer, I thought I caught the glimmer of an […]
by Stephen Sachs It came from the young producer of a newly-formed immersive theatre company. His troupe eschews the conventional production of plays. Instead, it presents “multisensory experiences.” The question was targeted at me. The panel discussion at LATC brought together artistic directors from six LA companies, some new and some long-established, to talk over […]
John Prosky as Archie Lee in ‘Baby Doll’. by Stephen Sachs When the movie Baby Doll was released in 1956, it was the film’s sexuality that drew all the attention. Time magazine called it “possibly the dirtiest American picture ever legally exhibited,” and the film was condemned for lewdness by the Legion of Decency. Cardinal […]
Outreach Coordinator Dionna Daniel with women from A Place Called Home. The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation has awarded the Fountain Theatre a grant for $14,000.00 to support the theatre’s educational outreach programs. The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation improves the well-being of the residents of Los Angeles County through grantmaking that enriches cultural experiences and active civic engagement. The grant […]
The Burrus ‘Baby Doll’ House today. In July, actress Lindsay LaVanchy was in the thick of rehearsals at the Fountain Theatre in the lead role of Baby Doll in our west coast premiere when she got a phone call from her agent. Lindsay had booked a guest starring role on the MTV series Scream. It […]
by Marvin B. Farber Written after a riveting matinee performance of The Fountain Theatre and Deaf West Theatre co-production of a new play, Cyrano. Erinn Anova and Troy Kotsur in “Cyrano”. BRILLIANCE An inspired deaf poet patterns his poetry of love with graceful, sensual movements of the hands. American Sign Language Skill of the deaf actor his […]
The excitement of Opening Night on Saturday of our world premiere of Cyrano was given an added thrill by the attendance of Film/TV actress Marlee Matlin. Marlee is a longtime supporter of both Deaf West and the Fountain Theatre. She is a member of the Advisory Board at Deaf West, and she starred in the […]
The Fountain parking lot was transformed for the VIP evening. Much about last Saturday night’s VIP performance of Cost of Living at the Fountain was out of the ordinary. Our exclusively invited guests drove up to the Fountain to discover a team of valet parking attendants waiting to park their cars for them. The performance […]
Dick Motika, Caron Gonzales, Jerrie Whitfield, Edward Gonzales Sometimes, when you have something special, you just want to share it. That was the feeling last night, when Fountain Board members Dick Motika, Jerrie Whitfield, Dorothy Wolpert and her husband, Stanley Wolpert, invited their friends and colleagues to a special-added private performance of Baby Doll at […]
Sometimes, on some nights, the value of what we do — and why we do it — manifests itself in a clear and affirming way. Last night, happening simultaneously in two sections of town, was one of those evenings. Town hall meeting at LATC Last night at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown LA, […]
Actor John Prosky teaches young men at Rancho San Antonio They come from all over Southern California. From a wide range of backgrounds, for a variety of reasons. Many have no where else to go. Each has a unique story to tell. And for the young men at Rancho San Antonio Boys Home in Chatsworth, […]
“Cyrano” reading at Mixed Blood Theatre, MN. Fountain actors Troy Kotsur and Paul Raci, director Simon Levy, and playwright Stephen Sachs were at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis last weekend to join local actors there for a reading of Cyrano, the recent smash hit Fountain co-production with Deaf West Theatre. Cyrano was being read as […]