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Fountain Theatre honors Juneteenth with free celebration and other events

Posted on June 7, 2021 | Leave a comment

The Fountain Theatre commemorates the emancipation of enslaved women and men in Texas on June 19, 1865 — the last state to abolish slavery in the U.S. following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 — with a special event at the Fountain’s new Covid-safe outdoor venue in East Hollywood. The Fountain’s Juneteenth Celebration will take place on Saturday, June 19 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

The Fountain event will feature dancing with D.J. Earry Hall as well as special guests. Food and handcrafted items will be available for purchase from Black vendors and artisans, including Mama Aunties Vegan Goodies; Gloria Shelby-Dyer (SoBeltClothing.com and Affirmation Mirrors); Nappilynaturals/Sharon Williams; B.T. Williams Handmade Jewelry; and Brilliance Ltd.

The celebration will immediately follow a 5 p.m. matinee performance of the Obie award-winning play An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a Los Angeles premiere production that is inaugurating the Fountain’s new outdoor stage (separate, ticketed admission).

Counting down to the June 19 event, the Fountain will also host a virtual Juneteenth panel discussion, moderated by playwright, performer and founder/artistic director of Minneapolis-based Carlyle Brown & Company Carlyle Brown and featuring panelists Miami Herald journalist Bea L. Hines; performance artist, educator and linguist Vanya Allen; and playwright/screenwriter Keith Josef Adkins, on Monday June 14 at 1 p.m. PT. The discussion will be available live on Zoom, and will also be live-streamed on the Fountain’s social media platforms, where it will remain available to view on demand throughout the week.

On Tuesday, June 15, the Fountain will post a spoken word video created in honor of Juneteenth by Loyola Marymount University’s Theatre in Color. The LMU video will also remain available to view on demand throughout the week.

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day, has been celebrated by African Americans on June 19 every year since the late 1800s.

Earlier this year, the Fountain received approval from the City of Los Angeles to install the outdoor stage for the purpose of safely presenting live performances and other events during the pandemic. Construction is now complete, with the opening of An Octoroon slated for June 18.

An Octoroon is Jacobs-Jenkins’s gasp-inducing deconstruction of a moustache-twirling melodrama by 19th century playwright Dion Boucicault that twists a funhouse world of larger-than-life stereotypes into blistering social commentary.

For more information about the Juneteenth events, An Octoroon and the Fountain Theatre, call 323-663-1525 or go to www.fountaintheatre.com.

Intimate. Excellent. Leading the way.

Posted on June 3, 2021 | Leave a comment

by Logan Myles Stacer

For 31 years, the Fountain Theatre has proudly maintained its identity as Intimate and Excellent. With the opening this month of An Octoroon, we are doubling down on our commitment to leading the way.

June 18th marks a turning point, not just for the Fountain Theatre but for Los Angeles theatre writ large. The opening of Branden Jacob-Jenkins’ An Octoroon brings with it a re-centering of the role that theatre can play in helping communities to heal.

The Fountain holds the distinction of being the first intimate theatre in Los Angeles granted permission by Actors’ Equity, the union that governs stage actors and stage managers, to re-open in the wake of falling COVID-19 infections. The timing of that approval also allows us to acknowledge Juneteenth in a more expansive way, by building out programming that continues the conversation on the themes of both An Octoroon and that important day.

Juneteenth is a national holiday that commemorates June 19^th, 1965 – the day that the news of emancipation finally made it to the state of Texas, officially marking the end of chattel slavery in the United States. While President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1st, 1863, it still took two and a half years for that news to travel to Texas. There are many different theories as to why this happened, but the fact remains that the Texas economy was able to benefit from slave labor for more than two years after the rest of the country abandoned it. Appropriately, in 1980, Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. Today, 47 states and the District of Columbia also accept Juneteenth as a state or ceremonial holiday.

Black independence, Black commerce, and Black solidarity will be on display at the Fountain Theatre throughout the week of Juneteenth. On Monday, June 14^th, at 12pm, we will host a virtual panel discussion moderated by Carlyle Brown, noted playwright/performer/artistic director of the Minneapolis-based Carlyle Brown & Company. On Tuesday, June 15^th, we’ll be sharing a poem performed by LMU’s Theatre in Color. And during our actual Juneteenth celebration, we’ll be hosting Black-owned businesses such as MamaAunties Vegan Goodies, Nappily Naturals, B.T. Williams’ handmade jewelry, and more, at the theatre. There will also be art from the New Black City art exhibit on display.

We encourage you to join us in experiencing An Octoroon and our additional Juneteenth programming as we celebrate the grand re-opening of the Fountain Theatre and our beautiful new Outoor Stage. Previews for An Octoroon begin June 11; opening night is June 18. Performances are Fridays-Mondays at 7pm through Sept. 19. Tickets range from $25-$45; Pay-What-You-Want seating is available every Monday night in addition to regular seating (subject to availability.) Tickets are on sale now via the Fountain box office at (323) 663-1525, or on our website at www.fountaintheatre.com.

Logan Myles Stacer is the Assistant Community Engagement Coordinator at the Fountain Theatre.