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Tag Archives: West Coast Premiere
VIDEO: For playwright Idris Goodwin, hip hop play ‘Hype Man’ is about friendship
Posted in African American, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, hip hop, Los Angeles, Music, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre
Tagged Fountain Theatre, friendship, hip hop, Hollywood, Hype Man, Idris Goodwin, justice, Los Angeles, new play, PLAY, playwright, racism, theater, theatre, West Coast Premiere
VIDEO: What is hip hop?
What is hip hop? A genre of music? A style of clothes? A way of life? Take a look.
In this West Coast Premiere of HYPE MAN by Idris Goodwin, a hip-hop trio is on the verge of making it big on national TV when a police shooting of a Black teen shakes the band to its core, forcing them to confront questions of race, gender, privilege and when to use their art as an act of social protest. When the Hype Man takes matters into his own hands, the ensuing beef exposes the long-buried rifts of race and privilege that divide them. Will it tear them apart or can they find a way to still breathe together?
Written by Idris Goodwin. Directed by Deena Selenow. Starring Chad Addison, Matthew Hancock, Clarissa Thibeaux. Starts Feb 23.
Posted in actors, African American, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, hip hop, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Music, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, race, racism, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Chad Addison, Clarissa Thibeaux, Deena Selenow, Fountain Theatre, hip hop, Hype Man, Idris Goodwin, Los Angeles, Matthew Hancock, music, rap, theater, theatre, West Coast Premiere
Fountain Theatre’s ‘Cost of Living’ hailed “Best in Theater in 2018” by Los Angeles Times
Katy Sullivan and Felix Solis in ‘Cost of Living’.
The Fountain Theatre’s acclaimed west coast premiere of Cost of Living by Martyna Majok has been named by Los Angeles Times theatre critic Charles McNulty as “Best in Theater in 2018.” McNulty writes, “The Fountain Theatre’s production of Majok’s “Cost of Living” confirmed just how indispensable 99-seat theaters still are to a healthy theater ecology.”
“Martyna Majok’s searing drama,” McNulty continues, “about the relationship between disabled persons and their caregivers was bravely essayed by the Fountain in a production directed by John Vreeke that revealed just how acutely this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama exposes some vulnerable truths at the heart of the human condition.”
Cost of Living features Tobias Forrest, Xochitl Romero, Felix Solis and Katy Sullivan. The run ends this Sunday, December 16.
Posted in actors, Art, Arts, arts organizations, designers, director, disability, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre
Tagged actors, Charles McNulty, Cost of Living, disability, drama, Felix Solis, Fountain Theatre, John Vreeke, Katy Sullivan, LA Times, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times, Martyna Majok, theater, theatre, Tobias Forrest, West Coast Premiere, Xochitl Romero
Students respond to the power and honesty of ‘Cost of Living’ at the Fountain Theatre
“It captured me from the very first scene.”
The Fountain Theatre believes students and young people must have the opportunity to engage and consider meaningful human issues through the experience of live theatre. We love having students in our audience. They are the artists, arts patrons and arts leaders of tomorrow.
We’re always delighted when teacher Alan Goodson brings his students from Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising to the Fountain Theatre. They recently enjoyed our funny and poignant West Coast Premiere of Martyna Majok’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Cost of Living. Here are some of the reactions written by the students:
“Overall, the play was an excellent representation of everyday life, not just for one with disabilities, but for those who crave to be pulled out of loneliness. The way that Majok portrayed the play through the eyes of two characters in wheelchairs, as well as their caretakers, was an excellent way to grab the audience’s attention. It was an on-edge performance, with exceptional acting skills. While showing someone with disabilities can be a touchy subject for most, it’s important for others to see that they aren’t the only ones in life that may need a little extra love, or caretaking.”
Tobias Forrest and Xochitl Romero in “Cost of Living”
“Whether it be bathing, eating, or taking part in social life, Cost of Living is a reenactment of what millions of people go through. This thought-provoking piece allows the audience to be vulnerable, uncomfortable, and also gives people a chance the be thankful for the simple things that are often taken for granted.”
*
“Cost of Living was a production that completely changed my perception of those that are disabled. I believed that many were strong, and had to carry on with their lives after an incident happens, or even from birth. However, I didn’t realize the actual struggle that these people had to face in daily life, when it comes to daily, normal activities. I not only had sympathy for them, but I also saw their strength and courage and how it can be hard to accept help from others, especially when they see others carrying on their lives normally, when they physically are not able to do so. If the play was able to change my views, it’s able to change many others’ as well.”
*
“I believe the director and actors were able to show and bring to life that feeling of what the characters cost of living was. Personally, I can relate to the production in that I have a disability that at times hinders my ability to live life to my fullest. I try not to let it, but at times there is nothing I can do about it being my cost of living.”
*
“The play is about disabilities with people, not the other way around. The message of the play is that the biggest disabilities we can have are the ones that every person encounters at some point—loneliness and fear. The worst disabilities are not about having someone bathe or shave you, it’s the ones that make us human and make us all alike in some way. Personally, I found myself somewhere in this play, as I’m sure many others did. It captured me from the very first scene, and made me feel for each character and I related it to struggles in my own life.”
Theatre as a Learning Tool is the Fountain Theatre’s educational outreach program, making theatre accessible to students and young people throughout Southern California.
More Info/Get Tickets to Cost of Living
Posted in actors, Arts, Arts education, arts organizations, disability, Drama, Education, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, Outreach Program, performing arts, plays, Theater, theatre
Tagged Alan Goodson, college students, Cost of Living, disability, educational outreach, Fashion Institute for Design and Merchandising, FIDM, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, Martyna Majok, Pulitzer Prize, students, theater, theatre, Theatre as a Learning Tool, Tobias Forrest, West Coast Premiere, Xochitl Romero
Martyna Majok shares with Fountain audience how she almost missed phone call of Pulitzer win
Martyna Majok and “Cost of Living” cast
Playwright Martyna Majok almost missed receiving the call from her agent on winning the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, Cost of Living. She was supposed to be serving jury duty that day. Instead, she had postponed it. She was, therefore, home in her New York apartment to receive the call that would change her career forever.
Sharing the story with our Fountain Theatre audience in a post-show Q&A discussion Saturday night, Martyna explained that her husband, actor Josiah Bania, had the day off work that day. They were planning on doing their taxes. He was taking a nap on the couch when Martyna’s phone rang around three o’clock. Her agent was on the phone screaming, “You won the Pulitzer!” Her reaction? She was furious. “How dare you!” she yelled back. “You know how much this means to me. This is not funny!” For nine minutes on the phone, Martyna’s agent tried to convince her. But she would have none it. It wasn’t until the texts began flooding in from friends — including one from her playwright pal Stephen Adly Guirgis — that she accepted that her wish had come true.
Since that fateful phone call, her life has spun into a whirlwind of national attention. Yet the work remains the same. The Fountain Theatre is proud to be producing the West Coast Premiere of her funny and beautiful play, and we’re pleased to now call her our friend and a member of our Fountain Family.
Cost of Living is earning rave reviews in a limited run to Dec 16th. More Info/Get Tickets
Posted in actors, artist, Arts, arts organizations, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, playwright, Theater, theatre
Tagged audience, Cost of Living, drama, Felix Solis, Fountain Theatre, Josiah Bania, Katy Sullivan, Los Angeles, Martyna Majok, Pulitzer Prize, Q&A, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, Tobias Forrest, West Coast Premiere, Xochitl Romero
Take a look at the scenic design for our West Coast Premiere of ‘Cost of Living’
Get a sneak peek at the set design for our West Coast Premiere of the Pulitzer Prize winning Cost of Living by Martyna Majok. The scenic design by Tom Buderwitz includes sliding walls that reveal a bathtub and a shower, plus video panels to evoke time and place.
Achingly human. Surprisingly funny. Cost of Living is a haunting, compelling play about the forces that bring people together and the realities of facing the world with physical disabilities. Opens October 20.
Posted in arts organizations, designers, disability, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged Cost of Living, drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, Martyna Majok, PLAY, scenic design, set design, theater, theatre, Tom Buderwitz, West Coast Premiere
Fountain Theatre awarded grant for Pulitzer Prize winner ‘Cost of Living’ by Martyna Majok
Katy Sullivan, Victor William in “Cost of Living”, Manhattan Theatre Club, 2017.
The National Arts and Disability Center has awarded The Fountain an Arts and Accessibility Grant to support its upcoming West Coast Premiere of Martyna Majok‘s 2018 Pulitzer Prize winning play, Cost of Living. The grant will assist in funding the compensation of two actors with disabilities for the production opening October 20th.
“We are grateful to the NADC and the California Arts Council for their support of this important project,” states Fountain Co-Artistic Director Stephen Sachs. “We are proud to produce this Pulitzer Prize winning new play which features two leading roles for actors with disabilities. It is another example of the Fountain Theatre’s mission of inclusion and our commitment to serving a wide variety of communities in Los Angeles.”
Achingly human and surprisingly funny, Cost of Living is a haunting, rigorously unsentimental play about the forces that bring people together and the realities of facing the world with physical disabilities. Unemployed truck driver Eddie is struggling to rebuild a relationship with his estranged wife Ani, recently wheelchair-bound with a spinal cord injury. Jess, in a job that she desperately needs, is trying to navigate her duties with John, her new boss with cerebral palsy. But, who is really caring for whom? By shattering stereotypes, the play reveals how deeply we all need each other.
Cost of Living debuted at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2017. The Fountain west coast premiere, directed by John Vreeke, will run October 20 to December 16th. Casting is now underway.
This activity is supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Arts and Disability Center at the University of California Los Angeles.
Posted in Arts, arts organizations, director, disability, Drama, Fountain Theatre, grants, Los Angeles, new plays, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, stage, Theater, theatre
Tagged arts, California Arts Council, Cost of Living, disability, drama, Fountain Theatre, John Vreeke, Los Angeles, Martyna Majok, National Arts and Disability Center, PLAY, Pulitzer Prize, Stephen Sachs, theater, theatre, UCLA, University of California Los Angeles, West Coast Premiere
Students share their feelings on the power and intimacy of ‘Baby Doll’
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.
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
Invited guests enjoy exclusive VIP performance of “Baby Doll” at the Fountain Theatre
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 the Fountain. The VIP guests enjoyed their own exclusive performance and then chatted with the company in a catered reception upstairs in our charming cafe.
It was a relaxed evening of nice food, good wine, stimulating conversation and a riveting production of a steamy, powerful play. The invited guests relished meeting the actors after the performance. Many gathered outside on the balcony to savor the Hollywood night air.
In attendance were Adam Mortanian, Ashley Bowman, Audrey Stein, Bonnie and Arthur Nijst, Brian Getnick, Cala Bowdra, Dale and Don Franzen, Dan Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, Ed and Caron Gonzales, Gary and Rebecca Drucker, James Benge, Jane and Howard Matz, Jessica and Demetrius Martinez, Kathy and Jack Smith, Krista and Ron Sanders, Lisa Nevins and Kent Caldwell-Meek, Mark and Leah Drooks, Natalie Bergeson, Paul Moskowitz, Ruth and Bonnie and Stuart Wolpert, Ryan and Margaret Cutrona, Sheri Leiwand, Shoshana Bannett, Steve Thomas, Thelma and Elliot Samulon.
Our heartfelt thanks to Dick, Jerrie, Dorothy and Stanley for hosting this very special evening.
Baby Doll is now extended to Oct 30th. MORE INFO/GET TICKETS
Posted in actors, arts organizations, Board of Directors, cafe, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, Tennessee Williams, Theater, theatre
Tagged arts organizations, baby doll, Board of Directors, Dick Motika, Dorothy Wolpert, Fountain Theatre, Jerrie Whitfield, Los Angeles, performing arts, plays, Stanley Wolpert, Stephen Sachs, Tennessee Williams, theater, theatre, VIP, West Coast Premiere
Finding actor John Prosky was worth the search for ‘Baby Doll’ at Fountain Theatre
John Prosky and Lindsay LaVanchy in ‘Baby Doll’
When director Simon Levy was casting our west coast premiere of Tennessee Williams’ Baby Doll back in April, finding the right actor to play Archie Lee Meighan was a challenge. Levy sifted through hundreds of submissions and auditioned dozens of actors yet he struggled to spot what he was looking for. He needed an actor who could authentically evoke the crude, raw good ol’ boy Southern brutality of the cotton gin owner yet also reveal the character’s fear and vulnerability. Finding that actor seemed impossible.
Then, one afternoon, actor Daniel Bess, already cast in the play, made a suggestion. Did Simon know John Prosky? Daniel’s friend and fellow-member at Antaeus Theatre Company? A meeting was scheduled. And from the first moment that Prosky began his audition it was clear to Levy and everyone present that the hunt for Archie Lee Meighan was over.
John Prosky
“I’m strangely drawn to Archie’s desperation,” Prosky now says. “It’s not always easy or fun to play but I get that part of Archie Lee on a visceral level. I’m certainly no racist, or a cuckold nor am I married to a 20 year old — although my wife does look so much younger than me that it is sometimes assumed. But Archie’s place on “the edge” is something I commune with at this point in my life. Not completely sure why but I sometimes feel like I’m going to loose everything. Maybe it’s just because I have so much to lose.”
Prosky indeed has many blessings. He is married and a father. His son just started 8th grade. In addition to a busy acting career, he teaches. Like Archie Lee in Baby Doll, he sometimes worries that what he values most might all be taken from him. “I sometimes have this fear that I will fuck it all up or it will all somehow slide into oblivion,” he admits. “The good actor’s first job is to bring himself to the work and that part of Archie Lee I get.”
Not every aspect of Archie Lee came easy.
“His physical abuse of Baby Doll I find a stretch for me” he concedes. “And the shotgun. I hate guns. I am always using a gun in something I’m acting in but this is my first shotgun. And a shotgun in the hands of a white male in Mississippi in the 1950s should look as comfortable as an iphone in the hands of a hipster today. So that took some work.”
The Fountain Theatre production — and Prosky’s performance — has earned widespread critical acclaim. But it’s the audience response that pleases him most.
“It’s the reason theater is my first love,” he says. “That immediate communication of actor as storyteller is the whole point of theater and so much more rewarding than anything I’ve ever done on film or TV. “
And his first-time experience working at the Fountain Theatre?
“The Fountain and this production have made me feel respected, welcomed, supported, challenged and fulfilled. Very few theaters can do all that.”
Baby Doll has been extended to October 30. More Info/Get Tickets
Posted in Acting, actors, Arts, arts organizations, director, Drama, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, non-profit organization, performing arts, plays, Tennessee Williams, Theater, theatre
Tagged acting, actor, actors, Archie Lee Meighan, baby doll, Daniel Bess, drama, Fountain Theatre, John Prosky, Lindsay LaVanchy, Los Angeles, performing arts, plays, Simon Levy, Tennessee Williams, theater, theatre, West Coast Premiere
