When Stephen next approached me about directing the play outdoors in the summer of 2021, I briefly wondered whether An Octoroon was still relevant post-George Floyd and the ascent of the Black Lives Matter movement. Then 2020 walloped us with its one-two punch of Covid and the murder of George Floyd and the world-wide social uprising in its wake. We planned a summer 2020 run in what we thought was the perfect venue and a theater I knew well, having acted at the Fountain in three different productions over the years. It was 2019: the before-times when Stephen Sachs and I first discussed my directing the Los Angeles premiere of An Octoroon. All we need is a parking lot, a stage, a few actors, some magic – and you. Its outrageous theatricality fills the open air of our Outdoor Stage perfectly, and its skewering of our nation’s racism, past and present, is brutally dead-on.įunny, isn’t it? As the Fountain moves forward, it goes back to its roots. I wanted the Fountain to be the theatre that premieres this bold, funny, and powerful work in Los Angeles. I am forever grateful.Īn Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a remarkable play that I have sought to produce for some time. Together, they transformed an idea, born from a crisis, into a magnificent actuality. This outdoor urban jewel comes from the generous support, long hours, and back-breaking work of many extraordinary people. We will assemble the Outdoor Stage every summer hereafter and offer the city of Los Angeles theatre and dance under the stars. The Fountain Theatre’s new Outdoor Stage is more than a temporary response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The local McDonald’s donated hamburgers and drinks. At showtime, excited children and parents from surrounding blocks swarmed into our dirt parking lot and sat around the tiny stage. We hired a troupe of traveling players to perform Puss in Boots in English and Spanish (“El Gato Con Botas”) for the kids in the neighborhood. So, we set up a funky little stage in the dirt where we parked our cars - years before we got around to having it paved. We had already opened our first mainstage production. Sure, we had just bought a two-story building with a cozy, fully functional theater. That first summer thirty-one years ago, when Deborah Lawlor and I opened our front doors in 1990, we installed a small wooden stage in the parking lot. Welcome to the Fountain Theatre Outdoor Stage
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