Let's get right to it! This is an Ask to keep small theaters alive in Los Angeles. I am committed to raising $5000 for Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles. You can simply click This Link and dive right in! But maybe you want to read my spiel/plea below. Please help. $2 would be easy, right? That's always a choice.
And Now This:
These days, I give a lot of thought to what makes people feel good. I don't believe it's about sitting in front of our screens: scrolling past trolls, feeding on feeds, watching the dirty words fly by on Twitter. We would all be better off putting a parrot-cage-cover over our computers and cell phones. Then walk out the door. Find a person. Anyone really. And just sit there with them to see what comes up.
This is why I like being a playwright. I can set up a world and then people can come enjoy it. Alive. With each other, with as little technical interference as possible.
As cities get more populated and real estate becomes more scarce, one of the things to get crushed are small performance spaces. But Ensemble Studio Theatre LA (EST/LA), in Atwater Village, has been able to continue to thrive because of our strong development programs, the commitment to our community and because of people like you.
My latest play, The Water Tribe, developed in the Playwrights Unit of EST/LA, is having a full production, co-produced by EST/LA along with VS. Theatre Company, another great, thriving Los Angeles institution. It opens in January and we are in full pre-production for what we hope will be a smashing run.
Here's a bit about this sad, funny play:
The Water Tribe
Claudia and Johnny are intelligent but without intellectual or social context. They want to get married but they need a tribe to witness their very existence. Claudia is an orphan with a cousin, Sonia, who does nothing to help Claudia secure her future. Johnny is half an orphan, with his mother, Sydelle, doing what she can to be loving. Brian, a former co-worker of Claudia, provides a measure of balance and grounded advice. But when things go wrong with this new tribe, Claudia turns to give Johnny what she thinks he craves: something savage, primitive, and loving. When that fails, well, you'll have to come see what happens to them. Nearly obliterated by their vulnerable circumstances, Claudia and Johnny fight to find connection and home.
Would you be interested in supporting EST/LA in supporting this piece of work? This act of generosity would not only help this particular playwright and this particular production, but also all the other playwrights, actors, directors, designers and magicians EST/LA supports along the way.
Small theaters never have enough seats to translate into enough ticket sales to cover the cost of productions. We are supported by: California Arts Council, Hollywood Foreign Press, California Community Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and The Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of of Los Angeles. But the slices of these pies do not add up to ever bake a whole cake! (I will mix my dessert metaphors if I have to!) Your donation will help to provide more than fifty percent of the budget to produce this play. And if this campaign succeeds, we hope it will raise a generous surplus--enough to have the long term effect of keeping thriving theaters like EST/LA open and vital and able to produce plays like The Water Tribe.
This Link will bring you to a page to sign up for your commitment.
I believe you are going to enjoy The Water Tribe and everything else that we have going on at EST/LA. The workshops, the outreach, the community building, and most importantly, the people. Thanks for reading. Any questions? Please ask. And have a great day.
