Ensemble Studio Theatre – LA & Open Fist Theatre Company, two of Los Angeles’ most respected theatre companies join together for the first time to present a world premiere play, Love Water, written by Jacqueline Wright (Eat Me, Buddy Buddette), directed by Dan Bonnell (Happy End) and produced by Isabel Storey. Love Water will preview on Saturday, May 30 at 8pm; Sunday, May 31 at 7pm; Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4 at 8pm and will open on Friday, June 5 at 8pm and run through Saturday, July 11 at The New Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. (former home of The Actor’s Gang) in Hollywood.
Set in a mythical urban neighborhood, Love Water tells the story of a boy, Antonio, and a woman, Lulu, who find friendship and refuge in a water pipe high above a polluted concrete riverbed. Antonio's mother secretly wears his clothes and may be poisoning his food. Lulu's husband searches for her and leaves her Italian pies. An artist deity hovers above and dispenses cryptic admonitions. A man steals a giant egg that enfolds a mutant girl with an insatiable hunger for fresh caramel. Combining gritty realism with the logic of dreams, Love Water follows the currents of the character's intertwining lives and unlikely connections.
Jacqueline Wright (Playwright) is a playwright and poet. A graduate of California Institute of the Arts, her plays have been produced/developed with
Ensemble Studio Theatre (N.Y. and LA) ASK
Theatre Projects, Cal Arts, Occidental College, Theatre of Note, Cypress College, The Echo Theater Company, 24th Street Theatre, The Road Theatre Company, Los Angeles Library, HBO Comedy Festival, Circus Theatrics (Australia), amongst others. Her critically acclaimed play Bing premiered at Theatre of Note and later received a production at Occidental College. Jacqueline’s collaborative work with Theatre of Note and Ghost Road Company’s ensemble created production of Clyt at Home was nominated for Ovation and LA WEEKLY awards. Her play Buddy Buddette received a successful production with
Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA. Her play Eat Me, received six LA Weekly nominations, including best comedy playwriting. She was a 2005 Jerome Fellowship alternate for her play Love Water which is featured in The Playwrights Center’s new play gallery. Spider Bites was a 2008 finalist for
Bob Dylan Days Literary Festival in Hibbing MN and received a beautifully executed production by Theatre of Note. She is currently developing Driving Wilde, a post modern re-imagining of
Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray and Mixquixtil- The Aztec Goddess of Death, her second commissioned play by The Echo Theater Company. Jacqueline has written several plays for Virginia Ave Project, an inspiring organization that works with at risk youth. She is a member of
Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA & Dog Ear writer’s collective (www.dogear.org).
Dan Bonnell (Director) his work has been seen in Los Angeles at Pacific Resident Theatre (Happy End - Best Revival Award- LA Drama Critic’s Circle 2006 and Anatol, LA Drama Critic’s Circle-- Directing Award 2008), the Matrix, the Met, Cornerstone, [Inside] @ The Ford, ASK Theater Projects,
Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA (Headless, Stage Directions, And Still the Dogs), Highways, Moving Arts, the HBO Workspace (“
Sarah Silverman’s Sarah Says Cheese” and the live theatrical version of “Mr. Show with Bob and David”). He served as Artistic Director at Arcade, a workspace for theatre and media from 1995-2001. A member of EST-LA, he was Co- Artistic Director from 2006-2008. In addition to the LA Drama Critic’s Awards, Mr. Bonnell has been honored with the LA Weekly Directing Award, the NAACP Directing Award and the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Theater in Los Angeles. He was nominated, in 2003, for Theater Communications Group “
Alan Schneider Award”. Prior to LA, Dan was a Resident Director at Circle Rep in New York City and staged plays for notable companies across the country including: Long Wharf, the Asolo, Atlanta’s Alliance Theater, Pioneer Theater Company, and internationally at the Bronfman Center in Montreal and Theatre Les Deschargeurs in Paris.
Isabel Storey (Producer) is a veteran producer and writer whose company, Storey Productions, specializes in producing socially relevant world premiere plays. Besides Love Water, she has produced three other world premieres in 2008-2009: The Monkey Jar by Ovation Award-nominated writer
Richard Martin Hirsch at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills; Testosterone by Hal Ackerman at the
Powerhouse Theatre in Santa Monica; and War Stories, written and performed by Joyce Guy, at The New Los Angeles Theatre Center. Storey Productions' inaugural production, A Lesson in Proper Bow-Fluffing Technique by Trey Nichols was nominated for the 2005 Ovation Award for Best Solo Performance. As a member and former managing director of
Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA, Ms. Storey produced The Shore, Marathon One-Acts, Winterfest, and several First-Look Full-Lengths including Massacre (Sing to Your Children) by internationally renowned playwright José Rivera. Ms. Storey is also Vice Chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights and for the last seven years has run New Works Lab, ALAP's play development workshop held bi-monthly at theatres throughout Los Angeles. In television, Ms. Storey has written and produced for CBS, ABC, Lifetime and KCET.
The cast of Love Water will feature:
Pilar Alvarez, Jon Beauregard.
Colin Campbell.
Joshua Coleman, Chuma Gault, Misi Lopez Lecube,
Jessica Martinez, Will McFadden, Alina Phelan, Dawn Phillips and Joseph Vega.
Love Water features an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by Sibyl Wickersheimer (No Way To Treat A Lady). The Costume Design is by Leah Piehl. The Lighting Design is by Chris Wojcieszyn. The Sound Design is by
Cricket S. Myers (The Marvelous Wonderettes).
Love Water will preview on Saturday, May 30 at 8pm; Sunday, May 31 at 7pm; Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4 at 8pm and will open on Friday, June 5 at 8pm and run through Saturday, July 11 at The New Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd. (former home of The Actor’s Gang) in Hollywood.
Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 7pm. Ticket prices are $20; tickets for the opening night gala are $30. Seniors and Students are $15. Previews are $10. Special group rates available for parties of 10 or more. There will be three Pay-What-You-Can performances on Thursday, June 11; Sunday, June 14 and Saturday, July 4. For tickets, please call (323) 882-6912 for details or visit
www.openfist.org to purchase tickets online or to view complete schedule.
