Photo Flash: First Look at Echo Theater Company's World Premiere Production of BACKYARD

Earn your blood at the tag team match of the century, with the survival of two families in the balance. The Echo Theater Company presents the world premiere of an outrageously violent, seriously dark and surprisingly funny new play about backyard wrestling. Larry Biederman directs Backyard by Mickey Birnbaum, opening May 31 at the Echo's new home, Atwater Village Theatre.

Birnbaum's full-contact dark comedy explores the walls that separate families and the walls that separate countries. In a backyard in suburban San Diego, three teenagers (Ian Bamberg, Esmer Kazvinova and Adan Martin Rocha) prepare for a backyard wrestling match, while a wife (Jacqueline Wright) welcomes back her absent husband (Hugo Armstrong) with her own brand of violence. Meanwhile, at the border fence separating the U.S. and Mexico, a Mexican wrestler (Richard Azurdia) waits for his son to come home.

Backyard wrestling is a term applied to underground matches in which untrained fans as young as 12 emulate professional wrestling in unsanctioned, unprofessional surroundings such as a backyard.
Backyard runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m., May 31 through July 13 (dark July 4, 5, 6). There will be one preview performance on Friday, May 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 on Fridays and Sundays, and $30 on Saturdays. Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave in Los Angeles, CA 90039. On-site parking is free. For reservations and information, call (310) 307-3753 or go to www.EchoTheaterCompany.com. (Recommended for mature audiences)

Look below for a first look at BACKYARD!

Photo credit: Jeff Galfer Photography