Watts Village Theatre Artistic Director Bruce Lemon, Jr. Joins WHY DREAM IN INGLEWOOD? Theatre Project

Bruce Lemon, Jr. Artistic Director of Watts Village Theater Company (WVTC), joins the Why Dream in Inglewood? project, taking on the pivotal role of Chia Yu-tsun and others in Henry Ong's epic six-hour stage adaptation of the Chinese beloved classic, "Dream of the Red Chamber." The play will be performed at the Inglewood Amphitheater in Edward Vincent Jr Park, behind the Agree Playhouse, 714 Warren Land, Inglewood, in April and May. The project is made possible by the City of Inglewood and its Growing Artists Performed Projects (IGAPP) Initiative that exposes Inglewood audiences to the practices of contemporary artists and supports the work and growth of artists.

Dream is based on Ts'ao Hsueh Ch'in's romance novel "Dream of the Red Chamber." It tells a moral fable intertwined with realism and the supernatural. The lively comedy of manners revolves around two central characters (Pao-yu and his cousin, Black Jade), detailing the decline of the noble Chia family during the early Ching dynasty.

"I am thrilled to be involved in this artistic endeavor and get to play many delicious characters, including that of Chia Yu-tsun. I hope that it will attract local residents in Inglewood because I believe it will resonate with the community. When I learned that it would be a marathon six-hour project, I immediately said 'Yes, let's do this!'" Lemon said.

Lemon is an actor, director, writer and educator, born and raised in Watts, CA. After attending Hampton University for biology, computer science, and finally acting, he interned as a Stage Manager and Production Assistant at The Juilliard School in New York. He attended graduate school at The New School for Drama, earning his MFA in Acting. Since then he's worked with numerous companies on the east coast, including the Award winning Flea Theater as a member of The Bats and touring with the McCarter Theater Education Department, before returning and diving into LA theatre with the LA Opera, Son of Semele, Company of Angels, Mutineer, Illyrian Players, The Vagrancy, and more. He has made his artistic home at Watts Village Theater Company (WVTC) both as an actor, Board Member, and Artistic Director. With WVTC, he has appeared in RIOT/REBELLION and FOLLOW, for which he won the 2014 Broadway World LA award for Best Leading Actor in a Play. He is a Princess Grace Award winner and an associate artist at Cornerstone Theater Company, Inner City Arts, and an Illyrian Player.

Dream will be presented in four acts over three weekends on Saturdays in April and May at the Edward Vincent Jr Park Amphitheater, 714 Warren Lane in Inglewood. All performances are free. In order to view the entire play, the public may select performances from the following schedule:

Saturday, April 22, 10:30am Act I and Act II (with one intermission) [Act II starts at 12:30pm.]

Saturday, May 20, 10:30am Act III and Act IV (with one intermission) [Act IV starts at 12:30pm.]

Saturday, May 27, 10:30am Acts I, II, III, IV (with three intermissions)

[Act I starts at 10:30am; Act II starts at 12:30pm; Act III at 2:30pm, Act IV at 4:30pm]

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=why%20dream%20in%20inglewood