BWW Spotlight Series: Meet Simon Levy Who Began His Directing Career in San Francisco and Now Calls The Fountain Theatre His Home

With the current theatre world on hiatus, I have created a Spotlight Series on Broadway World which features interviews with some of the many talented artists who make our Los Angeles theatre community so exciting and vibrant thanks to their ongoing contribution to keeping the Arts alive in the City of the Angels. And just like all of us, I wondered how they are dealing with the abrupt end of productions in which they were involved.

This Spotlight focuses on Simon Levy who began his directing career in San Francisco, then moved to Los Angeles in 1990 where he has been the Producing Director for The Fountain Theatre since 1993. His directing and producing credits are numerous, with over 100 productions in Los Angeles and San Francisco that have won more than 200 awards. His journey has been blessed with having wonderful mentors along the way, which has enabled the talented director to earn his living doing theatre and earned him great respect from the entire L.A. Theatre community.

Shari Barrett (SB): What would you like readers to know about your theatrical background?

Simon Levy (Simon): I started off as a sax player, but when I got bored with some of my music classes at City College of San Francisco, I decided to take an acting class. I immediately became friends with two very talented dynamic actors, Harry Groener and Peter Kors, who are still friends to this day, and because of their encouragement, I fell in love with acting and switched my major. Then it was on to San Francisco State, a national tour doing "Hamlet" with the rag-tag/caravanning San Francisco Shakespeare Company, a season at The Alley Theatre as an apprentice actor, then back to San Francisco State to finish my degree, where I fell in love with directing.

My friend, Michael Lynch, a playwright, was having his plays produced at the One Act Theatre Company, and he and I became a playwright/director team which allowed me to really earn my chops as a director. At the same time, I worked at Steve Silver's "Beach Blanket Babylon" for 7 years as everything from House Manager to Stage Manager to General Manager, where I learned to appreciate the business side of theatre.

Eventually I ended up in L.A. in 1990 and The Fountain Theatre in 1993, where I've been ever since. I've been very fortunate to have wonderful mentors along the way and to earn my living doing theatre.

(SB): What production(s) were you involved with when word went out you needed to immediately postpone/cancel the show?

(Simon): I was literally days away from going into rehearsals for Steven Levenson's magnificent play "If I Forget" at the Fountain with a really wonderful cast and creative team.

(SB): How was the shutdown communicated with the cast and production team?

(Simon): It was pretty obvious to Stephen Sachs and me at the beginning of the week of March 9th that our lives were about to change, so we started preparing. We were supposed to have a meeting with the cast and designers of "If I Forget" with our consultant, Rabbi Daniel Bouskila (who was one of my consultants on "The Chosen") to start prepping for the background work on the play. We cancelled that meeting out of a growing concern about being in the same room together.

Then on March 12th, we made the decision to suspend the production of "Human Interest Story" and rehearsals for "If I Forget." We really wanted to do both in person, with everyone in the room. But, again, out of a heightened sense of precaution and uncertainty, we decided to communicate with everyone by email. By then it was pretty obvious where the news cycle was going.

(SB): I am so happy I was able to attend the opening weekend of "Human Interest Story" and have featured Spotlight interviews previously on the show's two stars: Rob Nagle and Tanya Alexander. I also interviewed Bill Brochtrup, one of the stars from "Daniel's Husband" which you directed last year at the Fountain, which was one of my favorite shows last year. And I treasure the "Make America Kind" badge you gave to those of us in the audience on opening weekend, and proudly wear mine every day. It's an important message, especially right now.

(SB): Are plans in place to present those two postponed productions at a future date?

(Simon): Both productions are currently suspended, but it's our intention to re-open "Human Interest Story" and go into rehearsal for "If I Forget" once we get an All Clear from the City and State. We recognize, of course, that re-opening businesses, especially theatre, will be a helter-skelter, slow rolling out and testing, but we will adjust accordingly. Safety first for our artists and patrons, above all else.

(SB): What future productions on your schedule are also affected by the shutdown?

(Simon): We have the rights to two very exciting projects, Caryl Churchill's "Escaped Alone" and Lucy Kirkwood's "The Children." Future announcement about all Fountain Theatre productions will be posted at https://www.fountaintheatre.com/

(SB): How are you keeping the Arts alive while at home by using social media or other online sites?

(Simon): There's a stunning amount of material online right now, from local companies like Impro Theatre to readings by Skylight Theatre and L.A. Theatre Works and others, from Broadway and London, and world theatre from Berlin to Japan, plus all the Zoom meet-ups. So I'm sampling a lot of that, and I like to listen to Broadway musicals. Ironically, I haven't been able to read any plays yet as I feel like the real-life world drama that's unfolding on TV and my news-feeds supplants everything else right now... though I'm starting to feel the urge to dig into the huge backlog of plays sitting on my desktop.

But as much as I appreciate all the online content available right now, you can't hit the 'pause' button when you're attending live theatre. I miss that immediacy... that visceral thrill... and the danger of it. But I recognize that we're about to enter a "new" normal, which will include theatre online, because this pandemic has forced us to think/create in different ways, and we have to be aware of and sensitive to those changes. Creativity is about growth and moving into the future, and artists will always find a way to be creative. Who knows, perhaps there's a future for Mask Theatre! One thing I know for certain: We artists are phoenixes and we will blaze anew!

(SB): As always, Simon, thank you for your insightful words and presence in the LA Theatre community.

For more information about Simon Levy and his projects, please visit:

www.simonlevy.com
www.fountaintheatre.com
www.thegreatgatsbyplay.com

Photo captions:

1. Simon Levy headshot

2. Simon Levy as "Hamlet"

3. Stephen Sachs and Simon Levy at The Fountain Theatre during "The Normal Heart" by Larry Kramer, directed by Simon Levy in 2013

4. Talkback after "The Chosen" at The Fountain Theatre, directed by Simon Levy

5. Rob Nagle and Tanya Alexander in "Human Interest Story" written and directed by Stephen Sachs, with Simon Levy, James Bennett and Deborah Culver producing for The Fountain Theatre. Photo by Jenny Graham

6. Bill Brochtrup and Tim Cummings in "Daniel's Husband" at The Fountain Theatre, directed by Simon Levy. Photo credit: Ed Krieger

7. "Daniel's Husband" cast, playwright Michael McKeever and director Simon Levy at The Fountain Theatre

8. Jenny O'Hara in "Broomstick" by playwright John Biguenet at The Fountain Theatre, directed by Stephen Sachs and produced by Deborah Lawlor and Simon Levy

9. Aleisha Force, Rob Nagle, and Tanya Alexander in "Human Interest Story" written and directed by Stephen Sachs, with Simon Levy, James Bennett and Deborah Culver producing for The Fountain Theatre. Photo by Jenny Graham