Echo Theater Co. Announces 2017 20th Anniversary Season

The Echo Theater Company is all grown up. The multiple award-winning company, responsible for introducing L.A. audiences to many of the hottest emerging playwrights in the country, turns 20 in 2017.

"What better way to celebrate our 20th anniversary than by continuing to do what we do best - premiering four wildly different new plays populated by wildly diverse characters," asks Echo artistic director Chris Fields.

The 2017 season will include three world premieres - The Found Dog Ribbon Dance by Dominic Finocchiaro, The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter and Fixed by Boni Alvarez - as well as one West Coast premiere: Kill Floor by Abe Koogler.

"Each of these plays makes clear once again that, despite time and place and background, simple human contact and the ability to be compassionate and find love is reparative, transformative and affirming," notes Fields.

In addition, the company will present LABFest 2017, a festival of developmental readings culled from the Echo's 2016-17 Writer's Lab, and a 20th Anniversary Short Play Festival of new plays from some of the most exciting writers in the Echo family.

Founded in 1997 and dedicated to producing new work, the Echo Theater Company was anointed "Best Bet for Ballsy Original Plays" by the LA Weekly in its 2014 Best of L.A. issue and was a recipient of a 2016 "Kilroy Cake Drop"- one of only 13 theaters in the country to be surprised by cakes to honor the efforts they are making to produce women and trans writers. Under the leadership of founding artistic director Chris Fields, the Echo has introduced Los Angeles to playwrights such as David Lindsay-Abaire, Adam Rapp, Sarah Ruhl, Adam Bock and Miki Johnson among others. The company is also recognized for its acting ensemble; in the Los Angeles Times, theater critic Charles McNulty wrote, "Echo Theater Company, which has cultivated a community of top flight actors, would be my go-to place in Los Angeles for symbiotic ensemble acting." KCRW's Anthony Byrnes stated, "It's time to start paying attention to the Echo Theater Company... What's made these choices pay off is the acting and casting has been superb. The company has made bold choices and backed them up."

The 2017 20th Anniversary Season schedule is as follows:

Jan 21 - Feb 26:
World premiere of The Found Dog Ribbon Dance by Dominic Finocchiaro - Professional cuddler Norma's quest to return a lost dog to its rightful owner leads her to encounter a slew of oddballs, and maybe even discover a second chance at love. A bittersweet romantic comedy about loneliness, oxytocin and the healing power of Whitney Houston. Directed by Alana Dietze.

April 8 - May 14:
West Coast premiere of Kill Floor by Abe Koogler - Fresh from its world premiere at Lincoln Center, this darkly funny, touching and surprising story about starting over looks at how we create family in the most unlikely ways as two small town misfits attempt to reunite with one another and with the people around them. Directed by Chris Fields.

June 8 - June 18:
LABFest 2017 - The Echo Theater Company presents free staged readings of new plays developed in the company's 2016-2017 Writer's Lab. Featuring developmental readings of new plays by Bekah Brunstetter, Mary Laws, Eric Sanders, Matthew Paul Olmos, Jon Caren, Janine Nabers, Tom Jacobson, Mike Batistik, Boni Alvarez and Daria Politan under the artistic direction of Jennifer Chambers.

July 1 - Aug. 6:
World premiere of The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter (NBC's This Is Us). - Debra Jo Rupp (That '70s Show) stars as Della, a baker who makes cakes, not judgment calls - those she leaves to her husband. But when the girl she helped raise comes back home to North Carolina to get married, and the fiancé is actually another fiancée, Della's life gets turned upside down. She can't really make a cake for such a wedding, can she? For the first time in her life, Della has to think for herself. Directed by Jennifer Chambers.

Aug. 26 - Sept. 10:
The Echo Theater Company '20th Anniversary Short Play Festival' - The Echo Theater Company presents their brand new associate company members in an evening of new plays, by some of the United States' most exciting writers, in celebration of the Echo's 20-year history.

Sept. 23 - Oct. 29:
World premiere of Fixed by Boni Alvarez - In this fierce and funny new play, Miracles Malcañang is a trans-woman working in the infamous Malcañang Massage Parlor in Los Angeles' Historic Filipinotown. When Miracles' forbidden love affair sparks tensions with the city's hottest political family, two families must come together to understand the power of desire, identity and honor. Directed by Rodney To.

To celebrate its 20th year, the Echo is offering season tickets to all four premiere plays for only $80 - which comes to only $20 each. In addition, season subscribers receive reserved seating, no-hassle ticket exchanges and invitations to the Echo's special readings.

For more information about the Echo Theater Company and to subscribe to the 20th Anniversary Season, visit www.echotheatercompany.com.

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