FutureHome Productions to Present THE SEAGULL at Hollywood Fringe 2023

FutureHome Productions, a new Los Angeles-based artist-forward multi-media development and production company, has announced it's Los Angeles theatrical debut with an immediate, unconventional and poetic production of Chekhov's classic THE SEAGULL. The stark and riveting version by UK playwright Anya Reiss, first performed at London's Royal National Theatre, will be directed by FutureHome Founding Executive Producer Josh Sobel as part of the 2023 Hollywood Fringe.

Performances take place at Thymele Arts' California Room as part of Theater Asylum's programming at 5481 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90029. One preview takes place on June 3, with main run performances on June 8, 12, 16, 19 and 24. Tickets are now on sale at https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9636?tab=tickets.

THE SEAGULL features an ensemble cast: Avalon Greenberg Call as Konstantin, Donté Ashon Green as Arkadina, Adzua Amoa as Nina, Miguel Nuñez as Trigorin, Anu Bhatt as Masha, Alejandra Jaime as Medvedenko, Cal Walker as Sorin, BK Dawson as Dorn, Juan Ayala as Polina, and Hope Simpson as Shamrayev.

A faded superstar pining for the past. A rebel still longing for approval that will never come. A bright-eyed optimist pursuing an image of fame. A famous artist seeking to feel like he has actually accomplished anything. Young love, unrequited. FutureHome Productions presents an unconventional and highly poetic adaptation of Anton Chekhov's heartfelt and intimate experience of preserved dreams, broken realities, and how we love and hurt each other, often at the very same time.

Comments Director Josh Sobel, "This spare and riveting vision of Chekhov's venerated classic - penned with blunt rawness by Anya Reiss - explodes with quiet intensity the artifice and falseness with which each character lives in relationship. Our production seeks to make this relationship central to the experience of the play, from the ways we see these brilliantly flawed humans sabotage themselves and each other, to the very materiality of the production itself. And I'm extra-thrilled about this cast, having taken direct inspiration from the casting process of director Will Davis (in particular his 2017 Chicago production of Picnic by William Inge) to open up possibilities for artists that are so often unnecessarily withheld. Classics in my view are not meant to be merely preserved, but to be engaged with from the here and now. The immediacy of this production is what makes it perfect for FutureHome's LA stage debut."

The production team for THE SEAGULL includes: Ian Olsen (scenic design), Cad Apostol (lighting design), LEXI (costume consultant), Max Kunke (stage manager) and Yameng Deng (assistant director).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

THE SEAGULL

Playwright: Anton Chekhov
Adaptation: Anya Reiss
Director: Founding Executive Producer Josh Sobel
Cast: Avalon Greenberg Call as Konstantin, Donté Ashon Green as Arkadina, Adzua Amoa as Nina, Miguel Nuñez as Trigorin, Anu Bhatt as Masha, Alejandra Jaime as Medvedenko, Cal Walker as Sorin, BK Dawson as Dorn, Juan Ayala as Polina, and Hope Simpson as Shamrayev.

Location: Thymele Arts, California Room, 5481 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90029

Dates:
Preview: Saturday, June 3 @ 2:00pm
Regular run: Thursday, June 8 @ 7:30pm (opening); Monday, June 12 @ 5:30pm; Friday, June 16 @ 9:30pm; Monday, June 19 @ 7:00pm; Saturday, June 24 @ 7:30pm (closing)

Ticket Prices: All Pay-What-You Can
Run Time: Approx. 2 hours 5 minutes

About the Artists

Anton Chekhov (Playwright) was born in January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. He was one of the main figures in the literary movement of realism and the subsequent movement of naturalism in drama, describing the Russian life of his time using deceptively simple techniques devoid of obtrusive literary devices. Through stories such as "The Steppe" and "The Lady with the Dog," and plays such as The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov emphasized the depths of human nature, the hidden significance of everyday events and the fine line between comedy and tragedy.

Anya Reiss (Adaptation) began her writing career in theatre with her debut play Spur of the Moment at The Royal Court Theatre in 2010. She won the Most Promising Playwright Award at both the Critics Circle and Evening Standard awards that year, along with Best New Play at the TMAs. Her follow-up play The Acid Test was staged at the same venue the next year, with her National Theatre Connections play Forty-Five Minutes following in 2013. Her original version of The Seagull, directed by Russell Bolam, was staged in 2012 at the Southwark Playhouse, and they worked on two further modern-day Chekhovs together - first at the same venue, then at the St James Theatre. Since then, Anya's version of Spring Awakening has toured with Headlong, and her adaptation of Oliver Twist was at the Regents' Park Theatre in 2017. Anya's new version of The Seagull - directed by Jamie Lloyd, and starring Emilia Clarke - debuted at the Harold Pinter Theatre. In television, Anya is the creator, executive producer, and writer of the Starz series Becoming Elizabeth. Previously she was a lead writer on Channel 4's Ackley Bridge and a core writer on EastEnders.

Josh Sobel (Director) is a content developer, director, producer and educator whose work has screened in festivals across the United States, and has been named Best of the Year in the Chicago Tribune, Time Out, Washington Post, Newcity Stage and others. His productions have enjoyed sell-out performances at the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and he was one of Newcity's "Players 2019: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago" alongside some of the most venerated names in Chicago art. Formerly Artistic Director of Haven Chicago, additional credits include projects with Victory Gardens Theater, Steep Theatre, Chicago Dramatists, CalArts, the University of Iowa and Strawdog Theatre. Josh founded FutureHome Productions in 2021, where he is currently developing a slate of projects ranging from live experience to broadcast media. SDCF Observer 2012. MFA, CalArts. BA, Oberlin College. jmichaelsobel.wixsite.com/home

About FutureHome Productions

FutureHome Productions is an artist-forward, people-first multimedia development and production company. From short films to docudramas, feature films and pilot concepts to live theatrical and event-based entertainment, and with collaborators including Monty Cole (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company), Netta Walker (All American: Homecoming), Luis Bordonada (Vida, Better Call Saul) and Isaac Goméz (Narcos: Mexico), FutureHome provides a creative haven for next generation storytellers seeking to leave the world better than they found it.

To post a comment, you must register and login.