Solar power confronts spirit power in a new drama by Stephen Sachs about climate change, cultural change and the moral consequences of personal choice. Cameron Watson directs Elizabeth Frances and Brian Tichnell in the world premiere of Dream Catcher, which opened on January 30 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood. Check out photos from the show, below!
Roy is the youngest member on a team of high-level engineers brought in to launch the most important project of his career - the construction of a solar energy plant in the middle of the Mojave Desert - when the sudden discovery of long-buried Native American artifacts threatens to bring the billion-dollar operation to a halt. The disaster gets deeply personal when the whistle-blower turns out to be Opal, the fiery and unpredictable young Mojave Indian woman with whom Roy has been having an affair.
Inspired by a true event, Sachs wanted to address global warming, climate change and other large issues but weave them into something personal and intimate.
"I've always been interested in the battle between science and spirituality, and where they intersect," he says. "How they are similar, each relying on a kind of faith to explain what we sometimes cannot see. And the paradox of moral certainty. Even when we're campaigning for something good, sometimes we're forced to discover that we are not who we think we are."
"This play is messy, complicated, volatile and exciting," says Watson. "There's no right or wrong, no bad guy - at least not for the obvious reasons. The muscularity of it got my attention right away. As soon as I read it, I knew I had to be involved, which doesn't happen often."
Cameron Watson has received critical acclaim for directing Antaeus Theatre Company hit productions of Picnic ("Best Plays of 2015," Time Out Los Angeles, and "Best of Los Angeles Theater 2015,: Bitter Lemons) and Top Girls, which The Los Angeles Times named one of the "Ten Best Stage Productions of 2014." Other credits include the Los Angeles premiere of c*ck(Rogue Machine Theatre); All My Sons (The Matrix Theatre Company); Trying, The Savannah Disputation, Grace and Glorie (The Colony Theatre); I Never Sang for My Father (The New American Theatre); I Capture the Castle, A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); and Rolling with Laughter in London's West End. He wrote and directed the Miramax feature film Our Very Own, starring Allison Janney in an Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance. He created the new comedy series Break a Hip, starring Christina Pickles alongside Octavia Spencer, Peri Gilpin, Priscilla Barnes, Jim Rash and Allison Janney.
Elizabeth Frances has performed at various theaters including the Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, Los Angeles Theater Center, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Native Voices and the Kirk Douglas Theater. She has worked with artists such as Travis Preston, Phil Soltanoff (Mad Dog Theater), Jim Findlay (Wooster Group), Shirley Jo Finney and Chris Anthony, and performed in world premieres by writers Randy Reinholz, Marcus Gardley, Josefina Lopez, Carolyn Dunn and Melinda Lopez. Film/TV credits include Ghost Forest, Hunting (Cannes), Her Story (produced by Eve Ensler) and Drunktown's Finest (Sundance) with executive producer Robert Redford. Elizabeth was featured as one of twelve actors in the ABC Networks' Talent Showcase. She holds a BFA from CalArts.Brian Tichnell's theater credits include Circle Jerk (REDCAT); Some Cars (Padua Playwrights); Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (L.A. Theatre Works national tour); Peace In Our Time, The Curse of Oedipus and Macbeth (Antaeus Theatre Company); Camino Real (Theatre @ Boston Court); and Hamlet (Oxford Shakespeare Festival). On TV, he recurs as Eric on Silicon Valley and has also been seen in Castle, The Newsroom, Body of Proof and Happy Endings among others. Originally from South Mississippi, Brian attended the University of Mississippi and California Institute of the Arts.
Stephen Sachs' plays include Citizen: An American Lyric (adapted from the internationally acclaimed book by Claudia Rankine); Heart Song(Fountain Theatre, Florida Stage); Bakersfield Mist (2012 Elliot Norton Award, Best New Play; produced in London's West End with Kathleen Turner and Ian McDiarmid, in regional theaters across the US, and translated into other languages and performed worldwide); Cyrano (LA Drama Critics Circle Award, Best Adaptation); Miss Julie: Freedom Summer (Fountain Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Canadian Stage Company, LA Drama Critics Circle award and LA Weekly award nomination for Best Adaptation, and recently published by Dramatist's Play Service); Gilgamesh (Theatre @ Boston Court); Open Window (Pasadena Playhouse, Media Access Award for Excellence); Central Avenue(PEN USA Literary Award finalist, Back Stage Garland award, Best Play); Sweet Nothing in My Ear (PEN USA Literary Award finalist, Media Access award, NEA grant award); Mother's Day; The Golden Gate (Best Play, Drama-Logue); and The Baron in the Trees. He wrote the teleplay for Sweet Nothing in My Ear for Hallmark Hall of Fame which aired on CBS starring Marlee Matlin and Jeff Daniels. Sachs co-founded The Fountain Theatre with Deborah Lawlor in 1990.
Consulting with the Fountain on Dream Catcher are Jean Bruce Scott, producing executive director and co-creator of Native Voices at the Autry, and her staff. Set design is by Jeffrey McLaughlin; lighting design is by Luke Moyer; sound design is by Peter Bayne; costume design is by Terry A. Lewis; props are by Terri Roberts; production stage manager is Emily Lehrer; associate producer is James Bennett; and Simon Levy and Deborah Lawlor produce for the Fountain Theatre.
The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. The Fountain has won over 225 awards, and Fountain projects have been seen across the U.S. and internationally. Recent highlights include being honored for its acclaimed 25th Anniversary Season in 2015 by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles City Council; the 2014 Ovation Award for Best Season and the 2014 BEST Award for overall excellence from the Biller Foundation; the just-closed West Coast premiere of Athol Fugard's The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, named to Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty's "Best Theater of 2015" list; and the last seven Fountain productions consecutively highlighted as "Critic's Choice" in the Los Angeles Times.
Dream Catcher opens on Saturday, Jan. 30 and continues through March 21, with performances on Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Mondays at 8 p.m. (On Sunday, Jan. 31, there will be one performance only, at 7 p.m.). Preview performances take place Jan. 23 through Jan. 29. Tickets range from $15-$34.95; every Monday is Pay-What-You-Can. The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles. Secure, on-site parking is available for $5. The Fountain Theatre is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.
