Tag Archives: Asylum @ Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre

Fringe Review: Dolores

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Three abortions, a trail of failed relationships, and a black eye. Dolores (Davonna Dehay) is in real trouble, so she turns to her sister Sandra (DeeDee Woche) for help. 

Playwright Edward Allan Baker provides a picture of working-class families and the roots of violence. It starts in childhood and continues through adulthood. Violence against animals is a premonition of violence against partners. How to push back? 

Dolores and Sandra represent the consequences of psychological and physical abuse. They both suffer in silence, normalize violence, and seem to accept their misery as the only option. But there’s a limit, and Dolores shows what happens when someone is pushed into a dead-end street. 

Dolores is peppered with humor, but sometimes the jokes land flat, a result of both their misplacement in the dialogue and the delivery. For the most part, however, Dehay and Woche do a great job portraying the two broken characters, especially Dehay, who has a more extensive theatrical experience. Woche is doing her theatrical debut, and this play presents a positive challenge. This is the right way to cut one’s teeth, playing roles with complex emotional layers. 

Director Stephanie Feury shows her experience at the helm, highlighting the emotional charge each character is carrying, and excels in building up the tension, leading up to the surprising climax of the story. The set design also adds to the vibe of the environment, a nice touch to the staging of this play.

This is another solid production with a committed cast and a creative director that are effective in translating the grittiness of the story and the desperate need of family support to survive the cycle of domestic abuse. 

Dolores

Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre
5636 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Sunday June 8 2025, 4:30 PM
Thursday June 12 2025, 7:00 PM
Monday June 16 2025, 8:30 PM
Friday June 20 2025, 7:00 PM
Monday June 23 2025, 5:30 PM
Saturday June 28 2025, 11:30 AM
Sunday June 29 2025, 2:30 PM

Tickets: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/12036?tab=tickets

Written by Edward Allan Baker. Directed by Stephanie Feury. Produced by Davonna Dehay. Co-Produced by DeeDee Woche. 

Cast: Davonna Dehay and DeeDee Woche.

Creative team: Stage Manager: Spencer Frankeberger. Set Construction: Matthew Brown. Costume Design: Nora Wilde. Publicity: Bertha Rodriguez.

Fringe Review: Hold Me Down

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Jackie Yangyuen presents Hold Me Down. Produced by Cooper Edgren.

Bad experiences in life can have tragic consequences for some people. For Jackie Yangyuen, however, traumatic events led her to unleash her creativity. In Hold Me Down, she finds a safe place to express and share her own narrative.

A mother with gambling issues and a supportive, but distant father, exacerbated Jackie’s struggles. Furthermore, she developed mental health issues that just added more pressure to the already critical situation. Fortunately, Jackie found avenues to channel the pain towards a positive outcome. Music was one of those avenues. The other one was more of a surprise: BDSM.

Rope play became a healing paradox, one that only people that have experienced the world of BDSM can understand. Submission and pain, as degrading as they can sound, are powerful elements to unlock freedom. Obviously, BDSM is more than Fifty Shades of Grey; the practice, in Jackie’s case ropes and suspension, can heighten the senses to an orgasmic level, liberating insecurities and traumas, deepening the Dom-Sub relationship. The adrenaline of pain can be powerful and healing.

Getting professional help and having a supportive BDSM partner were essential to stop Jackie’s darker intentions. Hold Me Down delivers a critical message of hope, compassion, and self-acceptance. For Jackie, finding an artistic expression to process and overcome her struggles was pivotal. She is busy working on several projects, so her mind is occupied with creative endeavors. For sure, we will hear more from her in the near future.

Her play contains reference to sexual abuse, gambling, and mental health issues, all presented with tact and in an engaging manner. Jackie also debunks some taboos about BDSM and the dynamics among its practitioners, something that always triggers interesting conversations. Jackie uses pop music, lighting, and comedy to lighten up the darker side of her story, but they’re also elements that signify that there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hold Me Down

Asylum @ Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre
5636 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038

Fri June 28, 9:00 PM – NEWLY ADDED!

Sun June 30, 2:30 PM

Tickets: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10490

Written and performed by Jackie Yangyuen.

Producer: Cooper Edgren. Music Director: Paul Kirz Jr. Movement Director: Shyamala Moorty. Script Director: D’Lo. Set Designer: Mario Aguirre. Costume Designer: Sam O’Neul.