Tag Archives: Echo Theater Company

Theatre Review: Clarkston

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In his exploration of characters in isolated areas, Playwright Samuel D. Hunter photographs the meeting of two young men at a critical time in their lives. Using a minimalist set design, Director Chris Fields centers the attention on the psychological and emotional state of the three characters that inhabit Hunter’s world.

Jake (Michael Sturgis) is trying to reach the West Coast to see the Pacific. Instead, he gets stranded in Clarkston, Washington. He finds a job at the local Costco, working the night shift with Chris (Sean Luc Rogers). The exposition reveals two individuals who are trying to overcome their fears, facing the darkest periods in their lives. Jake has been diagnosed with a debilitating disease that will end up killing him in a few years. Chris, fatherless, is coping with Trisha (Tasha Ames), his meth-addicted mother. Very much to the style of The Wrestler, Trisha is trying to stay clean to rebuild her relationship with Chris. She gets a job at Denny’s, and despite Chris’ distrust, she keeps looking after him. At work, Chris and Jake develop a romantic relationship. Little by little, Chris and Trisha appear to start rebuilding their mother-son connection. The stars seem to be aligning. But the apparent stability gives way to the real fragility of the characters.

Hunter lightens up the somber topics depicted in the play with humor when least expected. This device is used very effectively by Sturgis, who also showed his excellent comedic skills in Crabs in a Bucket. The three actors elevate the tension and despair of their respective characters with convincing performances. Ames continues to build her resume playing troubled and eccentric characters. This time, she embodies Trisha as a woman with the strength to better herself, only to succumb to her demons once again, jeopardizing her already precarious relationship with her son. As for Rogers, he aces the portrayal of a man who is permanently damaged by a broken family. His character takes center stage, as he is pushed to the limits, having to choose between Jake and Trisha, ultimately having to choose his own destiny.

Hunter sends his characters in a deep soul search. They need to find their real identity. Through their interactions with each other, they’re looking for a human connection; they’re isolated geographically and emotionally. They want to escape from their past, finding themselves trapped in the present with an uncertain future.

That’s the beauty of Hunter’ writings. He brings attention to people living far away from metropolitan areas. People with hopes, demons, and broken dreams, trying to escape the anonymity of their isolation. Fields and his cast give depth to the characters and achieve a relatable and moving production that relies mainly on the exceptional skills of the three actors.

Clarkston

Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Performances: Sept. 14 – Oct. 21
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 20, Sept. 27; Oct. 4, Oct. 11, Oct. 18
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 14 (Opening Night), Sept. 21, Sept. 28; Oct. 5, Oct. 12, Oct. 19
• Sundays at 2 p.m.: Sept.  22, Sept. 29; Oct. 6, Oct. 13, Oct. 20
• Mondays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 23, Sept. 30; Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 21

Tickets: echotheatercompany.com

Written by Samuel D. Hunter. Directed by Chris Fields. Presented by The Echo Theater Company, Chris Fields artistic director. Chris Fields, Kelly Beech and Marie Bland produce for the Echo Theater Company.

Starring Tasha Ames, Sean Luc Rogers, Michael Sturgis.

Creative team: Scenic designer Amanda Knehans, lighting designer Matthew Richter, sound designer Alysha Grace Bermudez, and costume designer Dianne K Graebner. The production stage manager is Lisa Toudic.

Theatre Review: How It’s Gon’ Be

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The Echo Theatre Company presents the West Coast Premiere of How It’s Gon’ Be. Written by JuCoby Johnson. Directed by Ahmed Best. Troy Leigh–Anne Johnson and Sam Morelos are associate producers, and Chris Fields and Kelly Beech produce for the Echo Theater Company.

An absent father will always cause some disruption in a man’s development. In JuCoby Johnson‘s How It’s Gon’ Be, the absenteeism causes anger and insecurity in the main character, Jahann (Donté Ashon Green). But it also leads to a close and special relationship with his mother Angela (Karla Mosley). Facing the challenging years of adolescence, Jahann is forced to re-evaluate his worth, his future, and his dynamic relationships, including the one with his father. 

As a young man, Jahann values his relationship with Rashad (Michael Howard–Dossett) and Terry (Durran Moreau), his best friends. And it is specially important his relationship with Lady (Nona Parker Johnson), his childhood crush. The conflict appears when Jahann’s father Kenny (Sedale Threatt Jr.) comes back from his service in the military. Kenny is constantly called for service and is gone for months without calling home, creating doubts and anger to both Angela and Jahann. This time around, Jahann is not willing to hold back his resentment towards Kenny. This triggers an emotional display of rebellion and recriminations that puts at risk the stability of the family and forces the characters to dig deep inside to see if there’s any love left for each other.

The script contains poetry that gives the story a creative element to convey the feelings of the characters in a lyrical dance of words and silence. It’s through poetry that Jahann navigates his own pain and explores his feelings to find the truth. Director Ahmed Best utilizes sublime lighting and sound effects to express the internal turmoil of the characters. The transitions and the colors transmit the lyricism of the script in a meaningful gallery of visual elements.

Through the plot and subplots, the characters fight, dream, and discover who they really are, exposing their vulnerabilities and their ability to communicate their true feelings. Rashad and Terry need to determine once and for all their relationship. Angela has to decide whether she will continue to support Kenny’s career in the military, with the sacrifices that come with it. Jahann reaches a point where he needs to define his relationship with Lady, and even more challenging, his relationship with his continuously absent father. 

How It’s Gon’ Be is a poetic and engaging coming-of-age story that highlights the challenges of entering manhood for a Black artist. The script, the acting, and the directing all come together to offer a moving play that explores the outcomes when love and art are combined to answer our most pressing existential issues.

How It’s Gon’ Be 

Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Performances: Sept. 16 – Oct. 23
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 29, Oct. 6, Oct. 13, Oct. 20
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Sept. 16 (opening night), Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, Oct. 21
• Sundays at 4 p.m.: Oct. 1, Oct. 8, Oct. 15, Oct. 22
• Mondays at 8 p.m.: Oct. 2, Oct. 9, Oct. 16, Oct. 23

Tickets: echotheatercompany.com

Written by JuCoby Johnson. Directed by Ahmed Best. Troy Leigh–Anne Johnson and Sam Morelos are associate producers, and Chris Fields and Kelly Beech produce for the Echo Theater Company. Starring Donté Ashon Green, Michael Howard–Dossett, Nona Parker Johnson, Durran Moreau, Karla Mosley, and Sedale Threatt Jr. Creative team: Scenic designer Amanda Knehans; lighting designer Justin Huen; sound designer Alysha Grace Bermudez; co-costume designers Ann Closs-Farley and Sophia Grose; graphics designer Christopher Komuro; and casting director Tal Fox. 

     

How It's Gon' Be poster
A scene from How It's Gon' Be
A scene from How It's Gon' Be
A scene from How It's Gon' Be

Theatre Review: A Bella Incarceration

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The Echo Theater Company presents the world premiere of A Bella Incarceration. Conceived, written, directed, and performed by Ann Noble. Produced by Chris Fields and Kelly Beech for the Echo Theater Company.

An enclosure representing a jail cell, an inmate uniform, and a pink clown nose is all it takes to tell the story of Bella (Ann Noble), a woman who has been incarcerated for an act of civil disobedience. Once in jail, she asks why people commit rebellious acts to stand up to injustice and abuse. To understand the motivations, Bella has imaginary conversations with women she admires. She talks to journalist Nellie Bly and anarchists Dorothy Day and Emma Goldman.

The fact that Bella is a clown makes sense for the kind of material covered in the story. Clowns have an anarchic spirit, are funny, and in some instances, they display a contradictory sadness that is impossible to resist. Bella goes through all of those emotions and experiences before, during, and probably after her incarceration. 

In real life, Ann Noble is also a prison chaplain. Her own stories combined with the ones of those serving time in prison are the basis of the play. The confinement, loneliness, and psychological traumas can break you, make you stronger, or a combination of the two. A Bella Incarceration leaves room for the audience to imagine what was the end of the story. Noble provides some of the details, but the resolution is an audience’s exercise. The play is somehow a soliloquy and a narrative to explore and validate Bella’s motivations and actions. The play is deep, funny, and an opportunity to shed light on the marginalized and disenfranchised.       

A Bella Incarceration

Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Performances: July 25 – Aug. 22:
• Tuesdays at 8 p.m.: Aug. 8, Aug. 15, Aug. 22

Tickets: echotheatercompany

Conceived, written, directed, and performed by Ann Noble. Production Design by Ann Loud. Presented by The Echo Theater Company, Chris Fields artistic director.

 

A Bella Incarceration poster
Image of Ann Noble
A scene from A Bella Incarceration