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| The Fountain Theatre | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Fountain Theatre |
| Address | 5060 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles |
| City | Los Angeles |
| Country | United States |
| Opened | 1990 |
| Capacity | 99 (mainstage), 60 (black box) |
| Type | Theatre |
The Fountain Theatre is an intimate performing arts venue located in Los Angeles, California, known for producing contemporary plays, new works, and dance performances. Founded in 1990, the company has established ties with actors, playwrights, directors, and choreographers from across the United States and internationally, hosting festivals, premieres, and community programs. The theater's programming often intersects with issues explored by artists associated with Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theaters, and international festivals.
The organization was established in 1990 by artistic leaders with connections to Los Angeles Theatre Center, American Conservatory Theater, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, Mark Taper Forum, and Arena Stage. Early seasons featured collaborations with playwrights who had credits at Off-Broadway, Royal Court Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and La Jolla Playhouse. Over time, the company developed relationships with institutions such as National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, LA County Arts Commission, The Shubert Foundation, and private donors linked to Getty Trust and Walt Disney Family Foundation. The venue's history includes premieres connected to authors with prior work in Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Tony Award, Obie Awards, Lucille Lortel Awards, and Drama Desk Awards. Its roster of guest artists and resident ensembles has included collaborators from New York Theatre Workshop, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, and international collectives from Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival.
The building occupies a site in the Los Feliz / Silver Lake area, situated near landmarks such as Griffith Park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The venue houses a mainstage black box with flexible seating and a secondary studio performance space configured for repertory, workshop, and dance productions; the spaces echo design principles used at Taper at the Music Center, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Architectural renovations were informed by ADA compliance overseen by Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and accessibility advocates with experience at Kennedy Center and Ford's Theatre. Technical systems reflect standards used by designers who have worked at New Victory Theater, Public Theater, and Victory Gardens Theater, including lighting rigs influenced by fixtures used in Broadway houses, sound systems similar to those at Carnegie Hall, and stagecraft practices aligned with Royal National Theatre.
Seasons have blended new plays, revivals, solo shows, and contemporary dance, attracting artists with credits at Broadway, The Public Theater, Lincoln Center, Apollo Theater, and Sadler's Wells. The company has presented premieres by playwrights associated with Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners and nominees, and staged works featuring performers who have appeared in Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards contexts. Festivals and series have included thematic programs resonant with events like AIDS Memorial Quilt tributes, commemorations akin to Stonewall riots commemorations, and international showcases reminiscent of Fringe Festival circuits. Co-productions have involved partnerships with Center Theatre Group, Geffen Playhouse, Sierra Madre Playhouse, and touring groups from Royal Court Theatre and Abbey Theatre.
Educational initiatives have engaged participants from nearby institutions such as UCLA, University of Southern California, California Institute of the Arts, and local high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Outreach programming has included workshops, talkbacks, and youth outreach in collaboration with nonprofits like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, LAUSD Arts Community Partnership, and service organizations similar to Hollywood Arts Council. Residency programs have mirrored models used by Young Playwrights Inc., National New Play Network, and Tisch School of the Arts outreach projects, while offering internships analogous to those at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Actors Theatre of Louisville.
The theater's stages have hosted performers, playwrights, directors, and choreographers who have also worked with Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, and peers from Screen Actors Guild projects; many alumni have credits on NBC, CBS, ABC, HBO, and Netflix. Resident and guest artists include collaborators with backgrounds at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theater, Royal Shakespeare Company, New York Theatre Workshop, Lincoln Center Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, and dance artists affiliated with Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Martha Graham Dance Company.
The company and its productions have received accolades from local and national bodies such as the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, Stage Raw, Back Stage West, NAACP Theatre Awards, and recognition comparable to Ovation Awards and L.A. Weekly Theater Awards. Productions and artists connected to the venue have been part of seasons that led to nominations for Tony Awards, Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Emmy Awards, and regional honors from LA County Arts Commission and philanthropic recognition from foundations akin to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Category:Theatres in Los Angeles County, California Category:1990 establishments in California