THE FOUNTAIN THEATRE REQUIRES PROOF OF VACCINATION & BOOSTER (for those eligible); PLUS, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND WEARING MASKS
WORLD PREMIERE
EXTENDED! THRU MAY 15TH
Let your City Council members know you support a permanent and universal LA Justice Fund. Since 2017, the LA Justice Fund has provided legal representation for Angelenos facing deportation proceedings. In the program’s pilot phase, LA County, LA City, and philanthropy contributed funds for the program. LA County and philanthropy have since committed to continuing and strengthening the program through a longer-term financial commitment and by eliminating criminal exclusions that prevented many people from being able to access the pilot program. LA City is lagging behind. While it has allocated funds for the program, the City Council has yet to commit to a program model that would ensure due process for all, regardless of criminal history. In February, the City’s Immigrant Affairs committee voted to make the program accessible to all, regardless of criminal history. Unfortunately, on March 21, members of the Council’s Budget & Finance Committee rejected that approach and introduced a new amendment that would expand the number of people excluded based on criminal convictions alleged by the government. The debate will go to the full City Council for resolution, likely within the next month. Please call or email your City Council members to let them know you support an LA Justice Fund that is accessible to all.
See for yourself what is happening in immigration court. Los Angeles is one of ten cities that is home to a “dedicated docket”—a Biden administration initiative to expedite the asylum cases of newly-arrived families. These proceedings are held in immigration courtrooms located at the Federal Building, 300 N. Los Angeles St., in downtown LA. You can call the clerk to get information about the weekly schedule and exact courtroom location: 213-576-4701. Note that while these proceedings are open to the public, due to COVID protocols, only 10 people total are allowed in the courtroom at any time (this includes the judge, bailiff, and any families on the docket).
Call your California state representative to let them know you support the VISION Act (AB 937).The VISION Act would prohibit transfers of individuals from local jails and state prison to immigration custody. This is the primary pipeline by which people are funneled into ICE detention and deportation proceedings. It would also prohibit state and local agencies, and courts, from using immigration status as a factor to deny access to rehabilitation and diversion programs. If it’s helpful, you can share this fact sheet.
Call your member of Congress to let them know you support the New Way Forward Act. The New Way Forward Act is a visionary bill that, among other things, would end mandatory immigration detention, prevent deportations based on old convictions, prevent local law enforcement entanglement with ICE, and phase out private detention centers. It was (re)introduced in the House in 2021, and advocates are now hoping Sen. Padilla will take the lead on introducing the bill in the Senate. If it’s helpful, you can share this fact sheet.
Note: Sen. Padilla is a particularly good target for action on this bill in the coming months, as the advocacy to get him to introduce the bill is happening now.
Los Angeles Times - “STRONG PERFORMANCES… In familiarizing theatergoers with the immense toll these policies take on individuals and their loved ones, the play reminds us that human rights abuses are more than a talking point… The message of the play comes through loud and clear in Valdez’s staging.” - Charles McNulty
Ticket Holders LA - “EXCEPTIONAL… EXTRAORDINARY… perfectly cast… no theatre complex in LA has been as staunchly dedicated to social relevance and fighting for equality and justice than the Fountain.” — Travis Holder
Splash Magazines - “A HUMAN PLAY which cannot fail to touch the hearts of those who view it… the Fountain Theatre has topped itself with this thought-provoking, incendiary run-down on U.S. immigration policies. This is A NOT-TO-BE-MISSED PRODUCTION.” — Elaine Mura
On Stage Los Angeles - “GO!... EXCITING AND MEANINGFUL… Strong ensemble acting and a meaningful script… Invite your friends. Pass it on.” — Michael Sheehan
TotalTheater.com - “FOUR STARS… BRAVE AND SHOCKING… masterfully directed… The people whose stories are memorialized here remind all of us that we have the power to dismantle a corrupt, inhuman system.” — Will Manus
People’s World - “ANOTHER [FOUNTAIN] TRIUMPH… examine[s] the economic, social, and psychological effects of detentions on families in a kaleidoscopic compilation of true stories… It offers a DEEPLY AFFECTING, in-depth look at the human lives behind the policies, at the same time honoring the strength and determination of the ordinary people who must fight against a Kafkaesque system while keeping their hope and faith in humanity intact.” — Eric Gordon
Discover Hollywood - “ENTHRALLING… takes us on [a] harrowing journey… SUPERB ENSEMBLE… vividly brought to life… I always look forward to productions at The Fountain Theatre as I've come to expect to be taken some place I've never been before. They provide theatre that strives to take the audience on a journey of discovery.” — Nyla Arslanian
Glamgical - “STRIKING AND POWERFUL… a remainder of the vicissitudes of some immigrants in desperate need and the voice of those legal experts trying to help them.” — Joe Mosqueda
Hollywood Progressive - “COMPELLING REAL-LIFE STORIES… EXTRAORDINARY CAST… eight shape-shifting actors slip from one real-life role to the next.” —Dick Price
From Another Zero - “POWERFUL STORYTELLING… RAW, EMOTIONAL… will make audiences think twice, reflect and consider what is really happening out there… Wonderful work with emotional delivery.” — Alejandra Enciso-Dardasht
LA Theatre Bites - “EMOTIONAL AND IMPORTANT… a 360 degree reading of the political opinions and perspectives and disagreements… challenges assumptions of law… the delivery from these actors is spot-on.” — Patrick Chavis
Larchmont Buzz - “REAL AND PERSONAL… a cry for change, Detained gives voice to the voiceless and, true to its goal, inspires action.”— Laura Foti Cohen
The World Through Night-Tinted Glasses - “THE ENSEMBLE SHINES… very well done… The Fountain Theatre is one of those places that never disappoints.” — David MacDowell Blue
Stage Raw - “RECOMMENDED… ‘Why am I here?’ is the collective cry of the immigrants whose true stories are portrayed in France-Luce Benson’s searing, new docudrama.” — Martin Hernandez
Showmag - “IT’S ENOUGH TO MAKE A PERSON WANT TO RUN FOR OFFICE…meticulous performance values… every element coalesces into a smooth, almost magazine style of presentation… the play performs an important function to awaken all of us to a system that has grown out of control.” — Leigh Kennicott
Spectrum Telecast - “Detained”
Spectrum News Story about “Detained”
Spectrum News interview with Judy Rabinovitz
Telemundo - News Story about “Detained”
San Fernando Valley Sun - Real Stories of Being “Detained”
KPCC - NPR Morning Edition - News Story about “Detained”
BroadwayWorld - Interview with Playwright
How do families stay together, even when they are kept apart? The Fountain Theatre presents a gripping new docudrama, a compilation of true stories that explores the rippling impact of mass deportations on families. The world premiere of Detained, written by 2021 Lorraine Hansberry Award-winning playwright France-Luce Benson, conceived and co-created by Judy Rabinovitz, and directed by Mark Valdez, winner of the 2021 Zelda Fichandler Award.
TAKE ACTION!
There are many worthy organizations assisting detainees and seeking justice within our immigration system. Here are a few local ones worth considering:
CARECEN - Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles
CHIRLA - The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
Written by France-Luce Benson
Conceived and Co-created by Judy Rabinovitz
Directed by Mark Valdez
Executive Producers:
Diana Buckhantz, Joni & Miles Benickes
Producing Underwriters:
Suzanne & Donald Zachary
The Phillips-Gerla Family
Laurie & Robert Silton
Produced by Stephen Sachs, Simon Levy, James Bennett
Starring:
Liana Aráuz, Camila Ascencio, Christine Avila, Will Dixon,
Jan Munroe, Theo Perkins, Marlo Su, Michael Uribes
Low-Price Previews: Feb 16-18 8pm
Open: Sat Feb 19 8pm & Sun Feb 20 2pm EXTENDED!: thru Sun May 15
Runs: Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm.
PWYW Mon 8pm.
Originally commissioned by immigration attorney Judy Rabinovitz of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Detained is based on interviews with longtime U.S. residents held in immigration detention, and with their family members, advocates, attorneys and representatives of ICE. Inspired by their stories, Detained explores how families fight to stay together as increasingly cruel U.S. immigration legislation keeps them apart through mass deportations and immigration detention centers. It offers a heart-wrenching and in-depth look at the human lives behind the policies and a concise history of the legislation that got us here.
“All of the stories in this play are true, and they are heartbreaking,” says Benson. “The more people I met, the more time I spent with them, the more important it became to tell their stories. When you go through trauma, you want to be seen, to be given a voice. My own family immigrated to America in the 1970s, and my father received a humanitarian award for the work he did at Krome Detention Center in the ’80s and ’90s. This is his story too, and a way for me to honor the sacrifices he made for us.”
When Rabinovitz first approached Benson, Obama was still in office. Under his administration, more people were being deported than ever before. Since then, with harsher immigration legislation enacted under Trump and the current Covid-19 health crisis, the situation for many immigrants has become ever more dire. As more stories of injustice persist and legislation changes, so does the play.
“This play is a living document, and I’m constantly updating it,” Benson says. “People think that now that Biden is president, things are better. But thousands of people are still facing deportation every day. Many of these people have been living in this country for decades. They own houses, run businesses, pay taxes, have families.”
Characters in the play include a teenage foodie aspiring “chef-lebrity,” a U.S. Veteran, and a mother of two who works as a roofer in New York City. Together, their collective voices weave a compelling and complicated tapestry.
Detained was developed, with a generous grant from the Miranda Family Foundation, at Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York under artistic director Billy Carden.
France-Luce Benson is a Haitian-American playwright and television writer whose work has been described as “epic, sensual, and featuring nuanced representations of under-represented communities across the Afro-Diaspora.” Named “Someone to Watch” by American Theatre magazine, she is the 2021 winner of the Lily’s Lorraine Hansberry Award, and was just awarded a new play commission from Atlantic Theatre Company in New York, supported by an NYSCA Individual Artist Award. Additional honors include Sony Pictures Television Diverse Writers Fellow; Zoetrope Grand Prize for her screenplay Caroline’s Wedding; Miranda Family Foundation grant recipient for Detained; Alfred P. Sloan New Play Commission for The Devil’s Salt; Princess Grace Award runner up for Boat People; Dramatists Guild Fellow 2016-17; Sam French OOB Festival Winner; NNPN Award for Risen from the Dough; and her play Talking Peace topped the list of most impactful plays in the “Together L.A.: ATLA 2020 Virtual Theatre Festival.”
Judy Rabinovitz is a deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, where she has worked since 1988, litigating class action and impact cases on a variety of issues affecting the rights of immigrants. In recent years her work has focused largely on advocacy and litigation challenging immigration detention policies and practices. She played a leading role in the indefinite detention litigation that resulted in the Supreme Court’s Zadvydas v. Davis decision, and in subsequent litigation to ensure application of that decision to indefinitely detained Mariel Cubans. In addition, she coordinated a nationwide litigation campaign to challenge the mandatory immigration detention statute that Congress enacted as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), culminating in Demore v. Kim, which she argued before the Supreme Court in 2003. She has twice received the Jack Wasserman Memorial Award for Excellence in Litigation from the American Immigration Lawyers Association; and in 2006, she received the Carol King Award from the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. For the past 20 years she has served as an adjunct assistant professor of law at NYU Law School.
Mark Valdez is an itinerant artist, cultural organizer and consultant who partners with communities, organizations, civic institutions and others, using theater and creative tools to address community needs and to lift up community voices and stories. His work has been seen at the Alliance Theatre, Cornerstone Theater Company, East West Players, The Garry Marshall Theater, La Peña Cultural Center, Mixed Blood, the Ricardo Montalban Theater/CTG and Trinity Rep, among others. Recent projects include Lisa Loomer's play, Roe, and his adaption of Gary Soto's book, Chato's Kitchen. Mark is the recipient of various grants and awards including the 2019 Johnson Fellowship for Artists, Transforming Communities and the 2021 Zelda Fichandler Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. He is a board member of Double Edge Theatre and Cornerstone Theater, and a former board member for Theater Communications Group.