"Body Politic features a cast of four couldn’t-be-better actors, headed by Lear’s electric performance as Wendy..."

"Reed is splendid..."

"Chris (Anon, A Feminine Ending) Fields’ superb direction, Torry Bend’s simple but oh so cleverly designed set, and Ian Garrett’s impeccable lighting... "

Read the whole review at: Stage Scene LA Review

John Slattery, Emmy nominated star of the hit show "Mad Men"
will be the Honorary Host of our benefit performance of
Body Politic on Saturday, August 9.

When A Soldier Goes to War
The Family goes to War
When A Soldier Gets Wounded
The Family Gets Wounded
And the Community Gets Wounded
~Michael J. Wagner, PhD

Please join The Echo Theater Company
Saturday, August 9th at 8pm
for a special benefit performance of

BODY POLITIC
by Jessica Goldberg
directed by Chris Fields

All proceeds from the evening's performance will benefit

US WELCOME HOME FOUNDATION

.

The United States Welcome Home Foundation (USWH) is focused on providing services and resources that support and enhance health, wellness, and quality of life for members and veterans of the United States Armed Forces and their families.

Tickets are $35

**Reception to follow**

Zephyr Theater
7456 Melrose Ave, W. Hollywood

To purchase tickets, visit www.echotheatercompany.com
or call 800-413-8669.

"Body Politic" playwright Jessica Goldberg and director/ Echo Artistic Director Chris Fields.




The cast of "Body Politic" Kristina Lear, Michael James Reed, Jeremy Maxwell and Samantha Shelton.




Hamish Linklater and Echo member (and photographer) Tara Karsian.



Echo Theater Company members David Giuntoli and Jeremy Shranko.





Evolution Music Partners' Christine Russell and "Body Politic" producer Lauren Bass.



Echo company members Jf Pryor and Blayne Weaver.



Echo Theater Company members Kit Pongetti, Anna Perilo and Jeanne Syquia.





"Body Politic" star Jeremy Maxwell and actress/writer Megan Perry.




Playwright Jessica Goldberg and Hamish Linklater.

To purchase tickets visit

Body Politic, with Lear, Reed, Shelton and Maxwell, Begins CA Run July 24

By Andrew Gans
24 Jul 2008

Kristina Lear, Samantha Shelton and Jeremy Maxwell

Body Politic makes its West Coast premiere July 24 at the Zephyr Theatre in West Hollywood, CA.

Presented by The Echo Theater Company, Jessica Goldberg's play, which was previously titled Ward 57, will officially open July 26 and play a limited engagement through Aug. 24. Chris Fields directs.

The cast features Kristina Lear, Michael James Reed, Samantha Shelton and Jeremy Maxwell.

Body Politic, according to press notes, is described as such: "Wendy Hoffman is a screenwriter determined to gain access to Ward 57 of Walter Reed Hospital, the ward where soldiers who have suffered cataclysmic injuries in Iraq recover. Captain Gray Whitlock is the Army captain in charge who denies her access. Private Small is a patient on the ward who wants to die. And the studio executive, Eric, just wants a screenplay. What occurs between all of them . . . is the surprising and poignant story of what can happen when people with deep commitments and beliefs come to recognize each other's humanity."

The production features set design by Torry Bend, lighting design by Ian Garrett, sound design by Fionnegan Murphy and costume design by Audrey Eisner. Lauren Bass and Chris Fields produce.

Goldberg's plays include Get What You Need; Sex Parasite; Good Thing; Refuge, which won the 1999 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize; The Hologram Theory; and Stuck. Ward 57 was first developed at The Colony in Missoula, MT, and made its world premiere in March at Florida Stage.

The Zephyr Theatre is located at 7456 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, CA. Tickets, priced $20, are available by calling (800) 413-8669 or by visiting www.echotheatercompany.com.

Thank you to The Echo Theater Company and our supporters for making the L.A. Premiere of Kate Robin's "Anon" a success. We had great houses, stellar reviews and brought new people into our theater... who will be coming back.

The big question is: "What's next?".

Stay tuned.

Director Chris Fields has assembled a top-notch cast...

Pongetti and Weaver subtly segue from the early comic banter to growing sexual anguish and insecurity...

...Martin and Joshua play out the more grinding blue-collar version of dysfunction...

...the 10 other women are terrific.

Read the full review at:
http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/la/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003667442

"Chris Fields is an actor’s director, and has elicited fine performances from his entire ensemble."

"Anon is funny, raw, insightful, and involving entertainment, put together by a talented team."

"...Martin gives a moving and deeply layered performance..."

"With stardom-bound film actors like Weaver and Pongetti performing “live and in person” and a lauded TV scribe like Robin showing her playwriting chops, TV addicts would do well to turn off their sets for a night and attend a live production like Anon…for a stimulating change of pace."

Read the full review at: http://www.lastagescene.com/anon.html

Sarah Jane Morris, Chris Fields and Kit Pongetti

Loreni Delgado, Ginette Rhodes, Andrea Grano, Blayne Weaver, Tara Karsian, Alison Martin, Anna Simone Scott, Sarah Jane Morris and Kit Pongetti.

Kit Pongetti, Sarah Jane Morris, Loreni Delgado and Andrea Grano

Sarah Hudson, Sarah Jane Morris and Emy Coligado

Blayne Weaver and Kit Pongetti Blayne Weaver, Sigute Miller, Andrea Grano and Tricia O'Kelley
Sigute Miller, Tara Karsian and Alison Martin

Brandon Barrera and Lucas Fleischer

Blayne Weaver and director Chris Fields
Brandon Barrera, Stephen L'Heureux, Blayne Weaver, Nicholas Davis, Randy Warner and Sean Davis

Tara Karsian, Lauren Bass, Blayne Weaver, Andrea Grano and Lucas Fleischer

The Los Angeles Times recommends "Anon":

..."director Chris Fields and his actors tease dark humor out of the writing and unhesitatingly depict the story's raw reality."

..."a provocative discourse on the connection between individual behavior and global dysfunction."

..."This is visceral theater."


Check out the entire review at: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-stage19oct19,0,6307645.story?page=1&coll=la-headlines-calendar

latimes.com
HEAVY PETTING

After working for several seasons on HBO's "Six Feet Under," a drama about a family-run mortuary, Emmy-nominated playwright Kate Robin has turned her attention to an equally curious subject in her new work, "Anon." Directed by Chris Fields, starring Kit Pongetti and Blayne Weaver (pictured) and presented by the Echo Theater Company at Culver City's Stage 52 Playhouse, the play explores a human relationship that grows out of pet therapy -- and offers a comedic look at how absurd love can be in the modern world. 8 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 7 p.m. Sun. $20;http://www.echotheatercompany.com./

Written by Emmy-nominated and WGA award-winning playwright Kate Robin (writer/supervising producer “Six Feet Under”). Directed by Chris Fields, the cast includes Kit Pongetti (“Scrubs”), Blayne Weaver ("Losing Lois Lane"), Alison Martin ("Mad About You"), and Larry Joshua (“NYPD Blue”), as well as a rotating ensemble of 20 women. Produced by Lauren Bass for the Echo Theater Company.

http://www.lastagealliance.com/lastagetixcalendar.asp?ShowList=2910

Blayne Weaver, one of the leads in The Echo Theater Company's production of Kate Robin's "Anon", sat down with LA Stage Scene. Check it out: http://www.lastagescene.com/anon1.html

The Echo has announced the ensemble cast for the upcoming production of Kate Robin's "Anon".

Kit Pongetti, Blayne Weaver, Alison Martin and Larry Joshua star in the play (and appear at every performance). The ensemble will feature a rotating cast of 20 women (filling in the 10 remaining roles) including Nancy Bell (Polish Joke), Elizabeth Bennett ("Point Pleasant"), Emy Coligado (Miss Saigon), Shawna Casey, Loreni Delgado, Andrea Grano, Marin Hinkle ("Two and a Half Men", Miss Julie), Sarah Hudson, Tara Karsian ("ER"), Emily Kosloski (Les Miserables), Misi L. Lecube, Melinda McGraw ("The Dark Knight"), Sarah Jane Morris ("Brothers & Sisters"), Sigute Miller, Ginette Rhodes, Anna Simone Scott, Mandy Siegfried ("Grey's Anatomy," Noises Off), Jeanne Syquia, Aloma Wright ("Scrubs") and Jacqueline Wright.

Read the article at: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/111707.html

Clearly the problem isn't a shortage of blazing young directing talent, but the proper appreciation of the director's vital role. Abigail Deser, who extracted maximum quirky delight out of Adam Bock's capricious "Thursday," in the Echo Theater Company production last winter, strikes me as someone worth investing in every bit as much as the current flavor of the month in playwriting. ~ Charles McNulty, LA Times

LA Times Praises The Echo

"But would it surprise anyone to hear that many of the plays that have stayed with me in the last year were produced at postage-stamp-sized venues and filled with people who looked like they actually wanted to be there? The local groups responsible for these experiences — The Echo Theater Company,...— might not be able to ensure that their dramatists earn a living wage. But they nonetheless provide them with lifeblood: an engaged audience." ~ Charles McNulty

You can read the complete article here.