Open Fist Theatre Company

About the Open Fist Theatre Company:

The Open Fist Theatre Company is a community of actors, playwrights, designers and directors who believe that to realize the force and potential of a relevant, contemporary, living theatre it is necessary to create, nurture, and unite a company founded on the pursuit of artistic excellence. We seek through diverse styles and forms to illuminate the essential relationships that connect individuals and their societies as we forge our own collective identity through our work.

History:

The Open Fist Theatre Company was founded in 1989 by five graduates of Cal State Fullerton. In 1990, the group mounted its first production, Sam Shepard's True West, directed by then Artistic Director, Ziad Hamzeh. The premiere was held at the Company's first home, located at 1625 N. La Brea in Hollywood.

The building, familiarly described as a 3000 square foot Quonset hut, has had a remarkable history. The original deed to the property dates back to 1904. Some years after that, the Troopers built the structure which exists presently. It was then used by the Troopers and other vaudevillians (including, it is rumored, Harry Houdini) until Bob Hope took it over as a dance rehearsal hall. In the years which followed, the space variously housed a puppet theater, a night club and a restaurant, until in 1990 the lease was taken over by the Open Fist Company and work began to restore the facility as a live theater. Sinks were removed and offices built, a new stage was constructed and a lighting grid installed, theater seats were purchased and a sound system was put in. Over the years, the Open Fist Theatre Company has continued to reinvest in its physical plant by installing air conditioning, new theatrical lighting dimmers, better seats, a permanent stage and by painting a mural on the front of the building.

The original Artistic Director Ziad Hamzeh, helped the Company to establish its reputation as a cutting edge ensemble, willing to tackle difficult and often obscure theater (much of it European). Early reviews were glowing, noting especially the commitment to all encompassing, environmental design. The theater was at different times a car cemetery, a garden of Eden, with running water and growing plants!, a German nightclub inside and out, and a fantastical grotto for mythical deities. Since Mr. Hamzeh's departure in 1995, the Company has turned to a consensus style of management, with an Artistic Council of three instead of a single artistic head, and equal managers of Membership, Publicity & Marketing, Facilities, Education and Literary. During the past four years, membership has expanded to 45 - 50, with members from many states and nations including Italy, Switzerland, Israel, England, Canada and Cuba.

The name of the Open Fist Theater Company comes from two principles we believe to be exceedingly important. The first is the notion that an Open spirit, embracing all people and all ideas is essential. The second is that the Fist, a sign of determination and even force, is necessary for the theater to remain a vital voice for social change and awareness. At all times the Open Fist Theater Company has remained dedicated to the pursuit of these two ambitions in both theatrical and educational ways.