‘The Zip Code Plays’ showcases LA’s character
ANTAEUS THEATRE COMPANY
Travel throughout Los Angeles’ diverse neighborhoods without leaving Seal Beach, thanks to the Antaeus Theatre Company’s “The Zip Code Plays.”
Each of the six audio plays, available at https://www.antaeus. org, was written by a member of the Antaeus Playwrights Lab in a different genre and focuses on its own ZIP code. The actors were provided with recording equipment to use at home, so they could obey social distancing restrictions while performing.
Directed by Carolyn Ratteray, Deb Hiett’s “All Information Herein Is Classified” looks at Westwood, 90024, resident Eleanor Pender McAdams, an 80-year-old who just participated in her first street protest and is now the subject of an FBI investigation. Dawn Didawick, Bo Foxworth and Catia Ojeda perform this “official” compilation of recordings and interviews.
The ruins of an abandoned World War II Nazi compound in Pacific Palisades, 90272, are the inspiration for Alex Goldberg’s “Annexing the Palisades.” In 1939, craftsman Joseph Kurtz takes a job there that turns out to be more complicated than he expected. Ann Noble directs Nike Doukas, Harry Groener and Adrian LaTourelle.
In “Clara and Sierra and the Talking Bear,” an encounter with a comet affects a pair of statues in downtown LA, 90012, as well as a denizen of the La Brea Tar Pits. The supernatural seriocomedy written by Angela Davis is directed by Steven Robman and stars Tony Amendola, Luis Kelly-Duarte and Abby Marks.
In “Plucker,” Mina is on trial before the Flora and Fauna Committee, defending herself against the Harvesters after eating a piece of overhanging fruit in her Santa Monica, 90403, neighborhood. Nayna Agrawal’s satire pitting the haves against the have-nots is directed by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx and stars Veralyn Jones, Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier and Marcelo Tubert.
Khari Wyatt’s “Speakeasy” is set in South Central Los Angeles, 90011, circa 1956, and focuses on Leon Ivy; his wife, Bird; and Bird’s new business partner, Daddy August. Leon has big plans for his future, but so do Bird and August. Bernadette Speakes directs Bernard K. Addison, Lloyd Roberson II and Marlow Wyatt.
“Salvage” stars Gigi Bermingham and Jon Chaffin as a nearly blind former music teacher and the volunteer who has arrived at an auto junkyard in Sun Valley, 91352, to help her locate a part so she can take one last drive. As he attempts to help Martha in her quest to take one last drive, coincidence, empathy and music make for a very special afternoon. Julia Fletcher directs this play by Steve Serpas.
TheZipCodePlayseriesisgenerously sponsored in part by the Michael J. Connell Foundation, which supports cultural, educational, environmentalandmedical endeavors throughout LA.
