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The world premiere of Mickey Birnbaum’s full-contact dark comedy explores the walls that separate families and the walls that separate countries. In a backyard in suburban San Diego, three teenagers prepare for a backyard wrestling match, while a wife welcomes back her absent husband with her own brand of violence. At the border fence separating the U.S. and Mexico, a Mexican wrestler waits for his son to come home. Come see the tag team match of the century, with the survival of two families in the balance. (Recommended for mature audiences).
Backyard wrestling is a term applied to underground matches ...Read More
The world premiere of Mickey Birnbaum’s full-contact dark comedy explores the walls that separate families and the walls that separate countries. In a backyard in suburban San Diego, three teenagers prepare for a backyard wrestling match, while a wife welcomes back her absent husband with her own brand of violence. At the border fence separating the U.S. and Mexico, a Mexican wrestler waits for his son to come home. Come see the tag team match of the century, with the survival of two families in the balance. (Recommended for mature audiences).
Backyard wrestling is a term applied to underground matches in which untrained fans as young as 12 emulate professional wrestling in unsanctioned, unprofessional surroundings such as a backyard.
“Like Mickey’s other plays, Backyard reflects his urgent interest in disenfranchised youth and the outlets they find to cope,” says Larry Biederman, who previously directed the playwright’s Big Death and Little Death.
“While the phenomenon of backyard wrestling is scary on the one hand, it’s also a fascinating representation of American individualism,” Birnbaum notes. “The idea of the self-made man that keeps these kids setting pretty intense standards for themselves – to keep doing it bigger and better. These kids have turned this institutionalized form of violence into their own form of theater. In the play, the family dynamics are acted out in the wrestling scenarios.”
Backyard runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m., May 31 through July 13 (dark July 4, 5, 6). There will be one preview performance on Friday, May 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 on Fridays and Sundays, and $30 on Saturdays. Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave in Los Angeles, CA 90039. On-site parking is free. For reservations and information, call (310) 307-3753 or go to www.EchoTheaterCompany.com.
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