Please join us on October 3rd for a night at the LA Zoo, announcing the Open Fist Theatre’s 2027 Season and the company’s inaugural Visionary Award
The evening will feature dinner, dancing, a silent auction, and a carousel,as we honor Tony Brown, celebrate our 36th Season, and raise money for the Season ahead.
TABLES
Tables for 10 start at $2500, and include dinner at Treetops with full bar, the Gala program, silent auction, and dancing. Tables for 10 start at $3500 for early entry, which adds on a cocktail hour at Stilt House with passed appetizers, live music and a conversation with Zoo conservation biologist Dr Jake Owens. Additional questions? Email Beth Robbins atbethrbbns1@gmail.com
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS
$350 — Early Entry Cocktail Hour at Stilt House + Gala Ticket
$250 — Gala Ticket
SPONSORSHIPS & CONTRIBUTIONS
Can’t make it but would still like to support the Open Fist Theatre Company’s 37th Season?
Please consider a fully tax-deductible sponsorship or contribution.
For more information email Beth Robbins at bethrbbns1@gmail.com
Schedule
6 pm – 7 pm Early Entrance
- Free parking in the Zoo parking lot.
- Trams will shuttle our Early Entrance Guests from the Zoo entrance to Stilt House
- Connect with friends and enjoy our Signature Cocktail, hors d’oeuvres, and live music performed by musicians from the Colburn School.
- Talk with conservation biologist Dr Jake Owens about the LA Zoo’s conservation strategic plan, and learn about his life’s goal of contributing to the fight against the 6th mass extinction by conserving threatened species and their habitats.
7 pm – 11 pm Gala Event w/ Cocktails, Dinner, Dancing & More
- Free parking in the Zoo’s parking lot.
- Tram ride to Treetops
- Grab a Signature Cocktail from the bar, pose for photos, browse our Silent Auction, and ride the carousel
- Enjoy dinner from our strolling stations with tableside wine service.
- Presentation of Open Fist Theatre’s Luminary Changemaker Award
- 2027 Open Fist Theatre Season Announcement and Paddle Raise
- Dessert & Dancing
What to know before you go:
The LA Zoo Parking Lot is located at 5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027, in Griffith Park, at the intersection of the Golden State (5) and Ventura (134) Freeways.
Park in the free lot, in front of the Zoo Entrance
Event check in will be next to the Membership booth on the left-hand side.
Attire: Safari Chic. Comfortable footwear recommended.
TABLES (all tables seat 10)
PRODUCER’S TABLE
@ $10,000
(Max. 1 – Seats 10)
All benefits of Playwright’s Table plus
• Dine w/ Open Fist Artistic Director Martha Demson
• Season Tickets for ten guests to the 2027 Season
• Recognition at the Event and in the Season program
DIRECTOR’S TABLE
@ $5,000
(Max 3)
All benefits of Playwright’s Table plus
• Dine with a member of Open Fist’s Artistic Staff
• Season Tickets for two to the 2027 Season
• Recognition at the Event and in the Season Program
PLAYWRIGHT’S TABLE
@ $3,500
All benefits of Artist’s Table plus
• Early Admission for 10 guests; includes Cocktail Hour at Stilt House
• Tickets for 10 guests to BOTH: A Hard Day’s Silent Night (December 2026)
ARTIST’S TABLE
@ $2500
(Seats 10)
• Event tickets for 10 guests
• Tickets for 10 guests to MARISOL by José Rivera, the Obie Award-winning play currently running at the Open Fist Theatre
INDIVIDUAL EARLY ADMISSION TICKET
@ $350
• Early Admission @ 6 pm to Stilt House. Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres with live music, and a conversation with Zoo conservation expert Dr Jake Owens.
• Dinner, Program & Dancing @7 pm, at Treetops. Includes access to Silent Auction and Carousel.
INDIVIDUAL GALA TICKET
@ $250
Honoree – Tony Brown
Tony Brown
Chief Executive Officer, Heart of Los Angeles
Tony Brown started his career at Heart of Los Angeles in 1993, spending two years with the organization. Tony went on to become a teacher and Athletics Director before embarking on a career in sports business.
However, Tony’s passion for education called him back to Heart of Los Angeles and in 2006 began serving as the organization’s Executive Director. Since then, Tony has led the sustainable growth of Heart of Los Angeles’ annual operating budget from $2.3 million to more than $10.6 million annually, reaching 74% more underserved young people with programs and supports, and inspiring a generation of youth to realize their full potential. He has received numerous awards, including the LA Business Journal Leadership Excellence Award and Bank of America’s Local Hero award. Tony was also named as one of Town & Country’s Top 50 Philanthropists, and recognized for Leadership Innovation by the James Irvine Foundation, later selected as a 2022 Durfee Foundation Stanton Fellow. He completed his research in December 2025.
Tony holds a BA from Loyola Marymount University and an MS from the University of Tennessee, named a Distinguished Alumni by both institutions to reflect his longstanding commitment to giving back to the places he calls home. Tony is also a Stanford University Graduate Fellow in the Business School’s Social Innovation Program for Non-Profit Leaders and remains engaged in higher education, having previously served as both a member of a Scripps College Advisory Board and as President of the University of Tennessee’s Dean’s Board of Advisors. In the non-profit space, Tony served L.A.’s Promise Zone Leadership Council and on the Advisory Committee for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Tony is currently the Board Chair for LA’s first afterschool intermediary, Expand LA and State Senate appointed Advisor to the California Department of Education’s Expanded Learning Division.
