Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures is partnering with Los Angeles Media Fund to launch a new fund that will commission and produce new work along with co-producing and supporting larger productions. Brendan Naylor of Protozoa and Luke Rodgers of LAMF will oversee day-to-day operations.
The group, titled The LAMF / Protozoa Theater Fund, has announced three initial commissions, from Pulitzer-winning Fat Ham playwright James Ijames, Pulitzer finalist Selling Kabul writer Sylvia Khoury, and Lunch Bunch writer Sarah Einspanier. The fund already served as a co-producer of the recent Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sydney Brustein's Window.
"I have been thrilled, surprised, and inspired countless times by New York's stages," says Aronofsky in a statement." Many of my favorite screenwriters honed their craft in the theatre, so it's very exciting to be partnering with some of today's most daring playwrights."
“At this moment, as theatre surges back, I am truly inspired by the ambition and excellence of the current generation of voices working in theatre as exemplified by James, Sylvia, and Sarah," adds LAMF CEO Jeffrey Soros. "Based on our fruitful experiences with Protozoa in other media, I can’t think of a better partner in this endeavor.”
Though not announced as one of the fund's projects, Aronofsky has stated recently that he is working to bring his 2010 film Black Swan to the stage as a musical. Aronofsky is, of course, best known as the surrealist director for such films as Requiem for a Dream, and, most recently, The Whale, the latter based on Samuel D. Hunter's stage play of the same name. His work, partially via Protozoa, regularly sees collaborations with stage names, including the Branden Jacobs-Jenkins–penned Kindred.
LAMF joins the project with more theatrical experience in its background, having produced the recent Daniel Fish-directed revival of Oklahoma!, the Olivier-winning revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, and Broadway's most recent A Doll's House. They are currently producing Magic Mike Live and the West End's Crazy for You as well.
