Diana Gibson in the Fountain Theatre Lobby, February 2014

July 31, 2014

Dear Fountain Theatre Member,

I just wanted to remind you that the memorial service for Diana will be this Saturday at 1pm at the Fountain.

Diana would be thrilled to know that we're expecting an over-flowing crowd.


If you haven't RSVP'd and would like to attend, please call us at 323-663-1525.

We plan on honoring Diana in the way she would have wanted, with a loving dose of humor and theatricality.

If you didn't see the official press release about her death, it's included below.

We have established a special fund in Diana's honor - the Diana Gibson Subscriber Fund - which will gift needy students and seniors with free subscriptions to our theatre. lt's our way of  doing something special for a very special person... and to have her memory live on.


For those of you who knew Diana, it's hard to imagine her big spirit and laugh not filling our lobby and stairway and staff meetings. She's dearly missed.

Flowers and remembrances can be sent to: c/o Diana Gibson, The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029.

If we can be of any help in any way, please give us a call.


Simon Levy and the staff of the Fountain

 

 

Longtime Fountain Theatre Subscriptions Director Diana Gibson Passes Away at 69

Producer, writer, director, actress and longtime subscriptions director at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, Diana Moore Gibson passed away on Thursday, July 17 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from multiple complications following pneumonia. She was 69. Born Nov. 11, 1944 in Des Moines, Iowa, Diana moved to Los Angeles to attend USC, where she earned MFAs in both Painting and Drama and was the recipient of the prestigious Cole Porter Award.

 

She was a member of and performed with the USC-USA Festival Theatre Company, for which she wrote and directed two folk-rock musicals that went on to tour internationally: The Word, based on the Old Testament, was performed at the Jeanetta Cochran Theatre in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; and Words and Pictures, about the history of art, toured to nine American Houses in Germany, the Cambridge Arts Theatre in England and the Edinburgh Fringe. She also wrote the musical Cinderelle, an adaptation of the Cinderella story, which was directed by Jack Bender at USC and at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Festival at Barnsdall Park, and Baby Steps, a collection of one-acts that was directed by Kevin Tighe at Hollywood's MET Theatre in 1983.

 

Ms. Gibson joined Ted Schmitt at the Cast Theatre in Hollywood in 1986, where she served as associate artistic director until 1989, then as artistic director from 1989-1999. Highlights of her decade-long tenure include Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award winning world premieres of David Steen's Avenue A and Melody Jones by Dan Gerrity and Jeremy Lawrence, and ten acclaimed world premieres by playwright Justin Tanner.

 

In 1999, Diana joined the Fountain Theatre as subscriptions director, a position she claimed to enjoy "more than any of those [previous positions]." She frequently referred to Fountain staff and subscribers as "a magical group of people." A continual presence in the Fountain lobby, she knew the majority of the Fountain's 1500 subscribers, "her members," by name, and remembered the names of their spouses and children as well. Known for her gruff, straight-talking manner and acerbic sense of humor, she often said how much she enjoyed chatting with subscribers, both on the phone and in the Fountain lobby.

 

She is survived by her sister Julie Gibson Josephson, brother-in-law Steve Josephson and niece Kira Moore Josephson.

 

The Fountain Theatre has established the Diana Gibson Subscriber Fund, to provide Fountain subscriptions to low-income students and seniors

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A memorial to honor Diana's life and accomplishments will be held on Saturday, Aug. 2 at 1 p.m. at the Fountain Theatre. For more information and to RSVP, email [email protected]  or call (323) 663-1525.