We had a very interesting talk-back on Saturday night. One woman in the audience asked us why our conversation about America didn't have more to say about racism in America. She also asked about our portrayal of black female stereotypes, notably Amanda's role in one of the four "America skits."
The cast said that the script for the show reflected the topics that the group talked about in rehearsal; since racism per se didn't come up much in our discussions it doesn't feature prominently in the show. Race is an implicit factor in a number of the issues we do address, like immigration and economic opportunity. But the script does focus more on class and economics in its analysis of America.
The young people also disputed the criticism of Amanda's performance in the America skit. Yes, she is playing a stereotype, but that comes from a section of the play in which everyone is a stereotype: moments before that Amanda speaks in a stereotypically "white" valley girl voice and moments after it Gilbert and Stephanie play a stereotypically male and female husband and wife. We're playing around with those stereotypes and with the lines of the poems. It should also be noted that that portrayal is only one part of the many personas that Amanda takes on throughout the show, inlcuding a very moving section in which she speaks in her own voice asking America why she has to be stuck in a world all on her own.
This discussion gave us all a lot to think about, though, and I'd love for some of our performers and audience members to offer their thoughts about these issues:
- What did our performance leave out about race in America?
- How would you start to create a "performed conversation" about race in our country?
- Of what significance is it that our cast is made up entirely of young people who are members of racial and ethnic minorities, of which the majority are first and second-generation American? Does that fact say anything about the racial make-up of America?
- What do you think about racial stereotypes, either in our performance, or in the media at large? How common are they? How do we internalize them when we think and talk about race?
There's a lot more to say about this. I hope we hear from several voices!
February 26, 2007
February 24, 2007
talk back #2
Since our first talk-back was such a success last weekend, we've decided to make it a regular feature of every performance. It's a natural extension of our "conversation."
Last night, we got some great questions from the audience.
One young man asked whether we thought the government could do more to change the problems we have in America. Some cast members said that the changes had to come from the bottom up, from individuals changing the culture, rather than the top down. When the audience member talked about the size of the problem by noting that, despite welfare reform, "the line at the welfare office still stretches around the block," Marielle responded (as she often does!) by saying that improving your station in life was a matter of personal responsibility. In her opinion, welfare should be around for people who've just arrived in America and don't know anybody, but people shouldn't be able to be on it for long periods of time. Not everyone agreed with her but we didn't have enough time to get into it fully...
Someone else asked if we thought American society -- and human life in general -- was "all just one big beauty contest." This reminded us of Cynthia's comments in rehearsal about actual beauty ocntests and the symbolic violence that they inflict on young women. What particularly bothers her, she said, was how the pageant organizers say they're "changing America one girl at a time." Other cast members pointed out that it's not only in America that we over-value beauty; every culture has a standard of beauty that people strive for. Perhaps it's part of human nature.
One great question that we got at the end: Is America built on opportunity or is it built on what we sell it to be. This got the cast talking about how America sells itself, in particular how the military sells the Armed Services to be a really "cool" job -- instead of talking about what it really is, a line of work in which you might end up killing people or being killed.
We could have gone on talking a whole lot longer and I hope that we do! If you have something to say in response to some of these questions, post a comment!
Last night, we got some great questions from the audience.
One young man asked whether we thought the government could do more to change the problems we have in America. Some cast members said that the changes had to come from the bottom up, from individuals changing the culture, rather than the top down. When the audience member talked about the size of the problem by noting that, despite welfare reform, "the line at the welfare office still stretches around the block," Marielle responded (as she often does!) by saying that improving your station in life was a matter of personal responsibility. In her opinion, welfare should be around for people who've just arrived in America and don't know anybody, but people shouldn't be able to be on it for long periods of time. Not everyone agreed with her but we didn't have enough time to get into it fully...
Someone else asked if we thought American society -- and human life in general -- was "all just one big beauty contest." This reminded us of Cynthia's comments in rehearsal about actual beauty ocntests and the symbolic violence that they inflict on young women. What particularly bothers her, she said, was how the pageant organizers say they're "changing America one girl at a time." Other cast members pointed out that it's not only in America that we over-value beauty; every culture has a standard of beauty that people strive for. Perhaps it's part of human nature.
One great question that we got at the end: Is America built on opportunity or is it built on what we sell it to be. This got the cast talking about how America sells itself, in particular how the military sells the Armed Services to be a really "cool" job -- instead of talking about what it really is, a line of work in which you might end up killing people or being killed.
We could have gone on talking a whole lot longer and I hope that we do! If you have something to say in response to some of these questions, post a comment!
February 21, 2007
two OTHER poems
Over the course of our rehearsal process, ensemble member Tabetha Peavey was inspired by our conversation to write two poems. One of them has worked its way into the script. Here they are in their entirety...
"Culture" by Tabetha Peavey
I came home that night and took a shower.
Not just any shower, but a hote one, just for that warm feeling.
I felt the weather melting off me, and the icicles in my lungs began to boil.
The water came over my head, splashing against
every bit of me, and I just stood there
regaining the feeling in each and every limb.
I noticed now that my fingers had begun pruning --
I thought about the wind outside, the wind that
was cross-examining the foundation of the very house I was in.
I thought about the hail I saw in everyone's breath,
and the homeless on nights like this.
How they froze outside, forming these
petrified forests of crystallized historical figurines.
I shut the water off, as my toes had wrinkled, too.
I felt guilty and I
wrapped a thick cotton towel around myself,
and as I stepped outside the steamy bathroom and into
my carpeted hallway,
I shivered -- back to
my room.
"O.L.D." by Tabetha Peavey
The old man in the sea had once said
ever so coy as he was --
he was historical actually.
Well,
he told us that he knew all about us.
a group of young gusts whipping through the centuries
and that antonyms were the key.
His hands told an entirely different story
despite his mouths unambiguity..
He fingered the air twirling it in around his wrists
and while he spoke of us he said
well, that our wings were just arms and
they became useless in lift off.
Our ears heard him tell us of us,
and what thought he had lent to our jobs
but as his feet rocked his back concaved around the mystics
teaching fundamentals with wooden blocks
each painted with primary colors, as learning became modern art.
Elementary, his skin cried out, was a new school of thought.
I had read somewhere that our
intestines were a metaphor within our own bodies--
It wasn’t Kafka’s labyrinth but man his parables sure could rock.
I read Camus just for his name,
and I scratched him off my list of things to do
when I learned that truth was a god.
Did you know that?
See, the old man rocked and rocked and as he told us of us
I wished I was a philistine.
It’s almost ridiculous, me writing this,
but for the most part your close reading skills could improve.
You didn’t catch how the Dust Bowl had collected under his nails,
and all that we had thought gone with erosion reappeared with in him
As he told us of young us, and I saw age flash across his face
chanting why Truth? why?
No answer -- and his body decayed there,
rocking, speaking, tell two stories at once
and what he said to us, about us,
well he said
‘Man , if you can change those water particles
you’d alter those clouds. They’re not so far off now.’
"Culture" by Tabetha Peavey
I came home that night and took a shower.
Not just any shower, but a hote one, just for that warm feeling.
I felt the weather melting off me, and the icicles in my lungs began to boil.
The water came over my head, splashing against
every bit of me, and I just stood there
regaining the feeling in each and every limb.
I noticed now that my fingers had begun pruning --
I thought about the wind outside, the wind that
was cross-examining the foundation of the very house I was in.
I thought about the hail I saw in everyone's breath,
and the homeless on nights like this.
How they froze outside, forming these
petrified forests of crystallized historical figurines.
I shut the water off, as my toes had wrinkled, too.
I felt guilty and I
wrapped a thick cotton towel around myself,
and as I stepped outside the steamy bathroom and into
my carpeted hallway,
I shivered -- back to
my room.
"O.L.D." by Tabetha Peavey
The old man in the sea had once said
ever so coy as he was --
he was historical actually.
Well,
he told us that he knew all about us.
a group of young gusts whipping through the centuries
and that antonyms were the key.
His hands told an entirely different story
despite his mouths unambiguity..
He fingered the air twirling it in around his wrists
and while he spoke of us he said
well, that our wings were just arms and
they became useless in lift off.
Our ears heard him tell us of us,
and what thought he had lent to our jobs
but as his feet rocked his back concaved around the mystics
teaching fundamentals with wooden blocks
each painted with primary colors, as learning became modern art.
Elementary, his skin cried out, was a new school of thought.
I had read somewhere that our
intestines were a metaphor within our own bodies--
It wasn’t Kafka’s labyrinth but man his parables sure could rock.
I read Camus just for his name,
and I scratched him off my list of things to do
when I learned that truth was a god.
Did you know that?
See, the old man rocked and rocked and as he told us of us
I wished I was a philistine.
It’s almost ridiculous, me writing this,
but for the most part your close reading skills could improve.
You didn’t catch how the Dust Bowl had collected under his nails,
and all that we had thought gone with erosion reappeared with in him
As he told us of young us, and I saw age flash across his face
chanting why Truth? why?
No answer -- and his body decayed there,
rocking, speaking, tell two stories at once
and what he said to us, about us,
well he said
‘Man , if you can change those water particles
you’d alter those clouds. They’re not so far off now.’
February 18, 2007
opening night pictures
Some of our PYBY volunteers setting up the opening night reception.
Co-director Serge Velez.
Ensemble member Emily Munguia in the green room.
Emily with ensemble member Amanda Williams.
Ensemble member Francisco Espinoza.
Ensemble member Gilbert Arias with co-director Dan Friedman.
Ensemble member Eugene Clowney with co-director Brian Mullin.
Francisco with co-director Sita Sarkar.
February 16, 2007
another openin'
It's hard to believe that we only started rehearsing this show on January 6th!! For those who like to keep track, that makes it exactly 46 days since our first meeting. And now we're opening. Pretty impressive that we've been able to pull a group together, get to know one another, create a play and stage it in that short a time!
We sat down before our run-through last night and talked about where we're at. This has been a challenging process for all of us because it's required taking a big leap into the unkown. Most of the cast had never created a play from scratch and certainly not one that didn't have a plot or characters. We've all had to take on roles that we didn't exactly know how to do; and instead of waiting to figure it out, we just started doing it.
This play is challenging not only to the actors, but also to the audience. We spent a long time last night talking about whether anyone would "understand" what the play was about. Well, there will probably be many people who say they don't "get" it, but that's not necessarily the point, right? Here at Youth Onstage! and Castillo, we create "developmental" theater that asks something of its audience. Instead of telling them what to think, we're asking them to see things in new ways. We think that that helps people figure out new ways of seeing and new ways of re-organizing the world. The play is really just the opening remark in what we all hope will be an ongoing conversation with everyone who sees it (and even those of you out there on the web who don't see it). And we hope that people respond in all kinds of ways, including by responding with brand new performances.
As for the future of this blog, it has only just begun! We are planning to post updates from our post-show talk-backs. And I'm also going to ask our cast members and creative team to reflect on the experience. Hopefully, we'll have new pictures to put up at some point. Most of all, though, we want audience members to post their comments.
Tell us what you liked, what you didn't get, what you thought it was all about. Conduct some performance exercises in your own communities and tell us about the results. In other words... keep talking!
We sat down before our run-through last night and talked about where we're at. This has been a challenging process for all of us because it's required taking a big leap into the unkown. Most of the cast had never created a play from scratch and certainly not one that didn't have a plot or characters. We've all had to take on roles that we didn't exactly know how to do; and instead of waiting to figure it out, we just started doing it.
This play is challenging not only to the actors, but also to the audience. We spent a long time last night talking about whether anyone would "understand" what the play was about. Well, there will probably be many people who say they don't "get" it, but that's not necessarily the point, right? Here at Youth Onstage! and Castillo, we create "developmental" theater that asks something of its audience. Instead of telling them what to think, we're asking them to see things in new ways. We think that that helps people figure out new ways of seeing and new ways of re-organizing the world. The play is really just the opening remark in what we all hope will be an ongoing conversation with everyone who sees it (and even those of you out there on the web who don't see it). And we hope that people respond in all kinds of ways, including by responding with brand new performances.
As for the future of this blog, it has only just begun! We are planning to post updates from our post-show talk-backs. And I'm also going to ask our cast members and creative team to reflect on the experience. Hopefully, we'll have new pictures to put up at some point. Most of all, though, we want audience members to post their comments.
Tell us what you liked, what you didn't get, what you thought it was all about. Conduct some performance exercises in your own communities and tell us about the results. In other words... keep talking!
pretty pictures
Here are the first of our production photos. Doesn't everyone look great in their hoodies??
February 15, 2007
performance exercise #3
PERFORMANCE EXERCISE #3
-After you've played around with the poems and some other texts, make a list of lines from all of the texts that the group finds interesting. (Be sure to mix them up!)
- Improvise two-person scenes in which one person can only respond with lines off of the sheet. You can choose the situation: maybe they're at a restaurant, maybe one of them is a hitchiker. It doesn't matter!
- When we did this exercise, the person reading off the sheet played the role of "America." You can see some snippets of our scenes here, or come to the show and see them all!
-After you've played around with the poems and some other texts, make a list of lines from all of the texts that the group finds interesting. (Be sure to mix them up!)
- Improvise two-person scenes in which one person can only respond with lines off of the sheet. You can choose the situation: maybe they're at a restaurant, maybe one of them is a hitchiker. It doesn't matter!
- When we did this exercise, the person reading off the sheet played the role of "America." You can see some snippets of our scenes here, or come to the show and see them all!
February 13, 2007
performance exercise #2
Sorry that posts have been so sparse lately. We've been very busy staging the play before our opening on Friday! Here's another performance exercise for you to try...
PERFORMANCE EXERCISE #2
- Having discussed the poems by Hughes and Ginsberg (or any other texts you've decided to start with), have each participant bring in something that the text reminded them of.* It might be another text (like a poem or a song) or it might be an object or an image.**
- Use these new materials as inspirations for new performances. Come up with improvised scenes that use them.
*In our rehearsal process, some of the things people brought in were a woman's scarf with the American flag on it, the text of "The Internationale," a Rubick's cube, and the slogan from a Subway sandwich commercial. Some of these things made it into the show eventually.
**Try to keep things concrete. In our rehearsal process, we spoke about how eating applesauce makes people think about America. So, in the play, there's a part where people eat applecauce onstage.
PERFORMANCE EXERCISE #2
- Having discussed the poems by Hughes and Ginsberg (or any other texts you've decided to start with), have each participant bring in something that the text reminded them of.* It might be another text (like a poem or a song) or it might be an object or an image.**
- Use these new materials as inspirations for new performances. Come up with improvised scenes that use them.
*In our rehearsal process, some of the things people brought in were a woman's scarf with the American flag on it, the text of "The Internationale," a Rubick's cube, and the slogan from a Subway sandwich commercial. Some of these things made it into the show eventually.
**Try to keep things concrete. In our rehearsal process, we spoke about how eating applesauce makes people think about America. So, in the play, there's a part where people eat applecauce onstage.
February 6, 2007
performance exercise #1
We now have a final script for the show and we are working dilligently to rehearse it. I'm also happy to report that our intrepid Sales Director Gail Peck and her team have done a great job spreading the word about the show, especially to schools.
With school groups (and others) in mind, I thought it might be interesting to post some "Performance Exercises" based on the kinds of things we did in rehearsal. That way, other groups of people can have their own conversations about/with America. Enjoy!
PERFORMANCE EXERCISE #1
- Read our two poems*: "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes and "America" by Allen Ginsberg and discuss them with your group.
- Have every member of the group pick one line that they really like, even if they don't understand it.
- Divide everyone into groups of three or four and have each group come up with a performance that somehow incoporates all of the members' favorite lines (try to make sure the groups have some Hughes lines and some Ginsberg lines).
- The lines might be used as dialogue or they might be used in a different way (for example, one of the kids in our cast liked the line "I am the young man, tangled in that ancient endless chain," so he performed a scene where he was dragging a big chain along with him).
- You'll be surprised at some of the weird, funny, interesting scenes that people come up with.
*You don't have to use the Hughes and Ginsberg poems. Pick anything that you think is interesting! (I do think those poems are good ones for a "conversation," though, because they are written as addresses to America. They give some strong, forceful dialogue.)
With school groups (and others) in mind, I thought it might be interesting to post some "Performance Exercises" based on the kinds of things we did in rehearsal. That way, other groups of people can have their own conversations about/with America. Enjoy!
PERFORMANCE EXERCISE #1
- Read our two poems*: "Let America Be America Again" by Langston Hughes and "America" by Allen Ginsberg and discuss them with your group.
- Have every member of the group pick one line that they really like, even if they don't understand it.
- Divide everyone into groups of three or four and have each group come up with a performance that somehow incoporates all of the members' favorite lines (try to make sure the groups have some Hughes lines and some Ginsberg lines).
- The lines might be used as dialogue or they might be used in a different way (for example, one of the kids in our cast liked the line "I am the young man, tangled in that ancient endless chain," so he performed a scene where he was dragging a big chain along with him).
- You'll be surprised at some of the weird, funny, interesting scenes that people come up with.
*You don't have to use the Hughes and Ginsberg poems. Pick anything that you think is interesting! (I do think those poems are good ones for a "conversation," though, because they are written as addresses to America. They give some strong, forceful dialogue.)
February 2, 2007
doesn't this look like fun?
Military recruiting ads came up in our rehearsal discussion the other week. I thought I'd post this one. What do you guys think? Is this false advertising??
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