It’s a bit premature, but…

I TOTALLY love the cast of Bless Me, Ultima!

Boy, oh boy, Saturday was a blast. The day started with a welcome by our director Ms. Elisa, then followed by the exciting news that Bless Me has actually just wrapped up filming as a feature length movie!!

Next up were the sound, lighting, and set design presentations. The set designer said that the stage will be raked, or slanted. The plan is to keep the show minimalistic to keep the momentum as swift as possible. There are mini-scenes inside larger scenes, and if there was a need to pause, even the slightest one, for each shift, we could be in trouble of losing the audience’s attention. In keeping with the less is best idea, the raked stage is supposed to have images of the landscape on it. I am curious how this will work. Will the images be projected from behind the platform, or from above? If it’s from above, isn’t the image going to show up on the actors as well? We shall see…

One element I am really impressed with is that there will be a massive attempt at using as much live music as possible. Hooray! I can’t seem to do a show without having to sing. Haha! Even in the last play I did with Teatro, Hero, I sang the line: High School…High School Musical 2!

After the presentations, we all introduced ourselves to each other. We took a short break, and then dug into the script. Things have been changed and reassignments were adjusted, and the train began to move forward. At first as we began to read, things felt a little tense to me. Not for any particular reason. It could be that sometimes it’s uncomfortable to read aloud. It could be that the cold in the room was a little distracting. It could be that some of the people were missing parts of their script. After we got about six scenes into the read thru, Elisa stopped us and asked about the themes that we’d come across so far and how we feel about them. People brought up religion, good v. evil, and duality just to name a few.

Then it got a little weird. I understand what was meant, but I think it’s a bit trivial as far as the issue went. What happened was someone said they didn’t like the fact that the word “magic” was used to describe the things that Ultima could do. The reason was that the term “magic” made them think of pulling a rabbit out of a hat or something along that line, or that “magic” was only used for evil things.

I am a little torn that there is talk about changing a word that is the supposed school of altering things either by supernatural means or through knowledge of natural laws unacknowledged by science. It goes back as far as alchemy does. Magic was used long before the likes of Harry Houdini and others had began to create tricks and illusions for entertainment. What I wonder about is was that something that offended the person who purposed the change due to their religious beliefs or was it because it truly reminded her of parlor tricks? If its the former, isn’t that why we are here to do this play? If it’s the latter, do we really have the power to change the words of the playwright if a wording change diminishes the power of the script?

It also made me wonder why no one had problems says “miracles.” Aren’t those just magic? The difference that was told to me was that one is religious based while the other was more of a hedonist term. WTH? This lead me to believe that this group was more religious that I thought and that’s where the whole Magic debate stemmed from. That makes me a little sad.

When I read the book, what I came away with is that you should question religion. It’s not something that is only contained inside of four walls. There’s a lot of back and forth for the main character, Tony, about the belief in the churchy god and the energy that’s everywhere that just is. That church god and cosmic energy are one and the same. It’s okay if you wanna believe in both! Now, I don’t mind either way what anyone believes. That’s what makes the word go ’round. However, with the church being all greedy and stuff, it acts like a child. If you were to compare the two, Magic is much older than most religions. Just sayin’! Churches say, you can’t do this or that. You can only worship in a confined space surrounded by others as witnesses to make sure you are doing what you’re supposed to. With the energy, there’s just possibility. There’s no one saying you can’t. You must follow your own moral compass and decide if what you do will hurt someone else.

It was a great conversation, sometimes it did go off track, but THIS is why I love working with Teatro Vision. I don’t get anything like it with WVLO, or Sunnyvale Players, and Saratoga Drama Group. The people in this cast are all fun loving and easy to laugh with. It’s going to be a happy, happy experience working with these folks.

Also, for those of you interested in another fellow theatre blogger, my cast mate Jess is the author behind Theatreg33k.blogspot.com. I am thinking a podcast with her will be a blast! I’ll keep you posted on that.

Let’s start at the beginning one more time…

Woo hoo!! The countdown to my first rehearsal for the next show has begun! Less than half a day to go and I have to say that I am very nearly biting my nails with nerves and excitement. Orientation for Bless Me, Ultima with Teatro Vision will be held tomorrow. It’ll be great to finally get to meet everyone that is in the cast.

A brief synopsis of the show is as follows: The Marez family is one full of conflicts. The central character of the play is the youngest son, Tony. His mother wants him to grow up to become a priest “which will bring honor to their family.” His father wants him to be a vaquero or cowboy because “his people are of the llano” and long to be out in the open. A friend of the family, Ultima, one day comes to live with the Marez family. Ultima is like a a female shaman; she uses herbs and natural ingredients to cure illness and even curses. Tony, who has been conditioned to believe that god is only found in church, becomes confused with knowledge that Ultima shares with him regarding what she’s able to do.

One of the things that usually happen during the first rehearsal is a table read, or a read thru. Basically, everyone just sits and reads the script. It’s not exciting to describe, but as people settle in to the reading you get to hear the beginnings of the possibility that is held within. Sometimes, that simple exercise of the table read, creates a great bonding experience if the script is powerful enough.

I’ve read the book and there are a lot of things that couldn’t be fit into the play. While reading the script, I sort of feel like the transitions between the scenes are a little abrupt. I will be eager to see what the lighting and scene design team are going to come up with.

Something else that I want to accomplish tomorrow is to set a time for an interview with the director of the play. I hope to talk to her about not only the play but also Teatro Vision and her experience in theatre. Maybe I’ll be able to get her to help me score an interview with the playwright.

I am so excited for this next project, and I will keep you posted.

Melissa Etheridge takes on Green Day

February 1st marked the debut of Melissa Etheridge taking the Broadway stage as the character St. Jimmy in Green Day’s immensely popular American Idiot! It’s a one week engagement, but judging from the look on her face during the video, I have my fingers crossed that she will be back for another go round in the future. Billy Joe Armstrong returns to the role on February 10.

Just wanted to share this little video with you!

videoplay.php?colid=206500 (Go ahead and click on the link)

Thornton Wilder’s Straight Outta Compton!!

Back in 2000, Director Scott Hamilton Kennedy filmed a project about 2 teachers that had no budget and no stage and 2 dozen students but wanted to put on a play. It’s called OT: Our Town and was released in 2002. It’s a wonderfully crafted piece. Click on the link above and you can watch the whole thing on Hulu.com.

The two teachers, Catherine Borek and Karen Green, from Dominguez High School in Compton, CA wanted to put on a play. That play would be Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. It would be the first play at this school in over 20 years!!

The doc opens to interviews with some of the students who talk about the school spirit, or lack thereof, and it’s problems and underlying causes. They are very bright, occasionally inarticulate, but all of them were engaging. They understand that people have a preconceived ideas of the town of Compton and it’s residents. They are aware that many, many people think that Compton is only full of thugs and other unsavory people.

The young lady, Ebony who ends up becoming the Stage Manager, says, with the utmost honesty, that the events of the year are as follows: “homecoming, riots, prom, and graduation.” Ebony and her classmate spoke of how often there were fights in the school between the different groups of students, which are primarily African-Americans and Latinos. The main line of thought is that it’s pent up frustration that causes these violent flare ups. The frustration stems from the poor quality of education that the students are receiving. With public schools needing money so badly, the curriculum tends to be more busy work and less thought provoking and leadership building type exercises that are in abundance in the private schools. Not only that, teachers in public schools make a substantial amount of money LESS than private school teachers while dealing with overflowing classrooms. I feel like if the students can see this degradation of their quality of education, you KNOW it’s bad!

I watched with full attention and I actually felt myself hoping that the teachers succeed. Throughout the piece, you see how Our Town really is every town. The themes of the play are so simple; they are what everyone experiences through life. The play is broken up into three themes: Daily Life, Love and Marriage, and finally Death.

These two teachers, after convincing the students how this old play with it’s very caucasian cast is similar to their lives, were determined to pull off the seemingly impossible. By infusing this play with images of Compton and personal pictures, it really drives home how it’s easy to make this play fit it’s surroundings. The only thing that stood in the way seemed to be school spirit. The school itself was only supportive of one thing and it was their basketball team. In the gym, banners hung crookedly on the walls signifying championships and various titles held. In one segment, Kennedy asked a student why they couldn’t use the gym for the stage and the student said that the coach doesn’t allow anyone other than his team to make use of it.

It makes me incredibly sad that something as enriching as the Arts always takes a backseat to athletics. Something that can have an effect on the world with millions and millions of participants will never be as highly prized as any sport regardless of how inane that sport is. Golf, anyone? A comedian once said, “how is that a sport? You take away the ball, and it’s just walking.” Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that sports builds leadership and team work abilities, and in public schools that is much needed. But why does it always have to be the one thing that only a very few people can take part in that a school prefers to hold holy? At least in theatre, you have set, light, and sound design; costumes to be created; make up and wigs to put together; of course actors and crew to pull the whole thing off; and if it’s a musical, there’s the whole music section to add!! All those people working toward a common goal. On top of that, there needs to be someone to help guide each of those groups so that all the sections of the show fit together. But then what do you get? Oh yeah, another vehicle to build leadership and team building skills. How many MORE lives are being positively affected?

That production of Our Town sold out completely. The long hard road it took to make this play happen proves to have been worth it. The hand crafted signs that were created with markers and construction paper and posted throughout the school paid off. The audience was filled with parents students and staff who laughed hysterically at times and cried. Those 24 kids performed their hearts out and you could see how much the crowd and the actors enjoyed the show.

The year after the documentary took place, Ms. Borek and Ms. Green decided to put on another play. It was a stage version of the movie “Stand and Deliver.” Not only was it another sold out show, but Ms. Borek and Ms. Green were given a $5000 budget!! Guess what else happened? There hadn’t been a riot at that school in over two years.

As Ebony says: “I think we broke down a lot of the thoughts that people have about Compton. You know, it just shows, you know that people are people. And it really doesn’t matter about race or background and where your from. We kind of made it a universal message. And then, other people, you know – people who live in Idaho or something, can even relate to us. That we’re not that different. But we’re way different from what you think we are.”

Since OT: our town, Dominquez High School has since seen not only “Stand and Deliver” but S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders” and “Inherit the Wind.” All of which sold out completely. At the time of “Inherit the Wind,” the drama class still didn’t have a stage. The site for Dominguez High is out of commission at the time of this post, but there is no mention of any sort of auditorium in any of the school district info.