It’s peony season in California which, I should clarify is not an actual season; it’s generally too hot to sustain the beautiful flowers’ need for cold winters, but there is the annual arrival of peonies in Trader Joe’s which allows me to pretend that the cup sized blossoms on my dining table were grown in my yard. I usually get two bouquets before the “season” ends, so I’m currently in the bloom of round 1 and loving every minute of it.
I returned to the theatre with enthusiasm this week, seeing three plays and an opera. It feels good to get back out into the community and see what producers are offering in this season. Much of the work I’ve seen has been politically relevant and insightful as well as inciteful.
A week ago, Friday, I attended the senior showcase for this year’s crop of graduating stage managers, designers, and TDs from USC School of Dramatic Arts. Please check out their work. They are eminently employable for your next production! The panel of visiting professionals promoted the practice of attending theatre as a means of keeping fluency with current artists and supporting each others work. Over the last ten weeks, I’ve missed that community, and so last week, I jumped in enthusiastically. Here’s what I saw.
La Razón Blindada – 24th Street Theater is a powerful play about being imprisoned by an authoritarian regime. Theatrically, it’s an exercise in scaling down theatrical elements without minimizing content or emotional impact. Two men on two rolling chairs represent inmates in a political prison whose activities are seven days in solitary confinement, and one hour on Sundays sitting across a table from another inmate. The two performers, Jesus Castaños Chima and Tony Durán, under the direction of the playwright, Arístedes Vargas, are not allowed to stand under penalty of being shot. This play which unfortunately closed yesterday, has been remounted here after over two hundred performances all over the world. The physical constraints of the players doesn’t prevent the mental and physical ballet of two men desperate for connection and freedom hanging their stories on the framework of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. The utilization of their prison accoutrements bring the audience along on a journey through what authoritarianism can do to reduce those who fall under the wrong watchful gaze. The play is chilling and charming, funny and propulsive. As always, the producers of 24th Street Theater deliver relevance and power in their minimal staging. The performance, while entirely in spanish, has helpful and well called supertitles so that everyone is included. A must see. I hope they decide to bring it back? Here were some of the stars of the show as well as some general stars of Los Angeles Theatre from Monday night, which was theatre-makers’ night to attend!
Just Like Us – Los Angeles Latino Theatre Company -Again, a timely reminder that everyone’s path differs in this tightly constructed drama that traces the events around four Latina high school girls as they graduate high school; their college opportunities differ depending on their immigration status. The play is set in Denver, The production is buoyant and beautifully directed by Fidel Gomez, supported by the elegant scenic design of François Pierre Couture. The simple disc of a stage with two smaller disc stages is seemingly automated into a turntable by the vibrant and colorful projection design of Hsuan Kuang Hsieh. Costumes by Maria Catellina Copelli support the distinct characters of each of the girls and the journalist, played by Elise Mirto, who seeks to document their year by spending time with and describing their struggles within and against the immigration system. The piece is powerfully relevant and hopeful, though not without delays and misadventures. I was delighted to have seen this production last week and urge you to catch it before it closes.
Ainadamar – Opera at LA Opera – attending this was a complete surprise as a friend contacted me at about 5:20 on Thursday and had an extra ticket which I jumped at. I don’t live downtown anymore, so that was a little consideration but I jumped in the car and was there by 6:50, just in time. This opera checked all my entertainment needs – 80 minutes, gorgeous to look at, telling the story of Frederico Garcia Lorca and actress Margarita Xirgu, exiled to Cuba as she recounted the last days of Lorca in the Spanish Civil War. The stage pictures were stunning including images projected on a string curtain suspended over the stage. Again, minimal scenic elements, and all were carried/pushed on by the ensemble. I was ecstatic to be there to see this new work. And so pleased to be thought of when spare tickets were in hand! Thanks, Ashley!
White Rabbit/Red Rabbit – Fountain Theatre Company – a fascinating theatrical format – cold read by a different actor for each performance, this play, also about authoritarianism (gee, it’s a theme; wonder why?) uses the theatrical experience to demonstrate what it feels like to be told to do something by someone who isn’t there but has provided the script. I really can’t talk much more about it without a major spoiler alert and I imagine one’s experience is entirely predicated on who the actor is and who’s in the audience, and to a certain extent, the relationships between the actor and audience members. It was an interesting evening in the hands of Paul Raci the night I attended. After attending, if you do, let me know what you thought.
All in all, it was an elucidating week. It was great to be back attending theatre and opera and even better to have shows that are addressing important subjects in this everchanging political environment.
I also was pleased to get back to the LA Regional Food Bank last week, where my new knee held me in good stead both of the days, with three hour shifts. I really love the crew I work with when I am able to attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was tired and ready to ice and sit down, but in general, the knee worked.
And finally, I resumed my walks at the LA Reservoir last week, with my brother Don. We did one day that was just to the dam and back (2 miles) but since then, we’ve been hoofing the whole way around 3.34 miles. Even though my legs are tired by the time we get back to the car, they don’t hurt anywhere near how they did before I got my bionic knee. Life is good.
lifeinthethe8tre 