day 8 - first rehearsal

Costume Measurements

I’ve had and conducted my fair share of costume measurements in my day but this was one of the most chill.  For one I wasn’t taking measurements, so that was nice to just be measured.  And I know all my sizes so I was able to answer all questions.  I’m always amazed by grown male actors who don’t know their pants size.  Is your mother still shopping for you?  But yeah, it was pretty routine – shirt size, show size, dress size.  Then they measured arms length, head, bust, etc.  We soon discovered that Elizabeth, the costume designer, and I have basically the same measurements.  Elizabeth told me I was pretty lucky because I would most likely never have to come in for a fitting – “Well if it fits me, it’ll fit Greer.”  Although I am sad that I won’t be spending more time with the costume team because they are a fun group. But costume measurements can be an awkward time for some and I thought Elizabeth and her assistants did a great job of making people feel comfortable.  There were several private stations and everyone was sort of chatting and socializing around.  Then amidst all the activity they just happened to measure you.  It was very relaxed. I am excited about my costume!

Greer Beckman

day 7 -Class #5, Community Callbacks and Casting

Class #5 : Creating Community Specific Text

Adapting Federico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding Exercise (led by Peter Howard):

Ching-In Chen's adaptation:

(The stagelight disappears behind the curtains at Jacques.  A trans-woman who is the host of this Asian dragnight performance enters, completely covered in flimsy, dark green garments.  She is barefoot.  Her face can barely be seen under the folds of cloth.  This character does not appear on the cast list.)

$1 miso door prize.  Rubber gloves.  Audience member's phone number.  Floss  My lighter.  Diet pills.  Dollar bills.  Stage prop brownies.  I am so tired!  Where the hell did they get to!?!  The show is almost done.  Where's the goddamn light, Jacques!  The light?

 

D'Lo's adaptation:

New Moon Blood

(A Half Woman/Half Man person enters stage as lights go down on a masculine figure preparing hyself for the work day. S/he is menstruating red petals.)

That moment in moonlight is gone.
He lives now in the dark where I once tried to in the light.
Green, I will prevent him from being
Or else, prevent the moon from shining.
Should’ve been a blue moon myself.
Taking the souls of my duality-driven children, and spanking them over my knee.
Crack whips and bind mouths to finally enjoy the silence that has bound us before.
Fuck the moon who dare shine hys life...
Let hym bind in the dark.

Leyla Eraslan's Writing Exercise to Create Original Text (led by Michael Garces)

I’m Susan Parker—I was named after my great grandmother. It’s a heck of a name, isn’t it? I mean, of all the names to preserve and pass down, why Susan? I’m partial to my middle name, Marilyn. My mother’s favorite film was Some Like It Hot. A lady never reveals her age, so I’m 32. I live just over on Park Lane—I know, Parker on Park Lane—serendipitous, ain’t it? It’s a lovely little house. There’s a great space for my garden—you should just see the size of my tomatoes! Oh, most of them rot on the vine—sad, isn’t it? I’m afraid I don’t have much of an appetite most nights, and I don’t know who to give them to. Hmmm. Well, anyway, my cat Tiger and I live at 23 park Lane. It’s a quiet life, I’m a secretary over at the travel agency in town, so most days I just go in, read a magazine or brochure about Peru—Parrru—I can’t roll my R’s—wish I could. I come on home, feed Tiger, work on the garden—poor tomatoes—and then I hit the hay. . .  I’ve got a lot to be thankful for. . . I could never think of leaving. Besides, I bet it would be hot in Peru. . .  I got this fun little haircut recently—I thought it might, I don’t know, add a little excitement to my life. The mailman said it was nice but I’m not sure most people noticed. . . . Say, would you like some lemonade?

day 6 - story circle

D'Lo's Five Senses Writing Exercise from Peter Howard's Story Circle class, Day 6, I-5

I realize that me being dark, brown, bald, hip hop, boi, gay, silver jewelry n nose rings can be a combined look that intimidates. I understand that my smile can shift people out of their intimidation in a snap.

When I think of I5, I smell mayonnaise, theatre, sweat, coffee, perfumes. I see white women, open hearts, expertise, Andres and love. I hear ernest-ness, laughter, white folk talk, thoughts, yawns. I taste coffee, sadness, sweat, hot sauce, plastic pen. I touch hands, sweet faces, white girls hair, sweaty skin, eyebrows. 

Story Circle Questions: I-5 Day 6

We had an informative class on the process of leading story circles with Peter Howard.   These are the questions that arose from the class in the process of creating our own story circle about our I-5 experience.

Ching-In Chen

Talk about a moment when you learned something about yourself that you had not been aware of before.

Tell us about a time when you connected with a specific person, place or object.

What is the oldest thing in your home?

Moment of great joy with this community?

Since you have been here, what experience have you had that has put you our of your comfort zone?

Describe a time when you felt supported by this community.

How do you think you will respond to your first disappointment with Cornerstone?

What were your fears coming in?

What was the most exciting canvassing moment you've had?

Tell us a time where you shared a sense of community?

Tell me about something that happened to you during mealtime (or when not working).

Moment when you wish you had a video camera?

How has your perception(s) of LA changed since being here?

What do you envision as a moment of potential or possibility that could happen tomorrow?

day 5- community auditions

Cate Wiley’s audition experience 

It has been something like 25 years since I auditioned for a play—graduate exams and job interviews are not quite the same. I was surprised to be introduced (again!) to Michael, but after that I had a good time hamming it up with my newspaper line about “bad guys not having access to information.”  I feel as if I was asked to read it about six different times and I recall running up to whisper in the ear of each auditioner. I felt brave and incredibly talented as an actor for those few minutes!

Audition Recruiting

Tuesday night was the second night of auditions. All Sunday and Monday nights we’d been canvassing for auditions – walking around the neighborhood with fistfuls of audition flyers, stopping anyone we found to lure them over to the audition room. It was exhilarating to be out in the street, steeling up the nerve to walk up to complete strangers and lay out our mission. It was our first real contact with the neighborhood, and as outsiders to the community, it was both terrifying and empowering. The number of people I met who were immediately enthusiastic about the project was unexpected to me, and inspiring. But we got a lot of no’s also – polite smiles and shakes of the head, people with “no time” or who “weren’t actors,” and nothing we said could change their minds. By eight o’clock Tuesday night, it was getting dark and I was starting to get tired. I was standing on the sidewalk outside Cornerstone with the rest of the recruiting team, beginning to start the fourth round of trying to get the couple who kept walking past us to audition. We failed, as we had the last three times, but then, a car pulled up. People jumped out, slamming the doors behind them, and I stepped forward to catch them before they sped off to wherever they were headed so quickly.

“Hey, have you heard about the play we’re doing at Cornerstone?” I asked, brandishing a flyer.”

“Yeah, that’s where we’re going!” They answered, hurrying past me.

I stopped, stunned, and watched as they rushed excitedly into Cornerstone. Gradually, more people trickled in. People walking in out of the darkening street, into the waiting room full of community members talking and laughing as they waited to audition. There weren’t a lot of them, but suddenly people were turning the tables on us, as we approached to tiredly invite them in, telling us offhandedly that they already knew. Some of the people who said they had no time but would come back later, the ones we’d given up on, were emerging from the street with excited greetings and smiles. By the end of auditions, we had 74 people. As Michael said later in class, the eagerness we found seemed to reflect a hunger in the community – for the story to be told, and to be the ones telling it. On Thursday, when we packed nearly sixty people into the rehearsal space for our first read-through, that story began to come to life. 

Taiga Christie

day 4 - outreach at neighborhood churches

New City Church People: After the service at New City Church I spoke to a few people about what we were doing at Cornerstone. Some of the people were really excited about the fact that the play was about their community, they were long term residents and had seen the area change, they really wanted me to know their stories, what this community means to them. There were also people who have been going to the church since it started and who didn’t have a clue what was round the corner! They were eager to find out more...it took me a while to get out the door!

Rhiannon Lane

graffiti on bloom's store

My faith is in a state of constant flux, a circumstance that I’m sure many people of many faiths can relate to.  My home church and I haven’t been on great terms, and church services can be incredibly emotional experiences for me (for better or for worse).  So when it was suggested that Cornerstone Institute students attend church services in order to spread the word about auditions for @traction, I was a little hesitant.  Eventually I decided that reaching out to the community around Traction Avenue was more important than any religious qualms I might have, so I agreed to attend Sunday morning mass at St. Xavier Catholic Church.  And I’m so glad I did! St. Xavier’s is the only Catholic church in the Los Angeles area to offer a service in Japanese, and has a very strong Japanese-American population.  Judging from this morning’s attendance, there is also a sizeable Latino population in the congregation.  There was a baby, Jonathan, who was baptized yesterday, and another who was to be baptized after the service this morning.  It was a lively bunch of people, who seemed to go to mass as naturally as they would eat or breathe. During the passing of the peace, I approached Father Richard.  The Institute director, Paula, told us that Father Richard had been involved in the process of creating the scripts through story circles and was very excited about the show.  Father Richard didn’t let us down.  I spoke to him briefly to tell him that a contingent of I-5 students was present, and he grinned and said “Great! I’ll be making the announcement later and I have fliers in the back of the church.” Just after the passing of the peace was Eucharist.  Communion.  Kind of a big deal, especially in the Catholic church.  Ordinarily when I attend a Catholic church, I go to the priest for a blessing, but don’t take communion because I’m not Catholic.  However, when I got to the front of the line, Father Richard smiled and said “The Body of Christ for Cornerstone.”  He didn’t ask whether I was Catholic, and I didn’t volunteer the information.  I just took the Host and felt… happy.  Accepted.  Embraced, even.  It was a good feeling. After the service, Father Richard made the announcement about our presence and our reason for being there.  Then he sent us to the back of the church before everyone else so we could stop people on their way out!  No one could leave without getting by us first!  So many people were enthusiastic, while others seemed anxious about being involved.  But everybody was curious and everybody had questions.  Even the people who said they didn’t want to participate were reaching for the fliers.  One highlight for me was when an elderly woman with a strong Japanese accent asked whether the show was for people of all ages, and seemed very interested in attending auditions, or perhaps helping with costumes. Being a part of this community was eye-opening, and I’m glad I was able to experience this particular facet of our neighborhood.  Next week Cate and her daughter Claire, two of the other I-5 participants, and I will be attending mass there again.  The weekend after Marcos, a past Institute participant and a volunteer for this year’s Institute will be coming with me to the 8:30 service in Japanese.  I look forward to continuing a relationship with this unique and welcoming community, even if it lasts only for the month.

Molly MacLagan

Cate’s interview with Diane Freaney about New City Church

C: Why did you choose to attend this particular service?

D: I am interested in alternative church spaces and kinds of services. This church only began in April, so it is still very new. 

C: How many people were there?

D: Around 50, with a lot of children.

C: How much interest was there in Traction Avenue?

D: They were very open and interested in Cornerstone. Jeanne, a core member of the church, participated in the community reading of the @Traction script. Pastor Kevin invited us to make an announcement at the service, which we did and it was well received. This pastor had another church in the Mission district in a parking lot. Their music consisted of a guitar and the songs were very good. `new `city `church wants to take advantage of the neighborhood and are determined to be as inclusive as possible.

day 4 - joel bloom memorial block party

day 3 - community engagement strategizing

day 2 - the scavenger hunt

 

day 1 - who are you?

on the vignes arts building roof

alison carey and peter howard (founding members of cornerstone)

 

What We Hope to Learn from Our Institute Experience

 

 

How should we define "inclusivity" in the context of artistic creation?  Is it possible to create inclusive community based theater or does defining a community inherently imply a process of exclusion?

How doe we know when we get there?

How can we keep theatre interesting and relevant for the community after the initial production?

How can we most accurately and effectively represent the communities we work with while doing community-based theater?  What ethical considerations come into play when thinking about questions of representation?

In starting a project, how do/can you initially engage a community?  Who do you talk to to get the ball rolling?

How do you communicate about community-engaged theater so people get excited about it and engage in it?  (*People = community members, residents, community business, supporters, financial and in-kind).

What long-term impact did past community-based theater productions have on communities?  What initiatives were started as a direct-result of these productions?

What do you do when social conflict arises outside of rehearsals that disturb the onstage work?

How do you bridge a group where half are old timers who know each other well and the others are new (your forming a theater group)?

Would you ever work with a community whose politics you don't agree with but somehow feel are important / under represented or is that impossible?

How do you identify an interesting play topic and how (as a potential newcomer/outsider_ do you approach people for research interviews without appearing intrusive or condescending?

How do and when do community based theater scripts get conceptualized?  What is the process around building the script?

How does one negotiate between process and product?  How to find the balance between what may be the groups stage of development and the desired outcome?

How do you reach a compromise between process and product?  Is there a way to achieve success in bith?  Can it be both an enriching process for the community members and a successful product in artistic/theatrical terms?

In professional community based theater, what is the balance between process and product?  Is there an equal balance between process and product, or is one more heavily weighted than the other?  How do we assess the project as professional community-based artists and what are measures of success?

How do you reach your targeted audience?  How do you keep the audience engaged after the performance?

How do we deal with "appropriation" as "outsiders"/people unfamiliar with the community?  All the power dynamics that arise from that?

What are the ethical implications of creating community-based theater in a community that is not originally your own?  What constitutes imperialism or condescension?

How do I make myself dispensable for the continuum of the work, once the initial project is over?

How do you write a play (original) based on a community that encompasses all the stories of that community without making the play too confusing, too long, or lacking action?  Furthermore, does a community based play follow different rules than a regular play?  What are those rules?

Hen you are entering a community that looks different from you, how do you establish trust?

How do you negotiate issues in communities that are rapidly changing?  In conflict between old and new residents, how do you deal with issues of ownership or belonging?

you are here - are you ready?

previous students of cornerstone institute

institute I1 - 2004 - Lost Hills CA

institute I2 - 2005 - Grayson-Westley CA

institute I3 - 2006 - San Francisco CA

institute I4 - 2007 - Holtville CA