There is one more weekend left to catch Odradek Theater’s latest production, Paradise Park, a play by Charles Mee, adapted by Odradeks Jon Wikholm and M. Litwicki. This play is hard to summarize: a surreal landscape and its quirky inhabitants invite the audience to join a ride in a strange amusement park, a dreamscape asking us to re-evaluate our relationship to nature, art, language, and each other.  I asked its director, Ashley Marie Quijano, to tell us something more about the play and also herself.

What was the inspiration for this play? 

Charles Mee’s Paradise Park is a discussion on the problems that plague us, our personal short comings, and whether we chose to face or evade them; or at least attempt to avoid them. Conflict and how we manage it is universal, but Mee’s choice to stage characters in a theme park of free excess allows the characters a unique temptation to seek the avoidance option.

When we chose to re-write Paradise Park we wanted to create characters and problems that would be natural to Chicago, and use Mee’s paradise world to discuss what we saw in the world around us. However, with our park, we wanted it to be noticeably fake, like the wild west section the average theme park; and we wanted it be slowly falling apart, showing the exaggerated growth of this world without the manpower for upkeep. There are no problems in a true utopia, but evading ours and pretending to live in one shows evidence a serious effort to escape life. The possibility to discuss such a layered topic with ourselves and our audience was a prospect we couldn’t pass up.

What are you most excited about for this production?

We really wanted to make this production something that everyone had a hand in crafting, from the script to the set, we wanted everyone to be free to comment and amend, as long as the group mind agreed. This opens up the prospect of new and unforeseen ideas that just the writers and myself may not have considered. With a product like this those involved become more invested and creative, and this is what we seek to achieve with the company.

What are you most scared of regarding this production?

The most intimidating aspect of the process for this show was probably staging it in promenade. We felt like this show would work really well with the audience being able to explore and move all throughout the whole space but with that come complications in things like blocking and sight lines. We were a little worried about how everyone would fit when we ended up in a space smaller than we had expected, but we welcomed the challenge and think the closeness only adds to the feeling of this place being crowded and cumbersome.

Who should see this play?

Anyone who wants to try something a little different. This show is strange and wonderful (which is just how we like it).

How I did I become involved in theatre?

I became involved in theatre shortly after my first grade teacher had a meeting with my parents regarding my convincing of the entire class, that magical fairies lived in the schools drain pipes & we could all speak Spanish if we just tried hard enough. According to my teacher, I had an “overactive imagination”. According to my mother, my first grade teacher could suck it. And poof, I was in theatre. I was always creating stories and assigning my friends parts.

Over the years, I continued to do theatre. For me, theatre is an important means by which I try to understand and interact with the world around me. Through my work and engagement on the stage I have developed an avenue by which I am able to communicate my own otherwise intangible ideas and passions.

What is your dream as an artist?

As for my future, I plan on attending graduate school and getting my MFA. After completing graduate school, I hope to be working for a theatre company that I both love and respect. I want to perform and direct in the United States and internationally, working on pieces about which I am passionate. Human nature has dark recesses which must be explored and illuminated and it is here I find my own story fuses with the purposes of theatre. My life goal is to create art that can tell stories and transform lives. I want to engage people by inviting them to think critically, and develop sensitivity and understanding towards others. Storytelling and truth are central to the person I have become on my own journey, and I am excited to develop and engage in theatre that is committed to the importance of narrative and humanity.

Paradise Park is still playing at Luna Central (3914 N Clark)

May 4: 8:00pm & 10:00pm
May 5: 8:00pm

Behind La Luna Series: Living Large In a Mini Kind of Way

Feature #1:Diane Rodriguez (Director & Playwright)

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

What was the inspiration for this play?

Living Large in a Mini Kind of Way is based on two incidents that happened in my family.  One was two distant relatives coming to the US to work and the discovery that one of them was using the name and social security number of my deceased aunt to work.  She was confronted and eventually stopped.  The second event was my father’s death over 11 years ago.  I watched my mother rebuild her life after his passing and bloom into a very independent woman who is now in her 80s and who still lives alone and drives.

And Why this play now in 2012 with Teatro Luna?

The play is about strong women in struggle. Both are overwhelmed and make choices right or wrong in order to survive. The story gave me an opportunity to talk about the whole Mexican immigration fiasco that is currently happening today in our country. The outrageous policy that Arizona has instituted has begun to spread to other states and the Mexican worker is being scapegoated in the most horrifying way. This dangerous trend must be addressed and I try to humanize the issue in my play through humor. How women remain independent is always of interest to me and contemporary women are redefining who we are and how we age.  Older women face life after the death of their longtime spouses or partners and the new directions women are going are inspiring.

What are you most excited about for this production?

I’m most excited about working on this production with Teatro Luna. I’m waiting for them to make me an Associate Artist. (hint, hint)   First of all, they got my play–humor and all.   They were open to me directing it which is a very new thing for me but one that feels very natural. The Lunáticas are a young company–ten years old and in transition. They have a new space that offers enormous opportunities and challenges. I love that they are all much younger than me but that we relate to each other very easily.  There is no generation gap. Yay. That is the best thing ever.   Their energy is infectious.  I’ve got lots of energy too, but I’ve learned to channel it and be very strategic as to when to pull it back in order to not burn out.   I’ve got a very long history in the theatre.  I’m really experienced.  I’m an expert. And I work at a fancy theatre.  BUT I am at home here with the Luna ladies because this is the kind of theatre that I come from–company driven and devised work.   We all had to do everything.  And, I am never too good to sweep the floor!

What are you most scared of regarding this production?

I think whenever you premier a play there is always a certain amount of anxiety.   I have done several readings and workshops of this play and my agent has sent it out to several theatres.  The ladies of Teatro Luna were the brave souls to say yes to doing it.   Perhaps brave is not the right word.  But they believed in the politics and the humor of the play.   Many more mainstream theatres I believe don’t  relate to the inter-class dynamics of Latinos living in the USA.   This play is about two classes of Latina women both of Mexican ancestry–those who have just arrived and those whose families have been in the United States for at least a couple of generations.   Somehow, the mainstream still does not acknowledge that there is a substantial Latino middle class that is quite assimilated.   Not to say that all have forgotten their ancestral roots but rather to say that they are fully integrated and contributing to society.

Who should see this play?

I think all will relate on some level. Certainly the family situations and conflicts are relatable to all. The humor is universal. Those who are not Latino will hopefully come away with a deeper understanding of who we are and how we think and relate to each other.  And also I hope theatre artists relate to the aesthetic and the artistry.

Please share some nuggets of wisdom regarding becoming and staying  an artist in the American Theatre today. What are some big lessons you have learned that you could share with our readers?

Do more than one thing.  If you are an actor, know how to produce.  If you are a director, then it helps to also be an actor; if you are a set designer, be a graphic artist as well, and so on.   The more you know how to do, the more talents you have to fall back on to make a living. Think of yourself as a business. Create a five-year strategic plan for yourself. Identify your mission, your values, your goals and then develop strategies to get there.   This is an important element in being able to focus your career, and most artists do not think this way.  Think big picture and in so doing, be a big ideas person.   No idea is a bad idea. Just put an idea out there.  If it is rejected, believe that you have a thousand more where that one came from.

Anything else you think we should know this week about Living Large In a Mini Kind of Way?

As a director, I believe in transitions moving the story forward.  It’s my chance as a director to put my stamp on the piece.  Funny to say that when the piece I’m putting my stamp on is one that I wrote.  But the transitions I’m creating for Living Large are not in the script.  They are transitions that I am creating as a director.  I don’t think I will put them in the script as each director will bring her/his directorial take to the piece.   For me, music and sound are very important in creating transitions.  Also, I’m very visual.  So I do lots of research and download lots of pictures from the world I’m trying to create and I share them with all the designers.  I’ll see a photo of a girl sitting under a tree and it is so evocative that I will try to stage a scene with a girl sitting under a tree.   I also love physical movement throughout.  I like to have actors really working at doing something physical.  This frees them and grounds them and transforms what they are saying.  It becomes less precious and so much more believable.   I also don’t like to see process taking place.  I like to have actors process while they are saying lines.  I think that is how mostly we talk.   We are starting our third week of rehearsals and we are at that point where actors are off book but still struggling.  By this weekend, we will be cooking and ready to go into tech by next week.

————————————————————————————————————————————-

Find out more about LIVING LARGE IN A MINI KIND OF WAY on our tumblr blog here
Purchase your tickets for LIVING LARGE… here
Find out more about DIANE RODRIGUEZ here

This special second event in our MARIMACHAS Series is only a few days away— and if you get your ticket now with the code: funnyladies get $5.00 your ticket! 

This is a casual fun event that has a free-flow style of performance with musical breaks, raffle contests, and free drink games! Cocktails will start flowing around 8:30 pm  in the Luna Lounge and Performances will start between 9:30 pm and 10pm in the Mainstage Theatre

Click to purchase tickets!

About the headliner, Claudia Martinez:

Claudia is incredibly lucky to be doing what she loves: writing and performing comedy! She hopes to get paid well doing it so her parents can stop fielding odd jobs for her in their day to day: “Porque no le hablas a tu prima Estela mija? trabaja en el Comcast y dice que estan ocupando gente.” Gimme time A-Pa.

She has trained in acting, improvisation and sketch at The Second City, iO., The Annoyance and Blizzard Theater.  Part of The Second City’s Outreach and Diversity Ensemble, you might have seen her recently in their last revue ‘”Baracolypse Now”’ or in her critically acclaimed sketch show ‘Love and Order.’

You can also see her around town doing improv and sketch with groups like MARIA, Williams & Martinez, Rascalitas, Hey, Rocket!, and doing Solo-sketch and Stand-up open mics. She has performed at i.O.,The Playground Theater, Chicago Dramatists, Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, DC Comedy Festival, Chicago Sketchfest ’08-’11, New York’s Del Close Marathon at UCB, and Victory Garden Theater’s Ignition Festival.

About the Melissa Duprey:

Artistic Associate Melissa DuPrey is a Chicago native with roots in Humboldt Park. After gaining two BA’s from the University of Houston, she returned to Chicago in full-force to become a Latina performer. After seeing Teatro Luna’s S-E-X-oh!, she knew right away where her home would be. She was asked to perform for the second Noche Bohemia, a serious of events that showcases women in the arts, and decided to do what she does best; tell dirty jokes. That night SEXomedy was born and has been performed at previous Marimachas event that included Chicago’s very funny Latina Comics Antonia Arcely and Gwen La Roka. This is the third installment in the SEXomedy series, and the trilogy will soon debut as a one-woman, one-act show presented by Teatro Luna.

Don’t miss this event, and don’t forget to use the secret code for $5.00 off your ticket here: http://bit.ly/marimachas2 

This event takes place at Luna Central, 3914 N. Clark St.
Questions? call 773. 819.5862 or email boxoffice@teatroluna.org

We begin check-in, a little bit awkwardly at first, but soon the atmosphere is warmed up and everyone is ready to share a story or two. Sydney is finishing soon her degree, Paula has returned from Spain, and Gaby found her new apartment. The girls in the room are soon clapping or showing jazz hands as each person finishes retelling her latest adventure. Alex is usually the last to share. A strategic move, her check-in blends seamlessly into the meeting agenda.

It takes too long sometimes, (it can eat up to 45 minutes of meeting time), but overall, it is worth the time spent sharing what you have been up to since the last time you met. This is a practice that has been part of Teatro Luna’s company meetings for a very long time. Each member of the company takes a few minutes to highlight a success or a challenge before getting down to the business of the day. I insist, checking in is good for you. Here is why.

1) A prayer– a blessing is bestowed on the community gathered together for a common goal. It shows that we care about one another’s well-being and happiness. Each person’s story is sacred and within the circle of the company the person is celebrated or comforted. We are receptive to the other person and a channel is open in trust.

2) It is an exercise in bonding–It is the way we get to know each other together; we see one another’s frustrations and struggles, what makes us happy or pains us deeply. You listen and you will be listened to. At this moment we are ready to offer a solution, advice, or simply a listening ear (that ism if we can be quiet enough to not have something to say about that awful ex!)

3) A spark of creativity–how many times has a story shared sparked an idea for a show, a seed for a scene, a project, a poem, or a monologue?

Above all, a check in is an act of trust. Trust in sharing a little bit of yourself every time we come together. Trust that you will be understood and not judged in return. It promotes a sense of safety and togetherness and positivity that will permeate the rest of the meeting, making it in turn, more productive and satisfying for all.

You can purchase tickets by clicking here or by calling our box office: 773.819.5862

For more information visit the full LIVING LARGE page for all the details here, or visit our facebook page event here.

Check out the draft graphic below… the final is coming soon…. and don’t miss her first videoblog here 

Pull out your datebooks, iphones, and android calendars because I have news! Beginning May 6, 2012 Teatro Luna will open Living Large in a Mini Kind of Way previews at the Viaduct (3111 N WesternAve), written and directed by Diane Rodriguez. This collaboration is highly anticipated so make sure to join us (did you mark your calendar yet? Go do it right now! ¿Qué esperan?)

Teatro Luna is excited to partner with a Latina who is recognized as one of the country’s leading Latino theatre artists and advocate of Latino actors and playwrights. Diane Rodriguez continues to be passionate about the art she creates and those she supports. She is known for using comedy to confront various forms of oppression, often with special attention to issues of gender and sexuality. She is an Obie Award winning multi-disciplinary theatre artist. She is an accomplished actor, anthologized writer, regional theatre director and Associate Producer at Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles. An enduring influence in Chicano theatre, she was born in the 1950s to American parents from farm working families. She got her start in theatre at 18 performing with the internationally renowned political theatre company, El Teatro Campesino and was one of the companies leading actors for eleven seasons. She received her BA in Theatre Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara. When she got tired of playing the same stereotypical (sound familiar?) television roles after moving to Los Angeles she co-founded the comedy group, Latins Anonymous and El Teatro de la Esperanza. The much hailed group Latins Anonymous has published two play anthologies. Along with her Obie award she has been awarded nominations for best director for her work on Leguizamo’s Spic-O-Rama and Culture Clash’s Border Town. She has performed all over the world, for farmworkers on a truck flatbed stage to amphi-theatres in Europe and very soon we will see her latest work with us at the The Viaduct.

Click the link above (her name) to be linked to her blog where she writes about her writing process. Interested in producing her play? Send her an email through her blog! 

When and how did you become interested in the theater?
I’m an accidental playwright. I came out to San Francisco to get my MFA in Writing, but my sole focus was poetry. So I’m one of those playwrights who started out as a poet.

I didn’t really have very much theatre exposure growing up beyond reading Shakespeare and a few other plays in English class or seeing classmates in something like Arsenic and Old Lace. It’s funny. As a child I wanted to be a novelist. As I grew older I focused on poetry, but it never dawned on me to consider theatre or playwriting. Perhaps that was because all the plays I had encountered were not by contemporary playwrights.

But back to how I actually became a playwright. I got my MFA at The University of San Francisco which is a Jesuit institution and really big on social justice. I got an on-campus job as a graduate assistant in the Office of Service Learning and my first assignment was to produce a short film highlighting how USF professors were incorporating service learning into their courses. One of the professors we interviewed was a theatre professor who had established a theatre company comprised of Latino immigrants in San Francisco’s Mission District.

Now I’m a very image driven writer and when I saw the members of El Teatro Jornalero! doing movement exercises I immediately wanted to just sit, watch them and write poetry. I had been searching for inspiration for my poetry and knew that my muse needed this kind of stimulation.

I ended up joining and became their Resident Poet, but I was more like a Girl Friday. I took photos, wrote poems, developed their playbills, recorded performances, bought props and even once ran a rehearsal.

After a year with ETJ! and watching them collectively develop their script I got curious about playwriting. I had no idea where to start, but I was drawn to the possibility of exploring themes in theatre that I had avoided in my poetry. You see ETJ! was a social justice theatre company and politics was something I purposely avoided in my poetry because I hadn’t figured out how to write about social justice issues without sounding like I was on a soapbox or just hitting my reader over the head.

But theatre nurtures a human connection between audience and actors, something which is so necessary for establishing empathy. And for me political theatre is all about creating empathy.

Long story short, I audited a playwriting class at USF taught by visiting playwright Christine Evans and wrote my first play Braided Sorrow. It was that play that opened a lot of doors for me and I was just lucky. Just the right amount of success and encouragement and by 2006 I was focusing mainly on playwriting.

What was your inspiration for Woman on Fire?
I call Woman on Fire my Antigone play even though it’s not really an adaptation of Antigone, but the classic play is very much the jumping off point for my play. I read Antigone as an undergrad in a philosophy course and I’ve always remembered how my professor described the conflict in the play: a higher law vs. the law of man.

ETJ!’s second play focused on deaths along the border and I had the opportunity to look at some of the research they were gathering—statistics about how after 9/11 border deaths—that is the number of immigrants who died while attempting to cross the border—had increased due to the clamp down on the border. I remember this one photo of a man’s passport. His coyote had led him into an ambush where he was robbed, beaten and left for dead. In the pages of his passport he wrote his good-byes to his family before he died out in the desert.

Around this time I had just re-read Antigone and that central idea of a higher law vs. the law of man seemed very à propos to the immigration debate. I decided I wanted to try and write Antigone along the US/Mexico border. But as I began writing it, Woman on Fire became a more of a reimaging of Antigone. For example, the main character Juanita is an unwilling heroine unlike Antigone who is very ready to go against the King’s edict.

And I should also mention that originally Woman on Fire was a one act play. In fact it’s the product of a bake-off held by Austin Script Works and Teatro Vivo for their Latino Playwrights Initiative (LPI). After participating in the LPI festival, I later received a commission to expand it to a full length which is the play that Lunadas is presenting.

Any words of wisdom for our readers?
The world is rarely black and white. I believe we live somewhere in the grey, which usually means there are no easy answers to the issues our society struggles with. But I think struggling with social justice issues as a writer or as an audience member gives us a better understanding of the nuances and complexities of the human condition.

I mentioned earlier that theatre has the ability to connect the audience to the actors on stage, to the story of the characters and to nurture empathy. Empathy is a very important trait in my book and a very powerful tool for a playwright exploring a social justice issue. In my opinion, good social justice theatre is not about the issue you want to write about, it’s about the characters and their story. If your audience can identify with and/or care about your characters, then they’ll care about the unjust situation those characters are forced to grapple with.

What do you get when an HBO Def Poet teams up with her actor-turned-finance guru-turned-emcee brother? April Fools, a poetic hip-hop fusion aimed to blur the barrier between the two artistic worlds. Kristiana Colón and Damon Williams will launch their playful hip-hop duo on March 31st at Luna Central, the new home of Teatro Luna, Chicago’s only all-Latina theater company. A blazing hot line up of performers will kick-off the night, including Def Poet and National Slam Champion Roger Bonair-Agard, poet and vocalist Kris de la Rash, Chicago Music Award winning vocalist and emcee Squair Blaq, and many more talented voices on Chicago’s vibrant music and arts scene. Tickets are available at teatroluna.org and at the door.

Click To Buy Tix!

Ticket Info: 

There are two ticket prices for this special event.

April Fools Cocktail Reception + Performance + After Party – $10
From 8:30pm-9:30pm, patrons of legal drinking age may enjoy a hosted cocktail reception in the Luna Lounge with their choice of signature drinks, wine, or beer. This ticket includes admission to both the performances – HBO Def Poet & National Slam Champion Roger Bonair-Agard, Squair Blaq, Raliq Bashard, Kris de la Rash, Lili K & the Secret Garden and Emanuel Vinson will kick off the evening of performances, followed by a feature debut performance of April Fools, the brother/sister hip-hop duo of HBO Def Poet and Teatro Luna Artistic Associate Kristiana Colón and her brother, actor and emcee Damon Williams.

April Fools Launch Party – $5
Enjoy the phenomenal line up of poets, emcees, and musicians, the debut performance of April Fools,  and the cash bar and concessions open all night. All ages/ 21+ with ID to drink.

All proceeds go to APRIL FOOLS & TEATRO LUNA

Additional Links: http://aprilfoolschicago.bandcamp.com/

ABOUT MARISELA ORTA:

Marisela Treviño Orta received an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco.
Her plays have been read at the 2005 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF), 2006
[Inside] the Ford Summer Reading Series, 2007 Primer Pasos: Un Festival De Latino
Plays, 2007 BAPF, Marin Theatre’s 2007 Nu Werkz, and 2008 In The Rough. Her first
play, Braided Sorrow, won the 2006 Chicano/Latino Literary Prize in Drama, received its
world premiere in 2008 at Su Teatro in Denver, CO. and won the 2009 Pen Center USA
Literary Award in Drama. Marisela is a former member of Playground’s writers pool and
recently concluded a three year residency at the Playwrights Foundation in San
Francisco, CA. Currently she is participating in AlterTheater’s inaugural AlterLab.

Stay tuned for our blog interview with the talented Marisela!

xox,
The Ladies of Luna
See you at the Reading!

Klank! I swear I slammed the door on accident. The ensemble was still rehearsing when I got there and clumsily slammed the back door which of course was just behind the stage. The ladies of TL were unmoved. They were focused and energetic performing what you would think was opening night for an empty theatre. I get out to the front and am given a t-shirt to change into. I lock myself in the small box office and quickly switch shirts, nervously watching the door hoping the the lock works. A rough knock startled me while half naked. I quickly pulled down the black and pink tee and headed out to the lobby. I was there to see Crossed for the first time. Walking in the doors of Luna Central you are greeted by a vibrant teal wall, hot pink and sweet people, of course. Once you have checked in you are handed a program and walked into the theatre by a lovely intern. When you are waiting for the show to begin you see couples laughing with drinks in hand and a group of pretty ladies, a girls night out for sure.The lights dim and in walk five women, no two looking alike. The show takes you to the island, to the border, to the airport, to the apartment, and the porch. You visit real places, real stories, real emotions. I laughed, I teared up and most shocking to me, I had to check my own attitude toward other Latin women. That’s the thing about this show, it makes you think, it brings a conviction. I’m Latina and would say that I have nothing but the best feeling towards my warm blooded sisters, I found that isn’t totally the case. I too have made assumptions. In my favorite scene, all the women are sharing an experience of when they felt offended by someone. One woman is angry with a child who told her she looked, so tanned. She went on about her anger toward the kid, every moment getting more upset at his apparent prejudice. She realizes  later in the mirror that instead of foundation that morning, she covered her face in bronzer and had felt attacked by the kid for no reason, she did look, so tanned. Sometimes I am quick to blame prejudice rather than look in the mirror. This is just one example of a real feeling Crossed caused me to feel.  Ever catch yourself jealous of a skin tone, an accent, a lineage? It happens. And this show takes you deep down inside yourself to face that truth and gets you back to reality with a few expletives and must cover your mouth humor. You leave feeling like you know the women portrayed, like you grew up with them, hell, like you dated them. Funny enough, you did.