Two Headed Devil.

Both Jorge and Sahira were good for the role of Asmodea, the devil in charge of Anger, Gluttony and Sloth. So after about a minute of medium hard thought, Ashley the director decided on the obvious choice- Two Headed Devil! Call the Costumer, stat!

Three lovely young women were without roles in the show but we want them in it. Obvious choice, create three angels with the names Churbina, Serafina, and Angelina and they are in the action!

This is how casting for a community based play goes. It's a creative process working with who ever shows up and changing the script to make it all work even better than when you first started. Of course, once you know you have a two headed devil made of two actors tied together, suddenly we want them to be involved in a game of musical chairs with the other devils just to see two people strapped together trying to grab the last remaining chair. You can see why we do this work.

The casting over all went really, really well. As in people showed up! And almost all of them were people who had been involved in earlier parts of the process and were back for more. Last night during the read through there were lots of laughs as the group of 25 actors brought the text to life. The playwright was gratified. And then the feedback started coming in.

The feedback for a new script is an intersting moment. Not always really enjoyable as the playwright, in this case me, tries to listen to responses and make the play better. This is intensified by the script being bilingual. and in a church. and about Mexican Anglo relations. It all get very complex and fascinating. For example- what sort of insults and language do you put into the mouth of the devil characters? What if they are a mix of Spanish speaking devils and English speaking ones working through a translator? And then the English speaking devils calls the Spanish speaking devils --'wetbacks'? And then the translator translates it into Spanish 'mojados' So far so good. Well... not quite.

When we read this in front of an audience, the Spanish speakers all laughed and the English speakers thought it was too harsh. Now to what are they responding? The word used against the Spanish speakers? The representation of English speakers as racist devils? Or just what is going on here? Honestly, really rich good questions come up and all over the map.

More rehearsals tonight as we tackle the devil scenes. Come by and sit a while with us.

Director Arrives-- Auditions on Horizon

Our director has arrived in Yakima! The talented Ashley Sparks flew in
from Atlanta and will be here for the duration. She comes from several
consecutive projects after graduation from Virginia Tech this spring
with a degree in Directing and Public Dialogue. This is her second DXM production having served as the assistant director on The NewHolly Tempest It is wonderful having her here as a
collaborator/conversation partner/community engaged theater veteran.

Ashley arrived in time for the reading of the new and improved script. We
gathered with a dozen members of our three community partners and had a
good time hearing La Pastorela . The playwright seemed happy enough and the readers liked the jokes and thought it captured at least some of the Yakima Experience.

We are in the middle of getting the Spanish half of the script translated with the help of Marco Antonio Bran, a Mexican graduate student in New York. He not only translates but is able to make it sound like it really is Spanish and not just
English in Spanish. If you know what I mean.

Today also saw a spike in the PR efforts as I met with Sr. Terry Mullen who has
graciously agreed to come up with a poster design and to handle the
program needs. This is a huge help to us. She teaches art at nearby
Heritage University and we are glad to have her with us.

Finally, have found and read the new article by Robert Putnam(author of Bowling Alone, and one of the originators of the notion of Social Capitol.) This article is the fruit of extensive research on the topic of how members of a diverse community
really experience the diversity. Does it make them more open, trusting,
and happy? or might it have a reverse effect? His findings suggest that
the more diverse the community the more likely the members are to not
engage with others unlike them but also with other like themselves. At
least in the short term. And these communities lack ways to get up off
the couch, turn off the tv , and engage other people. Of course, this is
where my ears perk up and I think-- theater projects. It does not hurt
the little old Yakima was one of the 41 communities in the study.

I would supply you a handy link but the technology is beyond me right at the moment. So I suggest hunting it down on Google.

This weekend is going to be filled with auditions. Four days of being with new people wanting to be involved with the project. Bring 'em on!

Dead Center

We have a script! Well, a rough draft at least without too many
"something brilliant here." That finished up on Tuesday and now the
playwright awaits comments from readers of the thing and we go from
there.



The dead were pretty present in these parts this week
as we celebrated the Day of the Dead with altars in a downtown exhibit.
Located inside the abandoned mall, I was as glad to see the inside of the
building as I was to see the altars themselves. Many moving memorials
to young people lost to gang violence.

Funding is coming along as people send cheques and donate online. I am gratified by the financial support and by what it means for people to actually
contribute to the creating of a bilingual Mexican Christmas play. I am
so glad when those I speak to, friends and supporters, share with me a
very clear understanding of being of use through supporting this sort
of work. Thank you!