Mission Statement: Why We Are Performing American Son

Even after the horrific death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter protests against systemic racism that followed, and the decades of racial discrimination, the United States is still grappling with basic equality. Though the solution and discussions required seem obvious, it can be hard to navigate this tumultuous and sensitive topic with a diverse and independent-minded population as found in the United States. For that reason, the Goodman Theatre Company has decided to produce American Son. Our company hopes to use this simple story to speak to a hurt and divided society. It follows an estranged, bi-racial couple’s long conversation and experience with their son being detained after a traffic stop encounter . By having one of the partners share their experience as an African American and the other as a White American, the story allows both to share their experience with race in America and to communicate with each other at a level normally not possible. The solution and ending that they come to reveals the importance and relevance of this story. 

Location and Dates of Performance

This production of American Son will be put on by the Goodman Theatre Company and 

will take place in downtown Chicago at 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60601. Our company was chosen for this production because of its diverse range of performances and actors. Moreover, the Goodman Theatre Company has a nearly 100-year history in Chicago, making it a cornerstone of theater in the city. For American Son, there will be performances every Thursday through Saturday from May 25th to June 19th, 2023. The reason for these dates is because May 25th will be the third anniversary of George Floyd’s unjust murder by a police altercation, and June 19th is Juneteeth: a holiday that celebrates the final emancipation of African slaves in America. Both dates hold significance for racial discrimination in the United States, and it feels proper to start and end our production about racial bias in America on these eventful anniversaries. 

Purpose of Location and Cost 

Chicago was chosen for this production of American Son because of its greatly diverse population. With one of the largest concentrations of African Americans the United States amidst a large percentage of White Americans, it is the perfect location for the message of unity that this story entails. American Son should not just be played for a Black or White audience. It should be performed for audiences with diversified backgrounds as its message is meant for all people. Moreover, to accommodate as many people as possible, the tickets will be priced at $30. Goodman Theatre is fortunate enough to be able to do this as a non-profit company. 

Logistics of Performance 

This production of American Son will be performed in a massive proscenium space to take advantage of the venue that the Goodman Theatre Company owns. While the show is not grandiose or over the top, the large space of the Goodman Theatre will still amplify the actor’s emotions. As such, the lighting system and set will be simple since the story takes place at one location; the emphasis is the reality the story presents. As such, less focus is placed on technical feats. In fact, the set will be painted in a monotone, gray color scheme to contrast the dark, dreary reality with the vibrant and hopeful future of America. This minimalistic yet enthralling aesthetic only makes American Son a more enjoyable piece of theatre. 

Uniqueness of Performance 

Unlike previous performances of American Son, this production will include some script alterations in order to accommodate recent social movements, like Black Lives Matter. This will add a refreshing feeling of modernity to the play that has, unfortunately, aged rather quickly due to the racial turmoil in the United States. While not making any plot changing alterations, small inclusions will propel the play back into the present, reiterating its unifying theme. 

Talkback Post Performance

While a talkback after a sensitive performance such as this would be highly beneficial, the creative team has agreed that the message will be more powerful if left up to interpretation. At times, driving a point too hard can damage the impact it will have. Moreover, the brevity of the event should be attractive to those with a busy schedule, allowing even more people to view the performance. 

Final Message

American Son is a truly beautiful piece of theater that you will deeply regret missing if you do not see this performance. The story gets to the core of what divides people in the United States and tries to help heal the large wound left by years of horrific and complicated history. While this one play will not solve any massive problems in America, it will help us better understand each other to move towards a better, brighter future. 

This summer, Brava! For Women In The Arts is proud to present Agnes of God at the Brava Theater Center in San Francisco, CA. First premiering in 1979 and then on Broadway in 1982, John Pielmeier’s complex, thought-provoking, and emotionally raw play is about a novice nun named Agnes, who is accused of murder after a newborn was found in a wastebasket in her bedroom. Dr. Martha Livingstone, an atheist and court-assigned psychiatrist interviews Agnes to figure out if the innocent nun is mentally stable or otherwise. Then, there is Mother Superior Mariam Ruth, who seems to know more about Agnes and the situation than she lets on. It is loosely based on the 1977 case of Sister Maureen Murphy, who was found not guilty through reasons of insanity.

Throughout the course of the play, the three women learn how to cope with religious trauma, mental health, and the power of belief and disbelief. It also provides an interesting example highlighting the religion vs science argument through Martha and the Mother Superior that have in-depth, valid reasons for each of their stances. Bringing the story of Agnes of God to life on the stage is Taylor Bauernfeind, making this production her directorial debut, and the set and costumes are designed by Kayla Strand and Justine Foung respectfully. The cast consists of three incredibly talented actors: Cynthia Bassham as the Mother Superior, Shannon Murphy as Martha, and Bridgette Betanzos as the titular lead, Agnes.

When asked the reason why Bauernfieind wanted to direct an arguably controversial play, she said, “There are many complexities when it comes to why someone is religious or not. As, for lack of a better word, misguided as Agnes is in regards to God and Christianity, the strength of her devotion is quite remarkable and pure. Martha has gone through so much religious trauma growing up, so it is understandable when she is skeptical about the Mother Superior’s testimonies and overprotective nature towards Agnes. The play is about the human instinct in wanting to believe in something and encourage the audience to seek different forms of healing that suits them best. With how divided our country currently is, some would say it would be difficult or even dangerous to bring something like Agnes of God to the stage. However, I believe that’s what makes it crucial to showcase this piece to 21st century audiences. There are so many people who have gone through traumatic experiences both inside and outside a religious upbringing, and that’s what makes it important for everyone to come together and support one another so the healing process can truly begin.”

Speaking of healing, Brava is also in collaboration with Recovering from Religion (RfR) for this production. RfR is a nonprofit that helps people who are planning to leave or have left a religious environment, and they provide resources to assist with various needs like alleviating Religious Trauma Syndrome, supporting various communities like the LGBTQIA+ community, and seeking therapy or mental health assistance. Members of RfR will be available in the lobby of the Brava Theater Center before and after performances to provide more information for anyone interested in the program. You can also visit https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ for more information and resources.

Agnes of God will run from July 13th to September 15th, 2022. General admission tickets for people 18 years older and up will cost $14.00, and there will be a student discount and will cost $10.00 along with a valid student ID card. 10% of all ticket sales will go to Recovering from Religion and help those in need. The shows will be set on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule with matinees every Saturday and Sunday. Along with the matinees, there will be an after-performance discussion with Bauernfeind, the cast, and members of RfR. This will include behind the scenes stories, a personal reflection about how the play has impacted everyone in the rehearsal process, and a Q&A talkback with the audience. All are welcome here at this year’s production of Agnes of God, and we look forward to seeing you there!

“We need to laugh: now, more than ever.” These words are spoken often, and not without good reason; it seems that each week brings a new tragedy to the lips of news reporters. The fault in these words, however, lies in the implication that there are times we don’t need to laugh.

Entertainment has always been and always will be a necessary aspect of society; from Aristophanes to Jim Carrey, each generation has strived to induce laughter in audiences. This heartfelt joy found in watching live comedic performances serves as a distraction from the terrible tragedies that seem to plague the world so doggedly. In short, these productions allow their audiences to forget their worries and simply be human for an hour or two.

It is for these reasons that Clue: Onstage! is a promising candidate for our theatre: its fast-paced, farcical dialogue enraptures the audience with fits of laughter, and a nagging whodunit curiosity maintains its interest throughout the run. Its homages to the original Parker Brothers board game also allow the audience to recall time spent with family and friends playing the classic mystery game or other popular staples. 

This particular production of Clue: Onstage, performed at U.C. Irvine’s Claire Trevor Theatre, will be directed by Eli Simon, the artistic director of the Shakespeare New Swan Festival and skilled professor of clowning who recently directed an extremely well-received run of the farcical comedy Rebecca Oaxaca (Lays Down a Bunt). Simon’s comic expertise will certainly allow the script and characters to pop to life in ways the audience could only imagine.

The casting for this production will be color-blind; should a colored individual be cast as Mrs. White, so be it; should a purple person be cast as Mr. Green, who cares? Laughter is to be created by all, and shared by all, regardless of economic status, social position, skin color, or any variety of other factors. However, the cast will be limited to currently enrolled UCI students to enforce a sense of community between cast and audience.

The run of this show will take place during Weeks 8 and 9 of the Winter quarter, with showtimes at 9:00 PM on Thursdays through Sundays, and Sunday matinees at 2:00 P.M. With an approximate runtime of an hour and a half, the show promises brief respite to UCI students during the most stressful time of their year: the lead-up to finals. Taking a breather for one night is a blessing to any student during this time period, and can relieve the pressures of upcoming exams. Ticket prices will be discounted even further for students than normal; with a typical student ticket price of $12 at the Claire Trevor Theatre, Clue: Onstage! will cost enrolled UCI students a mere $6 to attend. 

We always need to laugh. Laughter is a core piece of the human experience and a great tool in the face of great tragedy and great stress. No matter how the world looks in the Winter of 2022, this production of Clue: Onstage!, directed by Eli Simon with a cast of UCI students promises a break from the stresses of life outside of theatre.

Las Mujeres del Mar

The play Las Mujeres del Mar has a place close to my heart and ideally, I would have a production of this show in a small theater in Santa Ana. Let’s start with a summary of this play, Las Mujeres del Mar takes place in Los Angeles and Puerto Azula, a small fishing village in Mexico. It follows three generations of women dealing with generational trauma from each of their pasts. Each of their choices in the show affects the next generation. We follow the characters of Virginia the grandmother, Marina The Mother, and Lupe the daughter on this journey of reconciliation for their family. I feel Santa Ana is a great place for this story to come alive as a Mexican American living in Santa Ana. I see the community every day and I’d say it’s one of the most Hispanic-dense communities in the County. The area is full of rich Latino culture that this play touches on throughout. Coming from a family of immigrants this play resonates with me and will with others living in Santa Ana and the surrounding areas. This is also an ideal area because due to the community in this area it would be a great way to bring a Latino story in front of the community which would bring the community closer together and brings more Latino theatergoers.

Seeing as the majority of people I want to see the show are the Latino community I know firsthand the things that come to mind when wanting to see any kind of entertainment. I for one don’t have a lot of money and I know that others don’t either, so in response to that I would love for the show to be as cheap as possible to get more people into the theater. I think a way that we can bring in people is with free food at the end of the show, it gives an incentive to people who have busy lives to give it a go. The food can be donated and cooked with help from local places like the local Latino Health Access which often helps the community in Santa Ana with free covid tests, vaccines, food drives, and different events. With their help and help from donors as well we can put on a production that feels like a family reunion, and that is exactly how I want this experience to feel. The run time of the whole production should last two weekends. I know that when the community comes together we tend to understand each other even more and I would love for this to be the chain reaction into that. With that being said, this production will not only bring awareness to the Latino community but also bring more Latinos into the theater world and tell a beautiful story all people should hear in the process.

As for the people I want to be involved in this production, that would vary. I’d like to get actors from the community in this production as well as directors. I think doing this will just give this production a more home-like experience. There would be auditions at least two to three months before the production. This would give the actors and management enough time to hone in on the division of the story. I have multiple actors who I know personally who would be great to audition for the role, one being Nadia Garza. She is a Freshman Drama Student at UCI with a great future ahead of her. I would love to see others audition and fall in love with the story and its message.

This production needs to happen in today’s day and age more than ever. It is a story that should be shared with many. The Latino community has not been near as recognized as it should and Las Mujeres del Mal is the perfect start to more and more Latino stories being told.

Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph is an enchanting story about a friendship between an adventurous young boy and a closed off girl as they navigate life together. The two encounter school dances, relationships, negligent parents and so much more as they grow up together. As a disclaimer, the play covers sensitive topics such as sexual abuse, self-harm, and death, while also diving head-first into friendship, trust, and love. The show will run from October 7th to October 9th in the fall of 2022, with a talk back with the cast and director immediately following the Sunday matinee. The performances will be held at Ohlone Community College, in the Numi Theatre. This black box theatre will provide an intimate experience for audience members, and is aimed to make every individual in the theatre space feel connected and comfortable. The Ohlone Community college theatre department is near and dear to my heart, as it is where I began acting and directing. I graduated from Ohlone college during the Covid-19 pandemic, and never got the farewell I had hoped for. Putting on this show is my way of thanking the Ohlone theatre department, and giving back in a way that is meaningful to me. As an added benefit, I performed this show online for my final in an advanced acting class. Having the opportunity to put this show on at the place it was originally intended to be performed at in the Spring of 2021 would be a gift beyond words. 

I will be directing this production of Gruesome Playground Injuries. As someone who knows this show like the back of their hand and has such a deep connection to it, it would feel wrong to simply give this project to another director. The play only has two characters, Dougie and Kayleen. Dougie will be played by Israel Avila, a talented actor currently working on his undergrad, and who matches the character in both thoughtfulness and youth. Kayleen will be played by Gillian Bong, another actor in her undergrad years who will beautifully portray the character’s sense of self and journey to accept love. The lighting and sound design will go hand in hand with the characters. When they are little kids, the design elements will be approached in a more youthful way. For example, brighter colors and comical sound effects. But as the characters grow up, the design elements will do the same. The intended audience are college students, as young adults are constantly dealing with the themes covered in this play. With topics as important as sexual abuse, self-harm, and death, it is shocking that society is constantly shying away from discussing these ever important subjects. The youth in this country are the ones who are taking these serious topics into their own hands, and are actively trying to do something to benefit not only themselves, but future generations. Tickets will be $12 for the general public, and $10 for college students. Half of the sales in tickets will be donated to a sexual abuse shelter, and will be mentioned by name in the program. Sexual assault is a topic that has been taboo for centuries, but is thankfully coming to light as more and more people speak out about their own experiences. It is imperative for the past, present, and future victims that we continue to talk about the uncomfortable topics. Change happens when people are uncomfortable, and our voices are the greatest power we possess. We do not wish to glorify sexual assault or self-harm in any way, and only wish to spread awareness and show support to all the victims who have had the misfortune of relating to these themes in any way. 

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead is a play written by Bert V. Royal. It is a satire play based on the well known characters in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz usually read in the Sunday papers. These characters are now grown up to be teenagers and no longer hold the happy, bright, warm innocence of children as seen playing in the Sunday comic strip. They tackle issues of drug and alcohol use, sexual abuse, eating disorders, bullying, suicide, death and identity.

CB, based on Charlie Brown and CB’s sister, based on Sally, deal with the death of their dog (known to be Snoopy) which started CB’s journey of grief to questioning his self identity and sexuality. When reunited with Beethoven, based on Schroeder, whom no longer was in their circle of friends and was constantly bullied at school for being gay, CB fell in love with him and basically go through existential and social crisis.

Although these characters come from nostalgic children characters we have known them to be, it should come with a warning that this play is not for children. Bullying and violence could be seen portrayed on stage as the popular kids Matt (Pig-Pen), Tricia (Peppermint Patty), and Marcy (Marcie) verbally and physically bully other unpopular characters. Beethoven is one of the victims of their abuse and it is also briefly mentioned he was sexually abused by his father. Near the epilogue, he ends up commiting suicide. Tricia and Marcy also constantly drink alcohol, even at school while Van (Linus) is always high. Physical violence is also prominently featured in the play.

With all these adult themes in this play, it is important to tell this funny, heart wrenching story with these childhood characters because they are also realistic to a certain extent. These issues do exist, especially around the age of teenagers in high school. To put on a show like this means while growing up innocently with bright futures ahead do not necessarily lead down the right path as circumstances and obstacles are brought into play. This play is that lesson to all teachers, parents, guardians, and growing young adults. Therefore, I found it best to be displayed in high school and college theaters. I feel that it would be most beneficial, especially for young teenagers growing up and coming of age to get a sense of how a shimmer of different experiences a person could go through growing up in the modern age and to listen and learn from it, to realize you could never know what your peers may be dealing with even if you’ve known them to have a close personal relationship with you, to have compassion and understanding, and most importantly for those who are dealing with similar issues: to show them that they are not alone.

As a person who experienced growing up being teased, bullied and getting into physical fights while at a young age for my different identity and sexuality, this play holds a special meaning in my heart. It touched me a lot the first time I read through it. Although most of modern society, especially the younger generation right now, has come to be more accepting of queerness in the world, there are still places where this play could educate and touch people’s minds. Even if the play is put on areas where queerness is normal, there are still issues of abuse, identity, and suicide which the play tackles that coud reach to the audience.

Although this play is a drama that tackles a bunch of social issues, there is a lot of comedy to be found as well, which made me realize it is a well rounded play as I hope the audience will find it too when seeing it for the first time. It is important that these issues drive the dramatic action of the play, but it would not be entertaining without a few fun moments and a lot of resemblance of the parallels between the Peanuts characters to Dog Sees God characters. Little things bring that childhood joy to the play like: how Beethoven is really good at piano and ironically really loves Chopin to Van’s Sister (Lucy) putting up a sign that says “The Doctor is In” when CB goes to visit her. Matt is now a clean freak because Pig-Pen was seen as a dirty boy. Tricia and Marcy bring a lot of memorable comedic moments with their popular Mean Girls aesthetic. Their spork scene in the cafeteria and the scene where CB visiting and coming out to Van’s Sister are one of the most funniest moments seen on the world stage. Even if you don’t care for the issues driving the dramatic action of this play, you should come just to see moments like these and it would be worth it.

For casting, as these are all young teenagers in the play and no adults, I would cast young adults. With a lot of flexibility in the script, any actor in any nationality could be cast in each role, although having the same or close nationalities for characters that are siblings. Even though the Peanuts characters are predominantly white, the characters in this play are based on and not the teenage carbon copy of those characters. My only ask is that Beethoven is portrayed by a queer person and all actors must be comfortable to tackle the difficult scenes in the play as censorship of any kind is this play could lack the impact it would have on the messages to the audience. As far as promotion and advertising goes, I would utilize the designs and personalities of the Peanuts characters such as having the same color coordination in costuming. It would also help to make posters of each character with both their Peanuts version and Dog Sees God version next to each other which would intrigue many people to be interested in the show. On the marketing pieces, there has to be a warning of mature content as to not bring very young children without supervision of course. People who have read or even seen a glimpse of the Peanuts comic strip whether in childhood or just growing up now may want to come and see how these kids have come to grow up and tackle their puberty and young adulthood and what a shock it will be for first timers who have not heard of this adaptation.