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from the desk of dramaturg
sonia fernandez
WELCOME TO MAGIC We are so thrilled to welcome you to our revival of Oedipus el Rey, which Magic premiered way back in 2010. Oedipus el Rey was my first production at Magic, working as Loretta’s assistant director, and learning from the incomparable dramaturg, Jane Anne Crum. As such, it holds a special place in my heart. The text feels like an old friend—the kind of friend who you can not see for years, but when you’re reunited, it feels like a day hasn’t passed. In our current production, my old friend has evolved and improved with experience and time, and yet the core of what drew me to the play remains. Luis’s writing resonates with me for its visceral action, striking poetry, and irreverent humor that cuts through it all. Oedipus el Rey is a story of pride, prophecy, and devastation. What is more human than an ability to dream—to imagine a life, a story, greater than or different from the one we currently lead? Isn’t that a purpose of art, too? By transposing these characters of Greek myth into contemporary Latinx culture, Luis urges us to see the inherent nobility of a human being. Bringing these larger than life, mythic figures into a Chicano context is a political act. To see Oedipus as prisoner, Medea as undocumented immigrant—these figures that live in the shadows of society, that we’d prefer not to acknowledge—Luis makes them royalty. The issues of mass incarceration and the ravages of poverty that strip people’s humanity away and erase the possibilities of those dreams are juxtaposed against the weight of myth. While Sophocles’ intention with this play was to remind Athenians of the importance of humility towards the gods, Luis reminds us of the crushing weight that the circumstances one is born into can have in determining one’s destiny. Both dramatists—across millenia—aim to affect the way we view our role in the world through these plays. They seek to offer catharsis as well as a new understanding. My parents were farm workers. I grew up in a small agricultural town with very little exposure to art and culture. To this day, my parents don’t understand what a dramaturg does (in fairness, most people don’t). I acknowledge the good luck (and hard work) that paved the way for the life I lead, one of relative privilege and art-making, compared to one that could have been my fate. I am grateful that you’re here to join us in meditating on these big, urgent questions. Whether you were here with us ten years ago or are experiencing the play anew, I hope you enjoy the journey of Oedipus el Rey. Con cariño,
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Photo by Bruce Damonte
Magic Theatre presents
The legacy revival of
OEDIPUS EL REY written by Luis Alfaro directed by Loretta Greco+ Opening Night June 5, 2019
Season Producers John F. Marx and Nikki Beach Toni Rembe and Arthur Rock Clay Foundation West Sandra Hess Kathryn Kersey Larry Goldfarb Buffington Miller Producers–Oedipus el Rey Nancy Livingston and Fred Levin Brad Rubenstein
Adopt-a-Play Parents* Leigh Wolf Matt Sorgenfrei
*Adopt-a-Play parents help to welcome the cast and production team into the Magic community by hosting welcoming events from the first day of rehearsal through the final performance. This theatre operates under an agreement with Actor’s Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
CAST Oedipus Jocasta Coro/Tiresias Coro/El Sobador Coro/Creon Coro/Laius
Esteban Carmona* Lorraine Velez* Sean San José* Juan Amador Armando Rodriguez* Gendell Hing-Hernandez*
CREATIVE TEAM Set/Projection Design Costume Design Lighting Design Sound Design Stage Manager Fight Director Dramaturg Props Master Tattoo Art Design & Execution Local Casting New York Casting
Hana Kim** Ulises Alcala** Wen-Ling Liao** Jake Rodriguez Amanda Marshall Dave Maier Sonia Fernandez Libby Martinez Jacquelyn Scott Sonia Fernandez Elissa Myers Casting Paul Fouquet Karie Koppel
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers. ** Member of United Scenic Artists local 829, which represents the designers and scenic painters for the American theatre. + Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC). The video and/or sound recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.
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biographies LUIS ALFARO
PLAYWRIGHT Luis's work at Magic includes Oedipus El Rey (Glickman Prize) Bruja, and Delano. He has developed a number of new works at Magic and is happy to be part of this Bay Area family. He just completed his sixth and final season as playwright-in-residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Featured in over 25 anthologies, he is also a professor at the University of Southern California. Luis is primarily a playwright who divides his life between working in the Regional Theatre and creating community-based art throughout the United States. His work also includes performance, poetry and journalism. In 2018, Luis was awarded the PEN America/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for a Master American Dramatist, as well as The United States Artist Fellowship and the Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship. His plays include This Golden State, St. Jude, Mojada, Delano, Electricidad, down town, Oedipus El Rey, Body of Faith, Straight as a Line, Bitter Homes and Gardens, Black Butterfly and Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. His work has been produced in the U.S., Canada and in Europe. He is to be represented this season at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and a second season in a row at The Public Theatre in New York.
ESTEBAN CARMONA*
OEDIPUS is an NYC based actor and musician born in Philadelphia, PA. He is excited to be working with such a dynamic cast to share Oedipus’ story. Theater: Julius Caesar (The Public Theater w/ Oskar Eustis), Dream of the Burning Boy, Streetcar Named Desire, The Winter’s Tale. Television: The Deuce (HBO w/ David Simon), Prodigal Son (Warner Bros Pilot),
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and Street Justice: The Bronx. His thanks and appreciation go to his mother and brother for their overwhelming support and his reps for “killin’ the game.”
LORRAINE VELEZ*
JOCASTA Theatre credits include: Broadway: Mimi in Rent (Nederlander Theatre), Step Sister, ensemble in the revival of Dreamgirls (Ambassador Theatre). London West End: Carmen in Fame (Cambridge Theatre), Gigi in Miss Saigon (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Hannah (alternate) in Out of the Blue (Shaftesbury Theatre), Clara in Porgy and Bess (Savoy Theatre), Lena Horne in Mama I Want to Sing (Cambridge Theatre), Mimi in Rent (Shaftesbury Theatre). Off-Broadway: Nana in Temple of the Souls (New World Stages), DC-7 the Roberto Clemente Story (ACE, ATI Award Teatro SEA), There She Goes, One-woman-show (Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre). Regional: Anita in West Side Story (Lakeview Theatre), The girl in Blues in the Night (South American Tour), Young Maria in Maria de Buenos Aires (Houston Grand Opera), Rent In concert (El Teatro Grec), Lead Vocalist in Concert for His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Montpellier, France) Television credits include; Elementary, Law and Order, Causualty, Dr. Who, Frightmares. Love and Gratitude to my entire family. “Gracias A la vida!”
SEAN SAN JOSÉ*
TIRESIAS/CORO is honored to return to Magic, to the words and world of Luis Alfaro, and to work again under Loretta Greco’s direction, with Jake Rodriguez’ sound and alongside buena gente. San José has had the honor of working on Alfaro’s Bruja, and This Golden State: Delano for Magic.
Sean has an ongoing relationship with Luis Alfaro, including work with Campo Santo, a new performances company for people of color. facebook.com/camposantosf
ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ*
CREON/CORO is honored to be back at Magic Theatre working again with Loretta Greco, where he was last seen in This Golden State and Bruja. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Rodriguez received his BFA from Carnegie Mellon University, and moved to NYC residing there for nine years before moving to San Francisco. Armando would like to thank his family and friends for their everlasting support.
JUAN AMADOR
EL SOBADOR/ CORO LEADER is a Grammy nominated songwriter and vocalist, DJ, radio host, actor, and core member of the Campo Santo collective. Juan was last seen on the Magic Theatre stage in Nogales and A Lie of the Mind. Other acting credits include: Candlestick (ACT Costume Shop), Between Riverside and Crazy (San Jose Stage), Quixote Nuevo (Cal Shakes), Casa de Spirits (Yerba Buena Center for the Arts), To The Bone (Ubuntu Theater Project), DJ Latinidad’s Latino Dance Party (MACLA San Jose), Babylon Is Burning (Z Space), Superheroes (Cutting Ball Theater), Holy Crime (ACT Costume Shop), Daylighting (Shotgun Players), and Tree City Legends (Intersection for the Arts). Juan is excited and honored to be back at Magic with this amazing cast and crew working with the words of the great Luis Alfaro!
biographies GENDELL HING-HERNANDEZ*
LAIUS/CORO was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised immersed its dynamic theatrical community. He is proud to have called the Bay Area home since 1997, working as an actor, director and teaching artist. This is his first production with Magic. As an actor and director he has collaborated with Word for Word, Campo Santo, Theaterworks, Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, Center Rep, New Pickle Circus, Teatro Vision, and Teatro del Juglar. Some productions include Around The World In 80 Days, The Cook, Blood Wedding, Oil!, Food Stories, Beatbox: A Raparretta, House on Mango Street, References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, and Demetrius Unbound. Gendell has also brought theater education to classrooms, libraries, and jails in the Bay Area, partnering with Berkeley Rep, San Jose Rep, Word for Word, SF Shakes, TheaterWorks, Alphabet Rockers, and Theater of Yugen. He is currently an Associate Artist of Word for Word and member of the Alphabet Rockers.
LORETTA GRECO+
DIRECTOR is currently in her eleventh season as Magic Theatre’s Artistic Director, where she has proudly re-animated its 52 year legacy by providing early and constant support to groundbreaking writers: Mfoniso Udofia, Linda McLean, John Kolvenbach, Lloyd Suh, Luis Alfaro, and Taylor Mac. A frequent collaborator of Luis Alfaro and Sam Shepard, Greco developed and directed the world premieres of Alfaro’s Oedipus el Rey, Bruja, and This Golden State: Delano and directed the critically acclaimed Magic revivals of Shepard’s Buried Child and Fool for Love. At Magic, Ms. Greco has also helmed the world premieres of Barbara
Hammond’s Eva’s Trilogy, Octavio Solis’s Se Llama Cristina, Jessica Hagedorn’s Gangster of Love; Linda McLean’s Every Five Minutes, Han Ong’s Grandeur, Sharr White’s Annapurna; the American premiere of Penelope skinner’s Fred’s Diner as well as the critically acclaimed west coast premieres of Theresa Rebeck’s Mauritius, Liz Duffy Adams’s Or, and Sharr White’s The Other Place. Greco’s New York directing credits include the premieres of: Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Story, Ruben Santiago Hudson’s Lackawanna Blues, and Nilo Cruz’s Two Sisters and a Piano at NYSF/Public Theater; Katherine Walat’s Victoria Martin Math Team Queen, Karen Hartman’s Gum, Toni Press Coffman’s Touch at WP Theater; Emily Mann’s Meshugah at Naked Angels; Laura Cahill’s Mercy at The Vineyard; and Nilo Cruz’s A Park in Our House at New York Theatre Workshop. Her Regional directing credits include: Sweat, The Realistic Joneses, Speed-the-Plow, Blackbird, and Lackawanna Blues at American Conservatory Theater; Life is a Dream at California Shakespeare Theater; Romeo and Juliet and Stop Kiss at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and productions at La Jolla Playhouse, South Coast Repertory, McCarter Theatre Center, Long Wharf Theatre, Studio Theater, Intiman Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Playmakers Repertory Company. Greco directed the national tour of Emily Mann’s Having Our Say as well as the international premiere at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa. Greco is proud of her many long time collaborations. At Magic she has produced the rolling premiere of Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge, the world premiere of HIR, associate produced the West Coast premiere (with Curran, Pomegranate Arts, and Stanford Live) of A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, and has commissioned Mac’s upcoming full length play Calamity Joy for 2021. Productions by Mfoniso Udofia include Sojourners, and the world premieres of runboyrun and In Old Age; she will produce Adia and Clora Snatch Joy in 2020. Productions by John Kolvenbach include: Goldfish, and the world premieres
of Mrs. Whitney, Sister Play, and Reel-toReel. Productions by Lloyd Suh include the world premieres of American Hwangap, Jesus in India and the upcoming West Coast premiere of The Chinese Lady. Prior to her Magic post, Greco served as Producing Artistic Director of New York’s Women’s Project where she produced the work of Diane Paulus, Liesl Tommy, Deirdre Murray, and Lisa D’Amour. As the Associate Director/Resident Producer at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, Ms. Greco conceived and launched their Second Stage-On-Stage Festival of New Work where she commissioned and produced the work of Doug Wright and Nilo Cruz among many others. Ms. Greco is a NYTW usual suspect, and the recipient of the Bay Area Critic Association Awards, Drama League Fellowships, a Princess Grace Award, a Sundance/Luma Directors fellowship, and the 2018 Zelda Fichandler Award.
HANA KIM**
SCENIC DESIGN Magic Theatre credits include The Gangster of Love, Eva Trilogy, Dogeaters, Every Five Minutes, Grandeur, The Other Place (all dir. Loretta Greco). Regional credits include Pasadena Playhouse; Ragtime (dir. David Lee), American Conservatory Theater: Great Leap (dir. Lisa Peterson); Public Theater: Eve’s Song (dir. Jo Bonney); Geffen Playhouse: Untranslatable Secret of Nikki Corona (dir. Jo Bonney); South Coast Rep: Little Black Shadows (dir. May Adrales); Baltimore Center Stage: Fun Home, The Christians (all dir. Hana Sharif). Opera credits include LA Opera: Wonderful Town (dir. David Lee); New York City Opera and Long Beach Opera: Fallujah (dir. Andreas Mitisek). Video Art Installation— Annenberg Space of Photography: Pearls of the Planet; Baryshnikov Arts Center in NY: Emille. Awards—Richard E. Sherwood Awards, Princess Grace Award in Theater Design, Helen Hayes Award, Theater Bay Area Critics Circle Award, StageScene LA Award, Stage Raw Award. Portfolio: hananow.com IG @hana.s.kim
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biographies WEN-LING LIAO**
LIGHTING DESIGN is happy to be back. Her previous work at Magic are Reel to Reel and The Resting Place. Other selected credits include The Who and The What, The Wickhams Christmas at Pemberley, I and You with Marin Theater Company, The Importance of Being Earnest with Aurora Theater Company, Quixote Nuevo with Calshakes, Vietgone with A.C.T, Barbecue, King of the Yees, Significant Other with San Francisco Playhouse, The Boy Who Danced on Air with Abingdon Theater Company, Chill with Merrimack Repertory Theater, Milk Like Sugar with Huntington Theatre Company, Sense and Sensibility with Dallas Theater Center, Precious Little, Marjorie Prime and Grounded with Nora Theater Company, Mr. Burns, a postelectric play with Lyric Stage company, Appropriate with SpeakEasy Stage Company, Luna Gale with Stoneham Theater, A Nice Indian Boy with East West Players. She earned her MFA from University of California, San Diego and BA from National Taiwan University. Website: wenlingliao.com
JAKE RODRIGUEZ**
SOUND DESIGN is a sound designer and composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work for Magic Theatre includes Buried Child (2013), Annapurna, Bruja, and Oedipus el Rey (2010). Other recent theatre credits include Between Two Knees (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Great Leap, Her Portmanteau, Sweat, and Vietgone (American Conservatory Theater); Women Laughing Alone with Salad and The Events (Shotgun Players); Everybody (California Shakespeare Theatre); Angels in America and An Octoroon (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); we, the invisibles (Actors Theatre of Louisville); and The Christians (Playwrights Horizons, the Mark Taper Forum). Rodriguez is the recipient of a 2004 Princess Grace Award.
ULISES ALCALA**
COSTUME DESIGN has designed costumes for theatre and opera at various companies in the Bay Area for the last 15 years. Mr. Alcala is
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excited to return to Magic Theatre where he designed costumes for the world premiere of Jessica Hagedorn’s The Gangster of Love.
manager on The Eva Trilogy, Gangster of Love, The Resting Place, and In Old Age at Magic Theatre.
Recent engagements include: Actually at Aurora Theatre, Sweat at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Quixote Nuevo at the California Shakespeare Festival, White at Shotgun Players, The Abduction from the Seraglio at Opera San Jose, The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Don Pasquale at the San Francisco Opera Center, and Don Giovanni at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Upcoming productions include Good Person of Szechwan at the California Shakespeare Festival and The Winter’s Tale at Santa Cruz Shakespeare. Mr. Alcala is a professor of design at California State University, East Bay. ulisesalcaladesign.com
JACQUELYN SCOTT
SONIA FERNANDEZ
DRAMATURG is a dramaturg, translator and producer, specializing in new work. She has dramaturged the world premieres of The Eva Trilogy by Barbara Hammond and Reel to Reel by John Kolvenbach here at Magic as well as Quixote Nuevo by Octavio Solis at CalShakes. She is a longtime resident artist with Crowded Fire Theatre, where she recently dramaturged Church by Young Jean Lee. As Magic’s Associate Artistic Director, Sonia produces the annual Virgin Play Festival featuring workshops and readings of new plays in development every December. A PhD candidate at UC San Diego, Sonia’s research focuses on audience experience of racial humor. She received an AB from Princeton and Master’s from San Francisco State.
AMANDA MARSHALL
STAGE MANAGER works frequently in the San Francisco Bay Area at Magic Theatre and ACT. This is her fifth production with Magic, but first in the role of stage manager. Previous credits include assistant stage manager at Santa Cruz Shakespeare from 201418’, production assistant on A Christmas Carol at ACT, and assistant stage
TATTOO DESIGN works as a production designer, scenic designer, and properties designer for theatre and film throughout the Bay Area. Previous credits include the original production of Oedipus el Rey, The Resting Place, The Eva Trilogy, Grandeur, Fool for Love, A Lie of the Mind, Buried Child, Annapurna, The Lily’s Revenge, Goldfish, and Octopus (Magic Theatre), Her Portmanteau, Vietgone, and John (American Conservatory Theater), Significant Other, Born Yesterday, An Entomologist’s Love Story, Stage Kiss, Company, Jerusalem, and A Behanding in Spokane (San Francisco Playhouse) and American Hwangap (The Play Company, New York).
DAVE MAIER
FIGHT DIRECTOR has choreographed violence for eighteen previous Magic Theatre productions including In Old Age, Dogeaters, and A Lie of the Mind. He is the resident fight director at San Francisco Opera and California Shakespeare Theatre. His work has been seen at many bay area theaters including Berkeley Rep, ACT, Marin Theatre Company, Ubuntu Theatre Project and Shotgun Players. He is recognized as a Master Fight Director with Dueling Arts International and has won several awards for his work including the 2017 Theatre Bay Area Award for Outstanding Fight Choreography for the Magic production of Fool For Love.
MAGIC THEATRE Now in its 52nd year of continuous operation, Magic Theatre is dedicated to creative risk: we cultivate new plays, playwrights, and audiences and produce bold, entertaining, and ideologically-robust plays that ask substantive questions about, and reflect the rich diversity of, the world in which we live. Magic believes that demonstrating faith in a writer’s vision by providing a safe, rigorous, and innovative artistic home, where a full body
biographies dramaturgy of work can be imagined, developed, and produced, allows writers to thrive. We believe that, by adding vanguard voices to the canon and expanding access to new theater-goers, we ensure the future vibrancy of the American theatre. Since the company’s founding in 1967 by regional theatre pioneer John Lion, Magic has embodied San Francisco’s innovative spirit by providing an artistic home to some of the most visionary writers in American theatre. From prolific poet-playwright Michael McClure’s 22 works written for Magic, classics of Beat counterculture staged in collaboration with Lion, to scholar Martin Esslin’s indelible influence on the field as the first resident dramaturg at an American theatre company, Magic’s early years established the company as one of the most important centers for the creation and performance of new American plays. Sam Shepard’s decade-long playwright residency at Magic cemented the company’s legacy as a preeminent new play theatre. Between 1974 and 1984, Shepard developed and premiered a body of work at Magic that changed the ace of American drama, including his
seminal family plays Buried Child (Pulitzer Prize, 1979), True West, and Fool for Love. Since Artistic Director Loretta Greco assumed leadership of Magic in 2008, the theatre has produced 19 world premieres and nurtured a new cohort of exceptional playwrights. Indelibly shaped by the example Shepard provides, Magic remains a national leader in new play development through Greco’s commitment to a core group of writers as they each build a groundbreaking body of work. These writers include Octavio Solis, Lloyd Suh, Taylor Mac, Linda McLean, Jessica Hagedorn, Sharr White, John Kolvenbach, Christina Anderson, Joshua Harmon, Mfoniso Udofia, and Luis Alfaro, to name a few. Magic plays have a profound impact across the American theatre landscape. Under Greco’s leadership, Magic world premieres have entered the canon of American plays, enjoying subsequent productions at theatres across the country and around the world. In the last decade, Magic premieres have been seen in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Ashland, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Pasadena, Winnipeg, Portland,
Washington, D.C., Tucson, Minneapolis, Vancouver, Williamstown, Edmonton, Nashville, Boulder, Omaha, Tampa, Hartford, Houston, San Diego, and Sydney, Australia, as well as in translation in Seoul, South Korea and Manila, the Philippines. In New York alone, Ma-Yi, The New Group, The Vineyard, INTAR, The Play Company, Playwrights Horizons, and The Public Theater have produced plays that originated at Magic within the past eight years. *Member of Actors’ Equity Association. AEA, founded in 1913, represents more than 45,000 actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions, providing a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performance arts unions. The Equity emblem is our mark of excellence. www.actorsequity.org. + Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) ** Member of United Scenic Artists local 829. United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American theatre.
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biographies dramaturgy
a conversation with
LUIS ALFARO
Director Loretta Greco, dramaturg Sonia Fernandez, and playwright Luis Alfaro sat down for a conversation on a break during the first week of rehearsals for Sonia Fernandez: In Jane Anne Crum's interview with you in the first Oedipus program (part of which is excerpted here), you say you began your fascination with the Greeks ten years ago, and now it’s been nearly twenty years. How do you feel about Greek theatre now? Luis Alfaro: I would say initially I looked at Greek theatre because I was just trying to learn how to make a better play because they’re structurally so good. Loretta Greco: It’s so compact! And structurally, what it’s done for your work as you’ve grown is amazing! You reimagine, but you hold on to the bones. LA: I’m trying to hold onto the structure of what they have because it’s such a good lesson. Also, it’s interesting to think of these pieces politically. In terms of the community, when you don’t see yourself in the American theatre, how do you create something that links us— SF: To the beginning of theatre. LA: Yeah! And how do we see ourselves as part of the classics? We have myths, we have mythos. And we’re partly connected to all the classical theatre. I think one of the things we did well the first time around was that we left something for the purist to engage in. But I’ll never forget that Laney College performance, where Oedipus says, “if he’s my father then she’s…” and EVERYBODY in the audience gasped! And you realize that not everybody knew the myth. 8
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LUIS ALFARO & LORETTA GRECO PHOTO BY JORDEN CHARLEY-WHATLEY
LG: There are generations who, if they have any sense of the Greeks, or Shepard, who is now thought of as classic to some young people, it’s just been in class! It’s just been academic. They haven’t experienced it. They’re seeing these plays as brand new plays.
LG: It was incredible! That’s the thing. Everybody thinks they know these plays, but really, we have this vague recollection, and you realize “Oh, I didn’t actually know this play. I didn’t understand it.”
LA: And they’re seeing it in a beautiful way: on stage. They’re not reading it in a book. That’s the great thing about the theatre. We start with the playwright, we start as text, as literature, as language, and then we move into the space.
I love this piece. It surprised me the first time. I knew that I wanted to work with Luis; but what Oedipus actually did in communion with the audience, the catharsis it offers—that’s my dream. My dream is that we can affect people like that.
LG: Nobody writes a play for us to read alone at home. LA: That’s right. LG: Those words have to hit the air in a community for it to be what you intended it to be. SF: Just as thousands of years ago, it was meant to be this sacred, community experience. LG: It still is. We need this now more than ever—the Greek idea of catharsis. The community needed it, and the Greeks knew that. Something is missing from our American spiritual ecosystem because we don’t realize how much we need to gather and experience stories together. LA: We had a really magical moment ten years ago. We went to San Francisco City College—to a class. It was mostly older folks, and we had them read scenes from the play out loud! It was about them giving voice to the play. By saying it out loud, in a way, you’re creating this bridge.
—Loretta Greco LA: How do we popularize this? These issues of violence, these issues of the American prison system, it is so much clearer that we are stuck in some sort of complex. SF: Ten years ago, when we first produced this play, we were in a different place with the prison system in California. Now there’s a clear recognition, no possibility of denial, that our prison
system is fundamentally broken, and there are reforms that have been made, but systemic change moves glacially. LA: Yeah, and I would say that what’s taking so long is the question of, “are we really reforming the system?” To get reform passed and actually make change happen is extraordinary. LG: We see legislation, and it feels like it’s one step forward, two steps back. LA: In some ways, society never changes. And I think that’s the challenge here. For me, the play has become less about the specifics of prison culture and more about the violence of poverty. Will that ever change? LG: It feels like a chasm--the poor get poorer, and that demographic is growing and growing, and this poverty is disproportionately within communities of color. But I also think that there is no sense of forgiveness, of transcendence, of transformation for people who have served their time. LA: We are such a punishing culture. I was thinking about this in relation to marijuana. We are trying to forgive misdemeanor citations, but there’s a whole group of people that are against it. I always think about poverty. But the thing about the play that I’ve been meditating on is empathy. When you come to a play like this, the experience you have is based on the kind of empathy you might have. SF: Greek tragedies are about suffering. If you’ve experienced suffering, you can see yourself in it. LG: You have created characters we immediately recognize and relate to. There are a lot of us who have lost children. There are people who are living in abusive environments, people who have someone in their family incarcerated. LA: That’s a huge population. Also it brings to mind who gets to see the plays. That’s the biggest problem we have. To go to the theatre these days… LG: Is an act of privilege. How do you democratize the arts? The Greeks knew how to do it. LA: That’s right. How do you create these spaces for people to be able to see the work itself? You want it to live on stage. You want them to experience the electricity
dramaturgy
For me, the play has become less about the specifics of prison culture and more about the violence of poverty. Will that ever change? —Luis Alfaro of the theatre. It’s watching humans be humans onstage. It’s important. I think it’s important that ritual be a part of the experience. I love the idea that when you come to one of these Greek plays, there is a ritual involved. LG: There’s no other place we get ritual; in church, in temple, a little bit in sporting arenas, and the theatre! The Greeks knew that ritual was essential. We don’t even say they pledge of allegiance in public schools anymore. There is no sense of ritual in our day to day lives. LA: I don’t think it’s arrogant, or highminded to say we want to embrace the classical theatre or ancient theatre. That’s what gets me really excited; how do we bring you in and then take you to the modern? SF: Luis, I wanted to ask you specifically about almost ten years of Oedipus el Rey. How many productions has it had? LA: Twenty-two. I haven’t gotten involved with all of them. Some of them, I have to say, have been amazing. I remember this school, Cal State Dominguez-Hills. It’s mostly a nighttime school. It’s almost all people of color, and they’re almost all older. It’s parents going back to school, people who work, who have families. They do Oedipus, and it is real. These people are channeling their lives. They don’t have to be great actors. They have the essence of the pageantry of it, they have the essence of the ritual of it. SF: What do you think you’ve learned from all of those productions? LA: I’ve learned about drama. I’ve learned about tension and conflict and character, about backstory. Every production teaches you something about how to tell a story. [To Loretta] Don’t you think as a director
FIRST DAY OF REHEARSAL PHOTO BY JORDEN CHARLEY-WHATLEY
you become a better storyteller with every production? You learn how to tell the story better. I feel that way with writing. LG: Completely. The beauty of your work is that you have become a craftsman with structure. You’ve learned from the masters. Structure is important! I mean, you can have a mood, character, you can have great language, but foundation is essential. LA: I always start from character, and character gives you story, and story needs architecture. SF: It strikes me, though, that more than twenty productions later, that you’re still working on it, sculpting. LA: I think a play is a mushroom. SF: A mushroom? LA: It’s a living, breathing organism. When I die, the play can be frozen. When you’re alive, and you’re in a community, every
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"In the Pico Union Neighborhood" Photo by Chris English
biographies dramaturgy GLOSSARY OF SELECTED SPANISH PHRASES alleluia: born again Christian barrio: neighborhood Camisas de Chicharito: Shirts/ Jerseys of el Chicharito, Mexican Soccer player Javier Hernández Balcázar chisme: gossip como no: Why not, colloquially "of course"
community you go to wants something. I’m still able to be in those moments, and I’m happy to explore how a community informs a certain play. SF: You never get sick of it? LA: No! I think you never stop discovering things. The play keeps changing. That’s what’s so great about the theatre— everyone you work with brings something new. It’s really, really important that it’s not a one man show. It should feel collaborative in the truest way. LG: Also, you’ve written an ensemble piece. There isn’t a hierarchy. The Coro is as powerful as Oedipus. LA: You could decide they’re the conjurers of this tale. And even if they’re not, here are all of these men who raised a boy in prison.
con todo respeto: with all due respect
LG: It’s so beautiful and complicated.
curandero: a healer who uses folk remedy
SF: [To Loretta] How have your feelings grown or changed towards the play this time around?
El Rey Juveníl: The Young King esé: slang meaning dude, homeboy Esfinge: Sphinx Hijo de la chingada madre!: Colloquially something like "fucking son of a bitch" La Botánica: a small store that sells herbal and other traditional remedies, together with charms, incense, candles, and other items used for religious or spiritual purposes. lo siento: I'm sorry, literally "I feel it", you have my sympathy Me va matar: He will kill me mocoso: a little kid with boogers running down his nose, brat novela: a telenovela, Spanish soap opera pendejo: dumb ass puta: prostitute rabia: fury tatuajes: tatoos
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LG: I think that I’m a better director of new work from having worked on other things. I love this piece. It surprised me the first time. I knew that I loved it. I knew that I wanted to work with Luis; but what it actually did in communion with the audience—that’s my dream. My dream is that we can affect people like that. I love this space, the shrine of Magic, the church of Magic. It is a sacred space. It is dependent on the community. For me, it’s the perfect theatre. Because we could do this without anything, and we are. It’s you, them, and the audience. LA: It’s amazing to look back. The truth is that we were working by the seat of our pants. We had no aspirations towards “high-art.” We were just trying to get to previews! I remember opening; we had this moment where we got that great review, and the Glickman; but it didn’t unfold like that! It unfolded like “oh my god, what are we going to do about this scene? Jesus Christ, we have to cut that! We don’t have enough—” and then something happens, it’s like magic! I have stomach aches about wanting the audience to experience the same thing each time. I think every experience we’ve had here starts somewhere and ends
somewhere completely different! Once you get closer to it, another muscle takes over. “How do you trust ritual, how do you trust story?” and “how do you do your work because you have a lot of work to do still?” You have to be okay with the audience experiencing a different kind of play each night. ————— Excerpted from January 2010 conversation between Jane Anne Crum, dramaturg of the original production, and Luis Alfaro
LA: More than half of all men released [from prison] go back...* You get out and if you don’t have a support system you’re going straight into an SRO hotel/motel in downtown LA on skid row. Already the vices are calling you back...the challenge was to locate the play somewhere very specific. To look at Los Angeles as a site. Jane Anne Crum: Because Pico-Union [a neighborhood in East L.A.] is your home. LA: I wanted to locate it in places I knew I could write honestly and freely about…for Oedipus, because the emotional qualities of the play are so intense, I knew I had to locate everything else in a familiar place. JAC: What about the chorus? It’s such a standard of Greek plays...What’s your connection to what is called in your play, the Coro? LA: We have a choral tradition in Chicano culture called “Coro” where you tell stories and it’s very intricate work—many different voices overlapping and finishing each others’ sentences. Its musical and it shares a history with folkloric dancing… JAC: Greek drama began with the chorus—everything was choral, just like your tradition of Coro… LA: There are so many connections between my culture and the Greeks, and I love how we’re able to make this contemporary for our people. By our people, I mean whoever the audience is that night. That’s who we’re making it for. *This is still true nine and a half years later. Released prisoners ages 18-34 have above 50% recidivism rates. Recidivism rates decline with age, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 2018 Recidivism Report.
This Golden State: Delano, 2015 Armando Rodriguez, Wilma Bonet, and Sara Nina Hayon
OTHER PLAYS BY dramaturgy dramaturgy
LUIS ALFARO
MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES ST. JUDE DELANO PAINTING IN RED ALLELUIA THE ROAD AESOP BRUJA Bruja, 2012 Sabina Zuniga Varela
OEDIPUS EL REY HERO ELECTRICIDAD BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER STRAIGHT AS A LINE BITTER HOMES AND GARDENS LADYBIRD BLACK BUTTERFLY, JAGUAR GIRL, PIÑATA WOMAN AND OTHER SUPER HERO GIRLS, LIKE ME DOWNTOWN NO HOLDS BARRIO THE GARDENS OF AZTLAN Photos by Jennifer Reiley
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biographies dramaturgy
Outside the palace at Thebes, the townspeople gather, imploring Oedipus to free their city from the plague. Oedipus reveals that he has already sent his brother-in-law Creon to Delphi to discover the reason for the plague. Creon enters and makes his report: the oracle declared that Thebes cannot free itself from the plague until the murderer of Laius (the former king) has been found and punished. Oedipus declares his resolve to search out the murderer and bring him to justice. Oedipus reminds the chorus that he freed them from the Sphinx, and he will save the city yet again. Tiresias, a blind prophet, is summoned and warns Oedipus that if he pursues this quest for Laius’ killer, the true identity of the murderer will be hard to bear. Queen
Jocasta enters and to calm her husband’s outrage at Tiresias’ refusal to reveal the name of the murderer, tells him that Laius was killed where three roads meet. A messenger from Corinth arrives to inform Oedipus of the death of King Polybus (the man Oedipus believes to be his father). When Oedipus expresses his relief that he did not (as an earlier oracle prophesied) kill his father or sleep with his mother, the messenger from Corinth reveals that Oedipus was not the natural son of Polybus, but was left as an infant to die on Mount Cithaeron. At this news, Jocasta exits the stage. A shepherd, who received the infant from Laius’ hands, is summoned. Under Oedipus’ questioning, he reveals that he did not abandon the child, but gave him to a man from
Oedipus and the Sphinx, interior of an Attic red-figured kylix (drinking vessel), c.470 BCE; in the Gregorian Etrustcan Museum, the Vatican Museums, Rome.
Corinth. Upon hearing this, Oedipus exits the stage. He returns, blood dripping from his empty eye sockets, to tell the townspeople that Jocasta has hanged herself and that he, Oedipus, has punished the murderer of Laius.
L O C AT IO N S OF Highway 99: A 424-mile road that runs from the Oregon border to the Mexico border working its way up the middle of California, traversing the Central Valley including the cities of Bakersfield, McFarland, Delano, Visalia, and Fresno as well as many California State Prisons. Highway 99 leads the country for most fatal crashes per one hundred miles. North Kern: A medium-
security prison located in Delano, Kern County, California. An all-male facility, housing 3,954 inmates, or 146% percent of its designed capacity of 2694 (as of April 2019). Originally intended as a reception center for incoming inmates while staff processes their records and assesses their needs before assigning them to another prison, in reality that hasn’t proven to be the case, with prisoners serving terms in a facility designed for short term stays. 14
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Pico-Union: The name refers to the neighborhood in Central Los Angeles that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue immediately west of Downtown LA. The area was developed as an upper and middle class residential district in the early 1900s. Following World War II, the area, like much of the inner city, saw a movement of people heading to the suburbs. In the 70s and 80s the area received an influx of Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees. Latinos make up 85% of the population.
magic theatre dramaturgy staff STAFF
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Artistic Director Loretta Greco General Manager Kevin Nelson Associate Artistic Director Sonia Fernandez Production Manager Jackie Hill NNPN Producer in Residence Kate Leary Patron Services Manager Karina Fox Development Associate Ciera Eis PR Consultant Jonathan White Bookkeeper Richard Lane Season Artistic Apprentices Caro Asercion, Jorden Charley-Whatley, Claire Ganem, Samuel Levit Community Outreach and Education Intern Christy Conway Development Volunteer Susan Boynton Administrative Volunteer Susie Lampert Magic Arts + Community Director Fran Tarr Teaching Artists Kenny Scott, Ely Orquiza, Kerri Blake Cavanaugh, Christy Conway
Co-Chair Bennett G. Young Co-Chair John Marx Secretary Alan Stewart Treasurer Kathryn Kersey Trustees Loretta Greco, Artistic Director Ian Atlas Sarah Nina Hayon Sandra Hess Larry Goldfarb
PRODUCTION PERSONNEL Line Producer Kate Leary Assistant Director Samuel Levit Assistant Stage Manager Kerri Blake Cavanaugh Assistant Costume Designer Alexia Dominique Master Electrician Gonzalo Suarez Light Board Programmer Sara Saavedra Light Board Operator Sara Saavedra Costume Construction Jasmine M. Williams Millinery DeAnna Gibbons Millinery Assistant Jasmine M. Williams Mask Construction Emily Feil, Bethany Zummo Scenic Charge Artist Ewa Muszynska "Guitar el Rey" by Ava Mendoza, avamendozamusic.com "Planchame La Ropa" by Very Be Careful, verybecareful.com "Beso de Muerte" by Ritmos Tropicosmos
LITERARY COMMITTEE Sonia Fernandez, Hal Gelb, Sandra Hess, Kate Leary, Amanda Lee, Jack Miller, Patricia Reynoso, Patricia Miller, Arthur Roth, Samuel Levit, Jorden CharleyWhatley, Claire Ganem, Caro Asercion
MAGIC ARTISTIC LEADERSHIP John Lion (1967–1991) Harvey Seifter (1991–1992) Larry Eilenberg (1992–1993) Mame Hunt (1993–1998) Larry Eilenberg (1998–2003) Chris Smith (2003–2008) Loretta Greco (2008–Present) The following individuals have generously provided for Magic Theatre in their estate plans: C. Edwin Baker, Martha Heasley Cox, Bob Lemon, Mike Mellor, Mary Moffatt, Julia Sommer, Bert Steinberg, Alan Stewart, Toni K. Weingarten, Nancy Baker, Ph.D. and Ms. Cathy Hauer
Magic Theatre is generously supported by:
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contributors
August 2018–April 2019 We gratefully acknowledge all those that support Magic Theatre with gifts to our Annual Fund, Benefit Fundraiser, and special projects.
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Kathryn Kersey The Shubert Foundation
Lisa Avallone and Mike Aguiar Lynn Ducken-Goldstein Mike Fleming and Lea Ann Fleming Susie Lampert Michele Ruskin and John Ruskin Ken Wilcox and Ruth Wilcox Bob and Lynne Zolli
$100,000 +
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $50,000–$99,999
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation John F. Marx and Nikki Beach
$2,500–$4,999
SEASON PRODUCER $25,000–$49,999
Martha Heasley Cox Larry S. Goldfarb Sandra Hess Toni Rembe and Arthur Rock Mark Schlesinger and Christine Russell
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER $10,000–$24,999
Eugene Barth and Neil Barth Buffington Clay Miller Lucia “Lucie” Brandon Clay Foundation West Edgerton Foundation, Jennifer Bolanis and Bradford Edgerton National Endowment of the Arts The Bernard Osher Foundation Bennet G. Young and Molly Young
PRODUCER
$5,000–$9,999 Valerie Barth Ian Atlas and Renu Karir Valerie Barth David Crommie and Karen Crommie Rebecca Eisen and Jim Eisen Ken Hitz and Liselott Hitz Nancy Livingston and Fred Levin Mrs. Robert B. Mayer Les Silverman Dr. Alan Stewart and Frank Kelly
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PLAYWRIGHT'S ANGEL $1,000–$2,499
Sara Adler Katherine C. Agnew Ms. Gladys Andersen Nancy Baker, Ph.D. and Ms. Cathy Hauer Susan Beech Norma Belfer Michele Benjamin and David Benjamin The Mervyn L. Brenner Foundation Pamela Culp David Goldman and Carol Dweck Betty Gottlieb Ed Harris and Amy Madigan Kate Hartley and Michael Kass Richard Hay Sarah Nina Hayon Betty Hoener Lorraine Honig Lisa Hudson Miriam John and William Willson Missy Kirchner Linda Klett and Robert Klett Joanne Koltnow Courtland and Lavallee and Donna Lavallee Linde-Sands Family Fund Karl Ludwig and Ann Ludwig John G. McGehee E. Craig Moody, In Honor of Richard Moody National New Play Networks Claire Noonan and Peter Landsberger Sheryl and Michael Nouaux Frances O’Sullivan and John O’Sullivan
Matt Pagel and Corey Revilla Vicky Reich and David S. Rosenthal Lois Roth and Arthur Roth Elizabeth Shea and William Shea Marjorie Smallwood and Richard Smallwood Matt Sorgenfrei Mrs. Shirley Traynor and Mr. Michael Traynor Joanne Vidinsky and Alan Vidinsky Gerald Vurek and Lynda Vurek-Martyn Lisa Wade and Peter Boland Toni K. Weingarten Peter Wiley Leigh Wolf John Ziegler
NEW WORK ADVOCATE $500–$999
George and Marilyn Bray Bryan Burlingame and Lauren Burlingame Lynne Carmichael Miriam Chall Steven A. Chase and Andrea Sanchez Terence Chu Judith Ciani Smith Katie Colendich David Cover Ellen Davis Roland Jadryev and Herve Duprez Larry Eilenberg and Kathleen O’Hara David and Vicki Fleishhacker Loretta Greco Jeremy Kotin Martha Harriet Lawrie Walter Lehman Kathleen Leones Meagan S. Levitan and Dale Carlson Fred Lonsdale Jo Ann and Rick McStravick Gail Murphy Barbara Paschke and David Volpendesta Raymond Applebaum Murphy Robins and Wayne Robins Barbara and Saul Rockman
Karen Rose Laurel Scheinman Judy and Wylie Sheldon Michelle D. and Richard J.Stratton Maureen Sullivan Susan D. Terris Julie Wainwright Robert Yoerg and Sharon Yoerg Julius Young
NEW WORK SUPPORTER $250–$499
Seth Ammerman Howard Brownstein and Janna Ullrey Geoff Dryvynsyde and Matt Porta Jeanene E. Ebert Kerry Francis and John Jimerson Paul and Linda Rae Hardwick Tanya and Donald James Jan Laskowski and Sofia Laskowski Karen Laws and Dan Callaway Jeanne Newman Margaret O’Brien-Strain David Pasta Eddy Reynolds and Hernan Correa Ellen Richard Deborah Robbins and Henry Navas Dorothy Schimke William Schwartz Christopher Shadix Philip Waddington and Ruth Waddington Roy Zitting Frank Zwart
PATRON
$100–$249 Neil R. Ackerman Patricia L. Akre John Thomas Bacon Michael Bandrowski Lynda Beigel Robert Bergman Noel T. Blos
We strive for accurate donor listings. If you have a correction or question, or would like to find out more about ways to support Magic Theatre, please contact Ciera Eis at cierae@magictheatre.org.
Donna Brorby Catherine Brown Betty Bullock Thomas Burkhart and Carol Burkhart Steven and Kelli Burrill Deborah Cardenas Millie and Barry Chauser Jon W. Churnin and Brigitte Q. Churnin Willa Crowell John Cummings Jerry Current Peter B. Daly Debbie Degutis Peter Dell Judith Duffy Marilyn and Les Duman Marie Earl and Peter Skinner Sonia Fernandez and Long Do Mary and Tom Foote Elizabeth Foster and Michael Harris Stewart Fox and Lucie Fox Nancy Cooper and Richard Frank Douglas and Mary Fraser Nancy M. Friedman and Terry Hill Philip Frost and Velia K. Frost Ronni Garfield Toby and John Garrone Gordon Griffin and Gini Griffin Lori Hanninen and Jeff Wheaton Julia Hansen George Heymont Adrienne Hirt and Jeff Rodman Jessica Hood and Brian Suter Dr. Gisele Huff Carolyn Jayne Richard and Susan Kaplan Ann and Paul Karlstrom Ashok Katdare Patricia Kaussen and Karl Kaussen Rosemary Keller John Kolvenbach Nancy C. Lenvin
Carol and Barry Livingston Lawrence Lurie Pam MacKinnon Ana Maria Martel Patrick Mason and Rebecca Kurland John McIntosh Maeve Metzger Janice Mirkitani and Reverend Cecil Williams Roberta Mundie Daniel Murphy Linda Murray Ann M. O’Connor and Edward Callen Evan Painter Wendy Porter Kim Regan Thomas Robinson Stephanie and Rick Rogers Stephen and Marica Ruben Kathy and Hal Rucker Cindy Shaw Lorinda Silverstein Mr. Ira Simmons and Ms. Elizabeth Jewell Pamela Smith Nancy and Robert Smith Jeffrey Smyser Anthony Somkin and Carol Somkin Joan St. Laurent and Armar Archbold Judith Stein Quentin Stephens Cathy Stonie Walter Norton and Joan Sullivan Deborah Sussel and Martin S. Berman Gerald and Deborah Van Atta Suman Venkataswamy Carol Wolff Sharon and Jerald Young
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PUBLISHER + FOUNDER Misty Tompoles ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER + MEMBERSHIP MANAGER Katrina Ketchum SALES DIRECTOR Lindsey Ferguson DIGITAL DIRECTOR Chris Porras MANAGING EDITOR Kristen Seidman ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS Ashley Coates SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Jackie Tran BUSINESS MANAGER Bella Showerman PUBLISHER’S REPRESENTATIVE Nicole Lane PUBLISHING COORDINATOR Sara Chavis PODCAST HOST Susannah Mars
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