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Inspirational Stories The Actors’ Gang Theater’s new production features tales of the Great Depression PHOTO BY LUIS CHAVEZ
The Actors’ Gang Theater recently debuted “We Live On,” a new play based on “Hard Times” by Studs Terkel with additional text by artistic director Tim Robbins and the cast. PAGE 14 THE ARGONAUT JULY 29, 2021
By Kamala Kirk Tim Robbins met and interviewed his longtime hero and renowned author, Studs Terkel, for a public conversation that was hosted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art 21 years ago. “Paul Holdengräber from the New York Public Library contacted me and asked if I wanted to interview the greatest interviewer of all time,” Robbins said. “When he told me it was Studs, I jumped at the opportunity because I loved his books. This was a man that chronicled the human condition of everyday people that were struggling to get through terrible times.” Terkel’s bestselling book, “Hard Times,” featured firsthand accounts of people who lived during the Great Depression of the 1930s. On the book’s 50th anniversary last year, Robbins — who is the artistic director of The Actors’ Gang Theater — and his cast adapted “Hard Times” into a play via Zoom when they were unable to get together during the pandemic. “The idea came out of the limitations. We couldn’t meet or be in the same room to create together,” Robbins said. “Zoom is not a theatrical medium and, because of those limitations, we started working on just storytelling. At first, we tried doing the stories in the first person, but later adapted them to the third person. When we started workshopping, we didn’t cast the parts; everyone was reading the book and chose the stories that resonated most. It was trial and error, figuring out what part was right for each person.” The live virtual production, “We Live On,” debuted July 22. Presented in three parts, it includes additional text by Robbins and the cast, and will run through Sept. 4. Each part highlights 10 stories documented by Terkel, in addition to original stories of courage and determination from the family
