The Culture of War
http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articles/2009/12/11/entertainment/doc4b22dc42eded8233449317.txt
Theater Troupe Culture Clash Takes on Afghanistan in a New Downtown Show
by Richard Guzmán
December 11, 2009
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - The members of Culture Clash looked pretty
tired after a long day of rehearsals for their new play at the Mark
Taper Forum. And they still had a full show to come.
During a dinner break before a preview performance of Palestine, New
Mexico, Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza plopped
down on a dressing room couch and looked like they could use a nap.
After a quarter-century as one of the city's best known and most
active theater troupes, who could blame them for wanting to get some rest?
But that's not their style.
Instead, the three are taking on one of their more challenging pieces
to date. Palestine, a world premiere written by Montoya, reaches
beyond their comfortable local roots to look at the war in
Afghanistan and its effects on family, culture and a Native American
reservation in New Mexico.
"After 25 years we're always looking for challenges, and it's a real
challenge to do a straight dramatic narrative, although there is some
humor in the work," Montoya said. "It seemed like a very proper time
to look at the effects of war and the aftermath."
The show, which debuted Dec. 13 (after Downtown News went to press),
includes the members of Culture Clash and 10 additional actors. It
runs through Jan. 24, 2010.
The play follows a visit by U.S. Army Captain Catherine Siler (played
by Kirsten Potter) to the New Mexico reservation that was home to
Private First Class Raymond Birdsong. She's there to inform the chief
of the tribe, played by veteran activist and actor Russell Means,
that his son died under her command in Afghanistan.
Although his death was ruled a friendly fire incident, there are
suspicious circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
"But it's not a war play," Montoya interjects. "It's a play that
takes place on a Native American reservation and the stories and
secrets that unfold and the aftermath of a young soldier's death."
Local Record
Culture Clash formed in 1984 in San Francisco's Mission District.
Blending social and political satire with their bilingual roots and a
keen eye for pop culture, the troupe's work ranges from sketch comedy
to adaptations of Greek plays.
The trio settled in Los Angeles in 1991, though they have also
focused on site-specific works in other locales, creating plays in
Miami, San Diego, New York, Houston, Boston and San Francisco. They
have performed at venues such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center,
La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Seattle Repertory.
But their roots are firmly planted in Los Angeles, both in terms of
production locale and the subject of their works. The Taper was home
to the premieres of Chavez Ravine, about the displacement of families
to make room for Dodger Stadium, and Water and Power, an insider look
at city politics complete with references to politicians including
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Supervisor Gloria Molina. Both shows
won critical and commercial acclaim.
"With each play it just amazes me how difficult the next one is,"
Montoya said. "You think it would get easier, but there was a lot of
labor in this birth and I guess we don't know another way to work."
Culture Clash has a unique style. Rather than hole up in a room with
a computer and pot of coffee, the trio go into the world. They often
conduct extensive interviews and meticulous research to craft their
characters and storylines.
The result is that they expose often under-represented corners of
society, giving an urgent voice to those segments of the population.
Their work feels local, inspired by and written for the people they
portray, but at the same time conveys a wider message that can help
those unfamiliar with the topic relate to the plight of their subjects.
The trend continues with Palestine. Although the show possesses an
international scope, it touches on many of the same themes as their
previous productions.
"It feels pretty epic because of the war and it's not just local,
it's about where the country is at the moment," Salinas said. "But at
the same time it's still very intimate. There's a family that has to
bury a son at the end of this thing."
Siguenza, who knows a thing or two about politics by virtue of being
a Villaraigosa appointee to the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Board of
Commissioners, said he appreciates what Palestine reveals.
"It shows New Mexico's Spanish history and Mexican, native
tradition," he said. "And what I love is it exposes something not
very well known."
Although the group again conducted interviews when preparing for the
work, Montoya said they spoke with fewer people than for previous
plays. Instead, they relied heavily on public records as they made
visits to New Mexico and to reservations to meet Native Americans and
war veterans. That helped them capture the local culture and flavor.
"In rural areas of the Southwest people sign up [for the military] to
get out of their situation," Montoya said. "There is a warrior spirit
on the [reservations], and patriotism."
Means, an early leader of the American Indian Movement, who is famous
for leading the occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973, is making his
stage debut with Palestine, New Mexico. He said the play captures a
true slice of Native American life that other cultures can easily
relate to as well.
"I loved the script, I think it's ingenious," Means said. "It's a
complex story and so contemporary."
True to Culture Clash form, in addition to getting into the culture
of New Mexico's Native Americans, the play also captures the essence
of multiculturalism through the shared hardship of war.
"If a flag-draped coffin is coming home, that's one of the very few
moments when it doesn't matter what color the person is," Montoya
said. "But the play is also making a point about who's paying the
ultimate price for this war it's working class and poor kids."
Make no mistake although the setting may be different, Culture
Clash still brings the politics home.
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Palestine, New Mexico runs through Jan 24, 2010 at the Mark Taper
Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.
--
Contact Richard Guzmán at [email protected].
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