I'm a Director Too!

I hope this update finds you in excellent health and full of happiness. I hope you are also full of some righteous anger. The deaths of Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner have drawn much-needed attention to this nation's racism, militarism, and police brutality and I pray that we are on the brink of a massive change for the better.

Over the past few weeks I have watched and listened. My heart has broken and I've shed tears of anger and despair. I've been confused by things I really shouldn't be - after all the fact that this system thrives on devaluing black lives is not new information. I have also, however, been inspired by all those who've taken to the streets, who are voicing the pain and making the world take notice. And I have tried to figure out how best I can participate in this latest battle in the ongoing (or is it never-ending?) war for justice and freedom from oppression.

I'm still figuring it out but I am grateful to be able to create art that speaks to our troubled times. This coming Monday and Tuesday, December 15 and 16 at 8pm, I present eight plays that I've directed for the SF One Minute Play Festival. My plays explore racism, police brutality, gentrification, and the power structure that has thrived on oppression throughout this nation's history.

These plays will be presented as part of 86 one-minute plays by Bay Area playwrights responding to the prompt: "What's happening Here and Now?" It will be a powerful two nights of theatre and I hope you can make it.

Here's the Facebook event page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/842943259089139/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

And you can also get more info at: www.oneminuteplayfestival.com

For my next update I'm thrilled to brag about my students in the San Francisco Mime Troupe Youth Theatre Program. This fall I taught an after-school program for high schoolers in which I helped five students write and perform original monologues in a piece we called 'Voices of The City."

My students wrote about the burning issues of access to education, immigration, gentrification, poverty and gang violence. The course culminated in a performance at the annual San Francisco Youth Arts Summit where our piece won Second Place in the Performance Battle!

I feel like a proud parent and I'm excited to direct again in next spring's Youth Theater Project. If you know of any high school students in San Francisco who would love to participate in the Spring 2015 class please let me know and I'll give you more info about applying to the program.

I hope you are staying warm and cozy this holiday season and are shining brightly in your corners of the world. I look forward to hearing what you're up to.