Split Personality

In the November 2009 issue of Harper's Magazine, there's a terrific essay by Arthur Krystal, entitled THE WORST OF TIMES: Revisiting the Great Depression.

The essay quotes Morris Dickstein, author of Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression:

"Trying to grasp the essential spirit of the thirties would seem to be a hopeless task...How can one era have produced both Woody Guthrie and Rudy Vallee, both the Rockettes high-stepping at the Radio City Music Hall and the oakies on their desperate trek toward the pastures of plenty in California?"

Dickstein calls this the "split personality of Depression culture".

So, one week before opening night, when the inevitable questions rise about what we've created and whether we took the correct path of inquiry, this essay arrives as a good omen, a reminder that Canta y no llores is, at the very least, accurate. We've woven in all those multiple personalities, and thrown in the Day of the Dead to boot!

Woody Guthrie and Busby Berkeley? Check.
Political, sentimental and funny? Check.
Bilingual and bicultural? Check.

The Horizon

Heading into technical rehearsals this weekend with thrilled anticipation. We're at the point in the process that resembles a roller coaster. We have rehearsals of active progress and joy, and rehearsals that challenge our spirits, when we know we've grown only because the rehearsal didn't kill us. Ironic for a dia de muertos show...

But now we jump on to stage, with our intentionally ramshackle set that looks a bit like a little raft floating in the middle of a vast ocean of trees. All the sound is our own, created by the ensemble. The props are antiques, the lighting will resemble the sunlight and moonlight of the woods, and the costumes a combination of Depression Era drudgery and Hollywood glitz.

Tonite's was terrific rehearsal, the actors took a gorgeous leap forward together, making their dances look easy, singing their songs perfectly in key, and remembering many of their lines, which is not an easy feat when working bilingually!

Watching the ease emerging from all their hard work, gliding into place like an autumn leaf floating toward the forest floor, not yet landed...

Pictures from Photoshoot

Last Saturday, the cast, Olga, photographer Kenneth Aaron and I trekked out to Forest Park on a field trip for press photos. Here are some highlights (time permitting, I will continue to upload choice images to our Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/miracletheatregroup).


Thanks, everyone, for a fun shoot!

Final Art Card Image from Analee Fuentes

Here's the final image for our art cards, a HUGE beautiful new painting created by Analee Fuentes (see more of her work at http://www.analeefuentes.com/). She is generously donating the original work (3 by 5 feet) to the theatre, which will be on display in the lobby during the run of Canta y no llores. Thanks, Analee! We love it!

Think Black Tuesday was bad?

Well, what about Black Sunday?

So April 14th, 1935 may not have been as famous as Black Tuesday but it certainly left its own impressions (hence the poor guy's tractor you see to your right). Anyway, this site gives some info about what was going on within the Dust Bowl (and how it got that name) along with interviews from people who went through all of this mad jazz. If you look at the navigation bar, there's also some info about hitchhikers and hoboes who traveled by rail (all of which could apply to Mary, Consuelo/Raul, Eduardo, and Miguel). Anyway, give this site a peek when you have time!

Home Sweet Home

With so many people losing their homes during the Great Depression, many were forced to create temporary shelter to protect themselves from the elements, using whatever materials they could find.

"Shelters were made of almost every conceivable thing - burlap, canvas, palm branches." - a California minister's report of a labor camp in the Imperial Valley. We have seen photographs of shacks made from cardboard, framed paintings on canvas, crate boxes, doors...

Unfortunately, this kind of housing was the norm for the migrant labor camps where itinerant farm workers lived, from one farm to the next. For more information, read: Picture This: The Depression Era, published the by the Oakland Museum of California.

These shacks have served as the inspiration for our scenic design by Drew Foster; they are sad images of poverty and yet resourceful testaments to the will to survive.

Train Orphans

In New York City between 1854 and 1929, there were about 200,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children living on the streets. Orphanages were built to care for as many children as possible but the need was greater than the resources. Once a child became a ward of the court, they could be "disposed" of as saw fit. Many became Train Orphans and were relocated across the country, traveling by train, stopping at town after town until someone took them in. Children were placed in 47 states. This mass relocation of children in the United States is widely recognized as the beginning of documented foster care in America.

Mary was one of those children who, surrendered by her own mother, became a ward of the court and was placed on a train going West.

About the song "La Peregrinación"

Check out this PDF about the history of this song (also called "la voz del campesino"). It fits great for our era, and I thought it would be helpful to know what it is tied to as well in the 50s and 60s...

http://www.farmworkermovement.us/ufwarchives/elmalcriado/1966/April%2010,%201966.pdf

Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Talk about capturing the spirit of Dia de los muertos!
One great song," lyrics by Lew Brown, music by Ray Henderson (1931)

People are queer, they're always crowing, scrambling and rushing about;
Why don't they stop someday, address themselves this way?
Why are we here? Where are we going? It's time that we found out.
We're not here to stay; we're on a short holiday.
Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.
You work, you save, you worry so,
But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.
So keep repeating it's the berries,
The strongest oak must fall,
The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned
So how can you lose what you've never owned?
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all.
Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.
At eight each morning I have got a date,
To take my plunge 'round the Empire State.
You'll admit it's not the berries,
In a building that's so tall;
There's a guy in the show, the girls love to kiss;
Get thousands a week just for crooning like this:
Life is just a bowl of . . . aw, nuts!
So live and laugh at it all!

The Legend

Hey guys, Thanks for a great meeting. I think this production has real potential.

Here is the quote that I came across during our meeting today. I found it really resonated with what Olga said about the obligation of Family and our duties as the survivors.

"In our tradition, people die three deaths. The first death is when our bodies cease to function; when our hearts no longer beat of their own accord, when our gaze no longer has depth or weight, when the space we occupy slowly loses its meaning.

The second death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, returned to mother earth, out of sight.

The third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us."

Mae Catrina (West)

What if our Catrina is a Mae West kind of gal, glamorous, whip-smart, and dead?

Among our band of itinerants is a young girl who wants to be a movie star more than anything else in the world. She dreams of the riches that fame will bring, she'll never be hungry or dress in tattered clothing again. As a child of the Great Depression, she's known poverty most of her life.

Mae tells her the score...

Artcard rough drafts

Here are some rough concept sketches for the "Muertos" Artcard. Your thoughts? More "dancing girls"? Feedback is appreciated! Warm regards, analee

La Chorina

Tremendous story, Rebecca! I am particularly inspired by the stories I heard of children who've been forced out on their own at an age we would now consider far too young. And yet, these children found their way ~ the resiliance of the human spirit! Would love to have a young performer in the show!

I'd been thinking that our chorine Catrina should be a figure from "the other side" but now I'm wondering if she isn't a young star-struck actress who's in love with the picture shows and dreams of Hollywood...

A local story from the 30's

I have a friend that today told me a story about her grandmother. When her grandmother was young, the family moved from California to Oregon. The family, of Mexican/Spanish descent, were rodeo riders. All the girls in the family were trick riders, and would travel the rodeo circuits with their parents once they reached a certain age. The grandmother, at the time, was determined to be too young to travel with the family to perform in a rodeo in California. She was left behind in Oregon. Disagreeing with this decision, she decided to leave and hitchhiked all the way to California and performed anyway. (She was born around 1910 and was a teenager when this took place.)

I found this interesting, another aspect of life of Latinos in Oregon.

On the subject of Migrants...

I just remembered the book, "Cajas de carton" relatos de la vida peregrina de un nino campesino. It's a series of stories/ memoirs by Francisco Jimenez about his life growing up in the migrant camps in mainly California, I believe. It's a short read, 123 pages. I believe it's set in the late 40's early 50's, but still applicable, I'd think. It might have been written in English and then translated to Spanish. The version I have is in Spanish. It's a moving book.

Singing the Migrants

Yup, Rebecca, I've found the same. It's easier to find information about the folks who migrated west from other parts of the US, such as the Dust Bowl, during the 30s, than it is to find stories about Latinos during that time. Thank heavens Tim located that tremendous article on Impact of the Great Depression on Latino Americans. Many Latinos, in California in particular, where "repatriated" to Mexico (even if they had been born in the US!). I envision a family that travels north to Oregon rather than risk repatriation.

On the bright side, I found a few stunning Woody Guthrie tunes! He'd been commissioned by the WPA to musically chronicle the effects of the GD...

Talking Dust Bowl Blues
Talking Dust Bowl Blues lyrics

Pastures of Plenty
Pastures of Plenty lyrics

Grand Coulee Dam performed by Lonnie Donegan!
Grand Coulee Dam lyrics

And this is a personal favorite, Poor Lazarus
...dead or alive, come up and see me, dead or alive...
Poor Lazarus lyrics

Thoughts on "Dancing Girls"

In response to Olga's post, I became intrigued about the type of Latino performers there were in this era. Needless to say, my initial searches have not revealed much. From a few quick research stabs, I have found that there were several Latino musicians during this time, but mostly on the East Coast, with a few in Los Angeles.

Then I began to think about Vaudeville. Vaudeville itself began to decline during the 1930's due to the increase in films and also the need for theatres to reduce costs. Some vaudevillians were able to recreate their magic on the silver screen. Some continued performing live, as their skills just didn't transfer to film. Some shifted to other types of non-performance work. And some just became unemployed, like countless others.

I then began to look for Latino vaudevillians, and I came across Imogene Coca. She was born in 1908 to performing parents (her father was of Spanish descent) and began dancing and performing at a very early age. An untraditional beauty for her time, she knew she would not be able to have a "standard" leading lady acting career. However, her career began to take off between 1934-1937 when she was recognized for her comedic talents. Prior to this point, she was still performing on the vaudeville circuit.

Here's a physical comedy bit she performed with Sid Caesar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wEj9aSZZZo&feature=related

At any rate, I could completely see a character styled after someone like her. (And I love her physical humor and the fact that it is completely non-verbal - always great for bilingual shows).

My dos centavos.

Back on the Rails

Now that the temperature's hitting 100 degrees or so, what better time to contemplate the coolness of fall, the crisp wind and drying leaves that circle around Dia de Muertos?

Met with artist Analee Fuentes last week, who brought with her a beautiful book of photos by Arthur Rothstein entitled "The Depression Years" (Dover Pub., 1978). Alejandra Gonzales is putting the final touches on our Study Guide as she translates it into Spanish. One startling fact: The Great Depression featured 25% unemployment nationwide. Talk about a call for resilience and ingenuity.

I see one of our biggest challenges with this production is, how to balance the inherent dire circumstances of the era with the traditional irreverance and comedy of Dia de muertos (a good question for Philip Cuomo, who had to balance the WWII-era in the same way). Philip?

My thoughts are, bring on the dancing girls! The glamorous chorines of Busby Berkeley music fame! Rebecca Martinez provided a similar balance with the 'Angel' character in Noche Eterna ~ but she was an otherworldly (del otro lado) personage, surrounded by similar clowns. Will our BB chorine be a figment of our imagination, or a star-struck migrant who's gone a bit west off Broadway?

Employment & Gender

A tidbit from family members who lived through the Depression in Oregon:

Teaching was one of the most common and respectable professions for a woman in those times, but during the Great Depression a law was passed in order to stimulate employment. If a female teacher got married, she had to give up her job. The reasoning was that it would be of benefit for her job to go to someone else, instead of her two-job family. I wonder, what if she married someone who was unemployed?

Artcard Artist: Analee Fuentes

We have yet to hammer out the details, but we anticipate working with Analee Fuentes to design the postcard art. We'll be meeting with Analee later in July; until then, here is a link to check out her work, much of which has to do with Day of the Dead:
http://www.analeefuentes.com/

Also, here is a link to a recent media interview with Analee:
http://ethos.uoregon.edu/online-only/embracing-death/