In This Issue:
Featured Feminist: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Theater Throwbacks:
Brian Mulligan
David Gorschein
Rory Smith
Mattie Limas
Ray Post
Press Release by Eileen Hope Tran
Featured Feminist:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ginsburg, sometimes known as Notorious R.B.G. made her mark in American history not only by being the longest serving Jewish Supreme Court Justice and, at times, the only female Justice, but by fighting on behalf of the individual rights of the American people. One of her most notable accomplishments was her work to amend Title VII in response to the outcome of the court case Ledbetter v. Goodyear which maintained that businesses were allowed to discriminate against their female employees by way of lesser pay without having to face legal consequences so long as the female employee had no knowledge of their pay difference. Ginsburg took great issue with this and made it her business to fight for change on the legislative level. This led to the passing of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which protected individuals experiencing this kind of discrimination. Ginsburg's role in our government has been crucial to so many of the large and progressive shifts in the last 27 years. As the American public began to become more radicalized in recent years, Ginsburg's decisions have followed suit. She has shown us all what great determination, strong morals, and a killer attitude can do. She has inspired and continues to inspire countless individuals, both young and old, to fight their own battles with the same grace with which she conducted her own life. We honor her legacy in our every day actions and in the freedoms we enjoy because of her tireless work on behalf of those underrepresented voices within our country. R.B.G., we offer you our immense gratitude and reverence. While you may not travel this mortal plane any longer, your achievements will live on in the hearts of many. Thank you for your service.
Theatre Throwbacks:
Brian Mulligan
I was first drawn to theatre when I entered the 8th grade – the beginning of high school in Vancouver, Canada. My 11th grade brother got involved in an original play in which he portrayed a Droog – a very cool, very violent character taken from the film A Clockwork Orange. It was his only play, but I was fascinated by the show and looked up to him for having the guts to go on stage. That same year I was in a half-year Drama class, and I created a character I called “Mr. Nerves.” He was a nervous wreck but had to deliver a speech - which I either wrote or outlined and delivered extemporaneously. I debuted during a lunch time performance on the same auditorium stage my brother strode that year.
Something I did got a laugh. Then another laugh. Then a wave of laughter broke over me. I was hooked by the actor-centered power of live theatre. It probably wasn’t very good at all, but I knew I liked that feeling.
By the end of high school I was one of the big fish in the Drama program, partnering with my best friend to play classic comedy duos: Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and Oscar and Felix in “The Odd Couple”. We both auditioned for the handful of reputed theatre schools in Canada and got in to the same one.
I quickly learned I did not know ANYTHING about this art form that I had declared I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So began my journey in real training for a real craft. A career on the Canadian professional stage is all I desired. I achieved that by the age of 25, but I knew I was just beginning. Carol Rosenfeld - an acting teacher from the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York - came to Vancouver to teach scene study intensives to professional actors. She changed my life by opening the door to real doing in acting – more like the real experience of living than I’d ever felt on stage. I didn’t know it at the time, but my North Star became HB Studio, where I went to study with Carol and the fabled Uta Hagen for a year. That year turned into 7. I never again lived in Canada, but plied my trade in New York, in US regional theatre, then eventually Los Angeles. I became an acting teacher by accident, but in retrospect, my fascination with the craft made that inevitable. I love teaching and learning and acting to this day. I have returned to teach by Carol’s side at HB Studio these past few years – full circle. I’ve been lucky to spend my entire adult life in this work.
David Gorschein
These are photos from 2005, when I performed at the Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow, Russia. I was a college student at the time (at the University of Michigan), and I participated in an intercultural travel program, led by Professor Kate Mendeloff, who directed a production of Tennessee Williams’ The Notebook of Trigorin. That play is an adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, stamped with Williams’ flair. We rehearsed the show in the U.S. and then staged it at the first, original Moscow Art Theatre- which is a small building surrounded by a beautiful park. (We learned a lot about Russian customs; in fact, some cast members and I were officially reprimanded for standing on the grass during a rehearsal!)
It was such an awesome experience being in Moscow, and in particular performing on this stage, at this theater, where the Seagull was first presented in the 19th century! I had heard so much about Chekhov and I learned about the history of Russian theater- but seeing it and being there illustrated a different aspect of that legacy for me.
In addition to performing, as part of the International Theatre Festival we students were encouraged to attend many shows (not only Chekhov stories) in theaters throughout Moscow, presented in languages I do not/did not understand.
As an audience member I saw the value of engaging with theater non-verbally/non-textually, through the stage picture and the aesthetics. I learned there are other ways to “get” what’s going on onstage… or, I learned that not understanding dramatic action or dialogue does not have to mean being disengaged from a performance.
This kind of theater-going experience, of diverse content & form, was eye-opening for me. And, it has stayed with me all these years later. Recalling these memories now makes me nostalgic…
Rory Smith
Some of my favorite times spent growing up were listening to musicals or watching them with my Dad. On Saturday mornings, he would drive us over to my grandmother’s house in Medford, MA, while we listened to the Broadway radio station put on by students at Emerson College, called Standing Room Only. I would look out the windows, watching the Massachusetts foliage turn from green to yellow to orange throughout the fall, and listen to songs that made my little heart sing. He also gave me CD soundtracks that I would play on my boombox at night as I fell asleep. My favorites were Into the Woods, Wicked, Sunday in the Park with George, and Les Miserables.
Occasionally, as a special treat, he would take me to see a professional production. I remember seeing a regional production of Into the Woods at the Newton Playhouse when I was about five. A nice lady at the front desk gave me some Froot Loops and apple juice as we entered the theatre. After the song “Agony!” the princes leapt over our heads to exit through the house. It was exhilarating. I had never felt so big yet so small at the same time.
My parents took notice of my interest in theatre, especially musicals, and my mother decided to sign me up for drama camp. When she told me, I was hesitant. I was extremely shy in most scenarios, and I was happy to listen and watch theatre but I was scared to actually participate.
My dad reassured me; he said if I went to drama camp and didn’t like it, he would give me a dollar. I’m happy to say that I never asked him for that dollar.
I realized that, though I was a shy kid and would remain that way until we moved across the country and I was forced to come out of my shell, theatre was a completely different story. I made great friends, I was able to express myself and be creative. I may not have known it then, but I had found a passion that would sustain me for the rest of my life.
Mattie Limas
I had actually never anticipated being in anything theatre related for the majority of my life. Ever since I was little, I was Whiz Kid in almost any subject (partially due to the model minority BS and trying to compensate for my fear of being unwanted for my queerness haha…).
I especially excelled in mathematics and I loved drawing. My mom, Christina, had told me that I should be an architect and design her a house to live in, a dream that I still hold myself to completing sometime in my life, minus the architect part.
It all really changed in my freshman year of high school. I had recently transferred to Henry J. Kaiser High School in Fontana, CA. I was taking a Drama class with my teacher, Wendi Johnson. She had assigned me a scene from Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, where I was supposed to play the fish. I had this whole setup for my entrances: I would come rolling in on a skateboard as the fish and nag as the fish does. I enjoyed myself a lot and my teacher noticed that immediately, and almost instantly swooped in and convinced me to join the Drama club and then take the secondary drama course the next year. And the rest is history really.
I became very involved in the theatre department, getting private acting coaching from her (free of charge, thank goodness), traveling all over the country on theatre trips, competing in almost every theatre acting competition possible in the SoCal area, doing every single show every single year, etc. I loved every second of it, and being creative while also indulging my academic self in the AP classes I took was so valuable. Majoring in theatre wasn't even a question when I came to CSULB.
As of late, I’ve been questioning whether acting is the only thing I want to do, to a healthy degree of course. I think that acting will always be a passion of mine, but I think we’d all be lying if we didn't admit we’d be some other profession in another world under different circumstances, or that we can only have one passion. Right now, activism, dramaturgy, and pedagogy seem really interesting to me, but time will tell what path(s) I follow. Ultimately though, I owe so much to Wendi for opening up my eyes to a whole new world of me, and I absolutely strain to think of what architect me would have been like (not very fun I imagine).
Ray Post
This photo was taken at the Lyric Theater in Times Square where I saw On The Town on Broadway in 2015. This particular night happened to be on the day that the Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal in all 50 states. I had only come out a year prior and I honestly didn't realize how much this issue was weighing me down until my peer announced to everyone with great glee that the decision was made. Immediately, on hearing those words, I burst into tears. The feeling in that room was warm and electric. I was in a room with about a hundred people I didn't know a lick about three days prior and yet I felt completely safe and totally accepted. I already knew that theatre was the thing I wanted to spend my life doing. That day simply affirmed in my heart and my head that I had chosen correctly. The whole city was buzzing that night and the show we saw blew the roof off. In my young life, I had not been given many reasons to feel pride in the actions of my country. But that day, I was proud. I was prouder than I have ever been and I was held and supported by everyone around me.
I am thankful for this experience and for the community of theatre artists that have been fighting tirelessly for decades to create the ripples in our culture that resulted in this big wave of progress. When I am feeling discouraged about the current state of affairs, I look back on this day and on the pure, unbridled joy I was allowed to feel and I know that change is possible. When I do return to Broadway, maybe more good things will happen!
Exciting announcement! Feminist Theatre Makers was featured in an article for the Daily 49er, CSULB's longest-running newspaper company.
In this article, we discussed the goals, history, and upcoming events to look forward to in the future of FTM.
Feminist Theatre Makers' Feature Article can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/3iZbeC0
Make sure to check it out!
*press release by Eileen Tran
Comments