{"id":3017,"date":"2014-03-26T13:01:16","date_gmt":"2014-03-26T13:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/oldStageRaw\/?p=3017"},"modified":"2014-03-28T20:46:39","modified_gmt":"2014-03-28T20:46:39","slug":"memorable-moments-in-l-a-theater-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/oldStageRaw\/memorable-moments-in-l-a-theater-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorable Moments in L.A. Theater (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pasadena<\/a><\/h2>\n

The Meaning of Tribe<\/b><\/h2>\n

CATHY CARLTON, actress-producer <\/b><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a helpful translation guide for those unfamiliar with Carlton\u2019s idiosyncratic prose, or with the players to whom she refers:<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cRichie\u201d: actor-producer Rich Werner<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cKittie\u201d: actor-producer Cathy Carlton<\/a>, the author of this story.<\/p>\n

\u201cBickie\u201d: actor David Bickford<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cLynnie\u201d: actress Lynn Odell<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cScottie\u201d: actor Scott McKinley<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNoon\u201d: actress, teacher, co-artistic director (Ghost Theatre Company) Katharine Noon<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSeldis\u201d: director, co-artistic director (Ghost Theatre Company) Mark Seldis<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRivera\u201d: director\/artistic director (Playwrights Arena) Jon Lawrence Rivera <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBobby\u201d: actor Robert Lane <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJohn\u201d: actor John Allore <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFitzy\u201d: actor Tom Fitzpatrick <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJahnke\u201d: actor\/performance artist John Jahnke<\/a><\/p>\n

Carlton refers to one of the annual performance marathon fundraisers held at, and for, Hollywood\u2019s Theatre of NOTE, on Cahuenga Boulevard. She currently lives in Massachusetts, where she grew up. <\/i><\/p>\n

\"Luis<\/b>
\nLuis Alfaro<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him first at that Notey-ist of NOTE events, the Marathon.\u00a0A freewheeling fundraiser held in January, the Marathon is a series of performances by guest artists usually starting in the early afternoon and going into the wee hours. The weirder the acts, the better, for us at NOTE. (I remember one year, some of us on the Art Board huddled to figure out how to get the blood off the floor).<\/p>\n

\u201cRichie, long time Marathon producer, started booking people at Thanksgiving.\u00a0That one year, he buzzed about excitedly ,\u201cKitty, I got [writer-performer-poet-teacher, MacArthur Foundation \u201cgenius\u201d Luis] Alfaro.\u201d Me, swamped with admin and press stuff, for the company was all \u201cyeah yeah, Alfaro, good , uh huh.\u201d\u00a0 I had heard of Luis Alfaro, all the cool kids seemed to know him and I think he was fancy pants at the Taper at the time, but I had never met him or seen his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cDay of\u00a0 — between 11 p.m. and midnight. More people than should be are crammed into that black box on Cahuenga. Luis shambles onstage and puts a full bottle of tequila and a shot glass on the small table next to him. We look around at each other (well, this will be easier to clean up than blood.) And he starts to talk.\u00a0 And drink.\u00a0Every two sentences, it seems, he takes a shot. We were mesmerized.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember the specifics of the monologue, but I still burn remembering the overall feeling. He spoke of his family, of Los Angeles, of his students, his commute, of crawling out from under, of food, of community, of what we have to do to get by as artists, all\u00a0the while slugging that entire bottle of tequila. He got loud and passionate; we got loud and passionate.\u00a0 I remember thinking \u201chow the fuck is it possible that this scruffy, beautiful Latino man can make sense of the world to this little white girl from the North Country. And how the fuck can he do it downing that bottle of tequila? Is this daddy gonna stay on his feet?\u00a0 Oh yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat night, he spoke of his tribe.\u00a0 I looked around at my tribe then and, though I am now far away, I still do.\u00a0 Bicky on my left, Lynnie down front, Scotty in the back. I thought of the others in my orbit, Noon, Seldis, Rivera, Bobby, John, Fitzy, Jahnke, and I was just a bit less adrift.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a gift to be able to tell a story using an outside action distracting the audience.\u00a0 (I have since seen him tell a similar tale while stuffing himself with Twinkies.) The story remains the same, and I never forgot it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFucking Luis Alfaro, man.\u00a0 Nice get, Richie.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dancing in the Dark<\/b><\/h2>\n

JOHN POLLONO, actor-playwright<\/b><\/p>\n