Tag: Theatre

stonefruit staged reading

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My first full-length script is getting a staged reading!!!

I started writing šŸ’stonefruitšŸ’ in 2015 as a junior in college. It was a 5 page script at first. Then I expanded it to 28 pages. And then put it away for 5 and a half yearsā€¦.

Last year, I revisited it through @bindlestiff_sfā€™s full-length playwriting class, expanding it again and writing a first draft of 64 pages.

Now, in 2022, the play is 82 pages and ready for actors and a director to work with it so I can keep improving it. The staged reading will help me figure out what works and what needs more. Time to keep growing šŸŖ“

The story of šŸ”²Teo and šŸ”³Carrie has stuck with me all these years. Maybe itā€™s because it comes from a real moment in my life when I was barely 20 years old, being on the brink of adulthood and navigating new and old relationships/friendships.

With this story, I strive to write the realities of growing up, family legacies, farm workers, immigrants, and migration.

Iā€™m thankful to Bindlestiff and @velascoarts for uplifting my voice and for being a safe space for me as a woman of color, as a Filipina, as a Latina.

Come watch šŸ’stonefruitšŸ’ on May 1 and the other plays throughout the first week of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Iā€™d love to hear what you think šŸ˜ƒ Link in bio for tickets (available for in-person and virtual livestream).

Also yes swipe for the videos I watched on YouTube for research

More MĆ”s Marami Arts = 2021 Mover & Shaker

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More theatre, more inclusion, more community! @more.mas.marami is the 2021 Mover & Shaker and I couldnā€™t be more grateful for this amazing lil collective. šŸŒŸ

Thereā€™s something special, magical, and uplifting about live theatre and our hope is that everyone – no matter your background, experience level, socioeconomic status – can be part of it.

Stay watching us šŸ™‚ and support local theatre artists in your life šŸ‘‹šŸ½

āž”ļø moremasmarami.org for our e-newsletter, upcoming programs, and ways to donate šŸ‘€šŸ™‡šŸ½ā€ā™€ļø

#PlayIn19Days

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Iā€™m 8 days into my self-proclaimed #PlayIn19Days challenge andā€¦ Iā€™m doing okay. In terms of my own guidelines, Iā€™m actually a little behind. But I have a great idea/approach that Iā€™ve never done before so I think that earns me a little leeway. Anyway, I wanted to blog a little bit about what I’m writing, to document my process and articulate the story. So here you go:

The play Iā€™m writing is entitled Waiting for Villa. Itā€™s about a Nicaraguan community that is uprooted by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. Specifically (as I have written so far), it follows a man and a woman facing employment and relationship issues all while the storm rages Central America.

My idea is to tell the story through several short scenes (1-3 pages long) and this is how Iā€™m approaching the 19 days part. Each day, my goal is to write at least 1 scene that moves the story forward. I think itā€™s neat and somewhat easy. This approach also lends to the fact that I did not live this experience, living in Nicaragua, escaping a hurricane. The short scenes allow me to write very little, while also opening a window to the truth.

This story is inspired by the small village of Villa Catalina, in Chinandega, Nicaragua. I was privileged to have visited the village through Teatro Catalina and Amigos for Christ last March. I got to see this poor community and meet some of the families and play with a lot of the children. We got to learn about the history of Villa, from before Hurricane Mitch all the way to the present. Many people donā€™t realize that the effects of a hurricane can be detrimental and life-changing. Whatā€™s worse is that some governments ignore the state of living of their people, making it difficult for families to prosper and children to get an education. Teatro Catalina is a company that advocates for theatre education for kids in Villa Catalina. A lot of people in the states (and everywhere) underestimate the power of theatre, but for a kid in Nicaragua, it can mean confidence and leadership and hope for the future. So Iā€™m using my theatre education and my privilege to write a play, to enlighten the world on the horrific hurricane and the hope that followed.

I hope to finish in 19 days mostly to just finish it but also to give me time to edit it. I will reach out and do some more research to make sure that the story is realistic and factual. And I may want to submit it to some contests because why not? I really want this story to be shared, one way or another. If you have any insights, please share. šŸ™‚Ā 

On another note, writing every day is helping me, emotionally. I knew that itĀ would help me feel more whole, more purposeful.Ā Creating is good for my soul!

To follow my writing and life on a more daily/140-character basis, you can follow me on Twitter @marissamaym .

Staging Hapa

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I want to share a quick update about a big project I have embarked on.

Last school year, I wrote a play, Hapa Cup of Sugar. HapaĀ follows 22-year-old fresh-out-of-college Leila. Leila works in her parents’ laundromat with her younger sister and brother. She moves through the world as a hapa, someone who is bi-racial. As she learns how others perceive her, Leila tries to figure out what happens next in her life.

I had the privilege of putting on a staged reading of HapaĀ through SCU’s “New Playwrights’ Festival.” It was an awesome experience working with a director and a cast! I loved seeing my words come to life right before my eyes (it was super surreal).

That was just the first part, though.

Now, I have been privileged to receive the Hackworth Grant from my school’s ethics center to stage my play for real. That means with a cast, with a set, with costumes, with lights… in front of my classmates and peers! THIS IS HUGE!

The whole reason I started even thinking about writing this play back in Spring 2014 was to tell a story about someone who was different and to tell that story to my school. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity, to share my words with the SCU community.

But I also feel empowered and responsible. The point of my project Staging Hapa Cup of SugarĀ is to combat racism. It’s to tell a story about a girl who has not only graduated college, but who was also the first to graduate from college in her family, who grew up bi-racial in the Bay Area and was thrown into a school populated primarily by white people, who takes care of her siblings in a low-income home. I believe that this story needs to be shared with the community in order to create more understanding of race and diversity at SCU.

For those of you that know me, you know that I have been heavily involved with the Multicultural Center at school. I spent my first year at SCU on the Japanese Student Association board (I am not Japanese, just curious about the culture!) and I dedicated the past two years on MCC Staff. As a senior, I will continue to dedicate my time to diversity and inclusion through Staging Hapa.

Part of Staging Hapa is producing the play and another part is socially engaging with SCU students. We are starting a dialogue around diversity on social media, tabling in front of Benson, and conducting a talk-back discussion after the performances. Stay tuned for more information!

You will definitely see more of Staging HapaĀ without a doubt! Check us out on social media starting next week and check out the play on November 18 and 19 in the Fess Parker Studio.

TLDR; I wrote a play and now it’s really happening!!! Thanks for reading! Ask for details!