Warner Bros., a new play by Andrea Sloan Pink

Warner Bros., a new play by Andrea Sloan Pink, has been selected by the Orange County Playwrights Alliance for a staged reading as part of OCPA's Discoveries series of new plays. The reading, to be held January 28th, 2012, at the Empire Theater in the Santa Ana Artists Village, will be directed by Jenni Dillon, an acclaimed Southern California theater director.

"This play focuses on a group of young friends working together on the Warner Bros. lot in the heart of the Burbank film industry. Set during a summer in the 1980's, it follows the friends as they struggle to find love and follow their dreams," said Sloan Pink.

The play is a part of Andrea Sloan Pink's Hollywood Trilogy which includes the plays "Les Hollywood Hills," "Warner Bros.," and the forthcoming "The Golden Age".

"Les Hollywood Hills" received a staged reading directed by Chapman University Theater Professor Tamiko Washington at the Empire Theater in 2011.

Andrea Sloan Pink holds an MFA in screenwriting from the UCLA School of Film and Television.

OCPA Studios Unfolds "Origami" by Andrea Sloan Pink

OCPA Studios continues at Hunger Artists Theatre with the reading of a new play by Andrea Sloan Pink, “Origami”. “Origami” will appear at Hunger Artists Theatre on September 10^th at 4pm. Admission is free.

“Origami”, a winner of the 2007 Panndora Productions New Play Festival, explores what is folded and what unfolds. Ben, a mathematician, and his wife Leslie struggle to find the place where love and work meet when Ben's parent's revelation causes them to re-examine their life together.

Andrea Sloan Pink is a writer-producer working in theater and film. Her award-winning plays have seen performances throughout Southern California. Andrea received an MFA in screenwriting from the UCLA School of Film where her first play, The Physiology of Solar Flares, was produced as part of the Francis Ford Coppola One-Act Festival. Andrea produced and wrote 26 episodes of "The Best and Brightest", a televised film festival hosted by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Lorenzo Lams for Comcast. She earned a Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law and practiced entertainment, internet and technology law. Andrea currently has several feature film projects in development.

“Origami” will appear at Hunger Artists Theatre on September 10^th at 4pm. Admission is free. OCPA Studio’s second season will extend through the end of the year, with informal readings of some of the best plays by local writers. Both organizations enthusiastically anticipate a season that will bring new and exciting theater to Orange County.

The Orange County Playwrights Alliance (OCPA) began on April 1, 1995 with an informal meeting in an oncologist's office in Anaheim. Since then, OCPA has become the fundamental group for playwrights in O.C., presenting staged readings and productions of plays at venues such as the Hunger Artists Theatre, the Vanguard Theatre, Rude Guerrilla Theatre Company, STAGESTheatre, Chapman University, the Curtis Theatre, and Newport Theatre Arts Center. OCPA playwrights have been produced across the United States, and have won national and regional playwrighting awards.

Hunger Artists Theatre Company was founded in 1996 and is the first Orange County based alternative theater. Located on the east end of Fullerton's vibrant Theatre Community, Hunger Artists has transformed an industrial warehouse into an unexpected art-house gem. This intimate storefront theatre seats 50 and stages an array of alternative theatrical entertainment. The Hunger Artists have a long tradition of premiering local playwrights from Fengar Gael's "The Cantor's Tale" to Johnna Adams's "Cockfighters" and "Sans Merci". Focusing on innovative storytelling and producing thought-provoking art, The Hunger Artists pride themselves on hosting an annual playwriting festival, "Beyond Convention" to push the boundaries of traditional theater.

Erica Bennett, Filmmaker and Playwright, Talks About the Making of "Tales of a Golden State: Mendez v Westminster"

SOCA: What inspired you to make the short documentary film "Tales of a Golden State: The Mendez v Westminster Story"?

I interviewed Sylvia Mendez and Gonzalo Mendez, Jr. as part of a classroom assignment for Dr. Anne J. Gilliland's UCLA Department of Information Studies American Archives & Manuscripts course in the winter of 2003 in my 2nd quarter while working on my MLIS with an emphasis in Archival Studies. I had been charged to find a Latino or Hispanic archive and create something for my final project-- a paper, a website, a poster board, all in an effort to help change the archival paradigm.


Ultimately, after three months of driving from archive to archive in search of MvW documents, I chose to write a short, educational documentary script for children on the topic of "What is an Archive?" using the MvW case as a model. This script became the foundation for my 2005 Master's thesis entitled The Archivist as Producer: Reflections on the Production of "In Search of Mendez v. Westminster" where I argue the importance of getting the case into the curriculum of 4th and 11th grade students to help stem high school drop out rates.


In the course of our discussions in 2003, Sylvia and Gonzalo gave me permission to write a play. So I edited the pre-trial testimony and produced it in the spring of 2004 at the UCLA Mendez v. Westminster Symposium. The cast included the acclaimed actor Earl Holliman as Judge Paul McCormick. Also featured in the staged-reading were two CSUF theatre school chums Kevin Waldron as Mr. Holden and Marc Drotman as David Marcus. Two UCLA theatre school graduates Giovanni Garcia and Cheryl Umana Bonilla portrayed the Male and Female plaintiffs, respectively.


I graduated with my MLIS in March of 2005. I continued to work full-time classified at the Cypress College Library, as I sped around from both Long Beach City College Library campuses, Cerritos College Library, and UCI Langson Library on mornings and weekends for nearly a year as an Adjunct and Part-time Librarian, before I was hired by Fullerton College to start my full-time tenure track Systems Librarian position in the fall of 2006. I immediately signed up for Fullerton College Fine Arts Adjunct Faculty / Playwright William Mittler's Saturday morning playwriting class where I wrote El Primer Dia de Clases. Librarian Anita Varela provided much in the way of comments, and Spanish language translation.


2007 passed. Sometime and somehow in the spring of 2008 I connected with Karen Rose, Director of the FC Office of Special Programs. I sent her the script of El Primer Dia de Clases. Mendez Project students read the playscript and decided to meet with me. Karen Rose, Gabe Flores, Rocio Reynoso and I had sodas in the new Student Center and discussed the project.

The FC Mendez Project student assigned to direct transferred to UCLA in the fall of 2008, so I found myself in the role. FC Mendez Project student Isabel Oropeza agreed to assistant direct with me. Gabe Flores and Rocio Reynoso acted and produced. The students set out to recruit from FC Ethnic Studies Professor Adela Lopez' classes. Most of the cast met for the first time with me in Library Study Room 820N, where we discussed our goals and objectives and for historical background, watched the Sandra Robbie documentary, which Sylvia Mendez had given to me and I put on reserve in the FC Library.


FC Communications Professor Marie Perez generously allowed us to rehearse in the campus TV studio on Wednesday afternoons. We had no set or props, except what I purchased. It wasn't very long before we booked a performance at the Dia de los Muertos event on October 30, 2008, and adapted our rehearsals accordingly; we rehearsed in the elements in the quad in front of the FC Library for weeks. We were given 30-minutes by event co-coordinator and FC Ethnic Studies Professor Jerry Padilla, so I chose the final scene of the play, including the audience sing along of "De Colores".


At the same time, NOCCCD Board of Trustees President Mike Matsuda approached me about including the playscript in the new California State Mendez v. Westminster: Civil Rights Curriculum for Primary and Secondary School Teachers he was in the process of co-writing.

Spring 2009 semester brought recasting in some roles, and rehearsals in a FC Fine Arts theatre space. Mike Matsuda introduced me to ASUHSD Counselor Joe Casas, and we booked a 2-day Savanna High School workshop with Gonzalo Mendez, Jr. and Mr. Matsuda in attendance. Mr. Matsuda also introduced me to Amin David of Los Amigos of Orange County in January, and we brought the organization an excerpt to an early Wednesday morning meeting. I cannot stress enough how Mr. Matsuda's advocacy on our behalf propelled the FC Mendez Project production of El Primer Dia de Clases forward. Finally, I scheduled a full-production at the Wilshire Auditorium on the 63rd anniversary of Judge Paul McCormick's March 21st decision, to be followed by a Panel Discussion with many of the MvW family members and plaintiffs.

SOCA: How did you fund the project?


One morning in March 2009, several days before the community premiere of the FC Mendez Project production of El Primer Dia de Clases, former FC President and current NOCCCD Vice Chancellor of Instruction, Dr. Kathleen O'Connell Hodge, walked past my office. She asked me if I was videotaping the production.


I worked quickly with Academic Services Dean Carol Mattson and she hired Fred Paskiewicz of Edit Sweet to videotape the production and panel discussion, which immediately followed the play. Fortunately the two leads in the play wore body mics, there were three floor mics, and a mic at the onstage podium. Unfortunately, the several handheld mics for the panel discussion were not modulated, and the audio was recorded sounding distant and often unintelligable.

I screened the play for Carol Mattson and she cried. I told her about the significant loss of the panel discussion, which included stories from Arthur Palomino, Dr. Jose Moreno, and Mike Matsuda, as well as Nadine Bermudez' discussion about her dissertation research. She found the money to pay for a reshoot. I posed the question, why not shoot it for real? Why not in the TV studio, and not a library study room? Why not filmically with an invisible background framing the gorgeous faces of MvW family members? Why not have FC Mendez Project students interview the family members whose parents they portrayed in the play?


On Friday, May 22, 2009 we shot a 12-hour day. It was the most exhausting coordination and direction of effort I believe I have ever experienced. Director of Photography Fred Paskiewicz captured the beauty of every participant. It was beautiful. Charming. Emotional. It was the first time some of the MvW families had an opportunity to share their stories.



The participants were:


• Sylvia Mendez interviewed by FC Mendez Project student Jessica Ramos

• Gonzalo Mendez, Jr. interviewed by FC Mendez Project student Mike Hernandez

• Sandra Mendez Duran interviewed by FC Mendez Project student Alma Aguilar

• Virginia Guzman interviewed by FC Mendez Project student Yadira de la Cruz

• Beverly Guzman Gallegos interviewed by Erica Bennett

• Josefina Soto Ramirez, Silvino Ramiez, Phyllis Soto Ramirez Zepeda, and Henry Ramirez interviewed by FC Mendez Project student Ricardo Muniz and Erica Bennett

• Akiko Munemitu Nakauchi and Janice Munemitsu interviewed by FC Mendez Project student Miguel Valencia and Erica Bennett

• Isabel Ayala and Jeanne Ayala Murphy interviewed by FC Mendez Project student Rocio Reynoso• Joe Casas interviewed by Erica Bennett

• Adela Lopez interviewed by Erica Bennett

• FC Mendez Project students Gabe Flores, Rocio Reynoso, and Ricardo Muniz, and Timoteo Marselino Gonzalez• Terry Ramirez attended but chose not to speak on camera.

• Arthur Palomino, Nadine Bermudez, Mike Matsuda, and Dr. Jose Moreno were unable to attend.


Through the magic of the day I knew we certainly had an oral history of participants for the FC Library Archives and Special Collections. But I wrote the first 6-pages of the shooting script outline around FC Mendez Project student Timoteo Marselino Gonzalez' song California. I imagined him backlit by a sunset through the FC TV studio back door. His figure, the community standing up against the world. My "John Wayne" moment. But Timoteo didn't show up at call-time. We were breaking down the cameras when he rolled up on his bicycle with his guitar over one shoulder and told me, I'm here. And then, I knew we had a movie.


However it was not until Carol Mattson hired CSUF film student and FC alumni David McKinley to edit the footage with me in August, Anita Varela translated Josefina Soto Ramirez' oral history interview in mid-September, and Sylvia Mendez provided me with the perfect ending, that I knew we had a film.


SOCA: Many documentaries emerge in the editing process. Was this true for you?


Absolutely true in this case. I had a shooting script for the first 6 pages. I had the play footage for the middle. Then I was faced with 12 hours of oral histories, and (valid) participant expectations that they would all be included in the film. We built the story in the editing room around them all. We included everybody. I was thrilled how it all fell into place. It was beautiful; mathematical really. It told itself.


SOCA: How much time did you spend editing the footage and what tools did you use?


Dean Carol Mattson hired an editor to work with me last fall. We had a cut in less than a month. Used Final Cut Pro. We’ll be cutting it again from 39:59 to just over 28 minutes in April, based on notes from an interested television programmer.


SOCA: In addition to being a filmmaker, you also write plays. How do you balance working in the two forms?


I worked 7 days a week last year presenting 3 staged readings of my plays and producing, directing, and editing this play and film. It took a huge toll on my personal and financial life. I just worked from deadline to deadline, minute to minute. Remember I also am responsible for a full-time tenure track Librarian position at Fullerton College. This year, I’ve slowed down and am writing more, and am spending more time thinking about programs to develop in the Library in collaboration with other College faculty.


SOCA: Why was making this film important?


It’s really for the kids; the students who participated in making it, and the students for whom we made it. My goal as an Archivist/Dramatist was to find a way to bring the archives out of their dusty stacks and into the classroom to the at-risk students who long to see faces and hear stories they can relate to. Something that will inspire them to stay in school, and that there are people who cared for them, and struggled for them to succeed.


SOCA: Now that "Tales of a Golden State: Mendez v Westminster" is out in the world, what will your next project be?


I have a draft of a new play entitled “Water Closet” that I am about to start rewriting. It’s about a German-born, naturalized American citizen and English Professor and Poet, who immigrated to the United States with her Dutch grandmother in the 1960s. It’s very much about the effect of war on women’s psyches; WWII, the war of the sexes, the culture wars, the effect of feminism on relationships.


It’s a homage to my grandmother, who I only met four times in my life, and who I always longed to know better. It’s fully from my imagination with some stories passed down, but it’s not a biography, autobiography, or a history play. One of the characters is Giant Ken Doll, so it’s a (little) irreverent, too.



SOCA: Thanks, Erica. We wish you continued luck with your creative work.

For more information on the making of the film, see

http://fcmendezproject.pbworks.com/El-Primer-Dia-de-Claseshttp://fcmendezproject.pbworks.com/Tales-of-a-Golden-State:-The-Mendez-v-Westminster-Story

Tamiko Washington Named a Best Theater Director by the Examiner

The Examiner's list of Best Theater in Orange County for 2009 named Tamiko Washington for her direction of "Trojan Horse" at Chapman University, as reviewed by tireless theater critic and fellow OCPA member, Jordan Young.

I had the pleasure of working with Tamiko when she directed a staged reading of my one-act "Ode to Provence" in April 2009 at STAGES Theater. With very little time, she did an amazing job, using her signature skills as the originator of American Noh theater to block the play, giving the reading the feel of a full production.

Congratulations to Tamiko for her continuing excellent work in theater!

For the full list of the Examiner's Best in Theater 2009, see http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-4129-LAOC-Theatre-Examiner~y2009m12d27-OC-Theatre-101-The-best-of-2009

New Year's Eve with Dezso Magyar

People say that how you spend New Year's Eve dictates how you will spend the rest of the year. I hope this is true.

So I walk in to a New Year's Eve party, and the first person I'm introduced to is Dezso Magyar, the Hungarian filmmaker and CAO of Chapman University's film school. Of course, we first discussed Hungarian food, our favorite hotels in Budapest (Dezso's is the Four Seasons), how Hungarians have influenced the film industry (Fox, Zukor, Foreman), and Greystone Mansion where I was married and where Dezso ran AFI for many years.

Turning to our shared passion, independent film making, Dezso correctly stated that the problem isn't that films are not getting made. In fact, in 2009, Sundance had more than 6,092 short entries alone and thousands of features, most of which will never get a distribution deal. The problem is that many of these films lack quality material and a quality cast. It may sound obvious to start with quality material, but if it's so easy, why isn't everybody doing it? It's a sin to waste celluloid. So, before picking up the camera in the New Year, get a piece of material as sharp as a scissors' edge and attract actors that can wickedly inhabit the role. Make 2010 the year of your dreams!

An Interview with Theater Director Carlos Martin

Carlos Martin, a Southern California based actor-director, directs "Light", a new one-act play by Andrea Sloan Pink opening this Saturday, December 5th, at STAGEStheater in Fullerton. The play features Oscar Martinez Jr., Ted Leib and Gina Allen and runs through December 2oth. www.stagesoc.org

Carlos took a few minutes before tonight's dress rehearsal to grant SOCA Film and Theater an interview.

SOCA: Carlos, you've been a working actor for years. How does this inform your work as a director?

I have an insight as to the nature of how actors work. I try to be aware of actor's needs and give them the freedom to explore. I have also been directed by many directors and I observe a lot. I see bad directing all the time, and I learn from it. Some directors over direct, or microdirect, and some do not direct at all.


So often actors walk away from a rehearsal saying "I'm not getting anything from him/her" or "I don't know what they want." You can see those pieces on most any stage in the world. It is obvious that a director hasn't done their homework when you leave a theater saying "Why did they do that?" or, "What was that about?" Not that you didn't like it, because that is subjective and there will always be people who don't like your work, but that you didn't understand the vision and the choices that were made.


As an actor you have to be willing to put yourself on the line and trust the director to guide you. As a director you have to realize it is not about you or even the actor, but about the piece. Someone was motivated to write it. Why? That is what you have to find out, and give the audience.

SOCA: When you get a new piece of material, what is your process? Where do you start?

I read it! I look for works that make me passionate and give me a vision right away. I want to see the play in my head as I read. I block it, and hear the lines, and find the hidden gems the writer has given me that will make it unique. I also love research so I like works that challenge me to learn. I am a big proponent of Dramaturgy and giving the actors information and getting them off book as soon as possible.


Too often as an actor, you find your stride halfway or at the end of a run because you finally have it in your body. I want the actors to get that feeling right away. This confidence shows on stage and the choices will always be more interesting and more compelling because they have done the work and had time to figure out their character's story.

SOCA: Tell us some of your tips for taking a good performance from an actor and making it great.

Communication. Oftentimes actors are their own worst enemy. They get in their own way by acting. I try to find ways to speak to them, and listen to them, and ask for their input. Every actor is different and needs different things. As a director it is my job to be a sort of parent; you give guidance and lead by example, then let them go live life in the guise of a character you have helped them to create.


Drawing from reality always. Making sure every movement or stillness, no matter how dramatic or silly, is motivated by reality. But again letting them explore by giving them the information, tools, and freedom they need to be successful.


Actors are very smart people. They are intuitive and can show you things about a character you didn't know where there.

SOCA: You are a young director with the potential to become a leader in the Southern California theater community. What would you like to create and what are your goals?

I want people to want to work with me, not just because I can offer a job, or it is a part that they believe they are perfect for, but because they want to be involved in the process with me. I want to create a community of artists that are passionate about art and can infuse the community with that passion.


My goals are to make my livelihood as an artist, to see the world and share what I see through the arts. Oh, and I wouldn't mind a Corvette!


SOCA: Thanks, Carlos! I've certainly enjoyed working with you and I hope you get your Corvette!

Different. Bold. Original. The Holiday Stimulus Package presented by OCPA and STAGEStheater

Tired of the same old holiday shows? Looking for something new? OCPA & STAGEStheatre bring you a"Holiday Stimulus Package"Different. Bold. Original. All new works from OC playwrights who have been produced across America.

The 40-member Orange County Playwrights Alliance (OCPA) and STAGEStheatre are teaming up to bring you a Holiday Stimulus Package – a production of original, funny and intelligent new plays about the holidays.

The production runs December 5-20 at STAGEStheatre, 400 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton, with showtimes Saturdays @ 5:00pm and Sundays @ 3:00pm. Tickets are $12, $10 for seniors and students. Ticket reservations may be made at stagesoc.org; unreserved tickets will be released 30 minutes prior to curtain. Information at 714.902.5716.

The Christmas Tape by John Lane [Stanton] - Hannah's holiday greeting to the kids and grandkids may not be so cordial this year - Grandma has a few things to say. Directed by Yvonne Robertson. Featuring Leslie Joyce, Cori Knight and Janelle Smith.

The Bike by Beverly Arrowsmith [Laguna Woods] – at Christmas, Jessica decides to buy herself the perfect gift, the one her husband should have given her years ago. Directed by Jill Forbath (Founder, West Coast Ten-Minute Play Festival). Featuring Marcia Bonitz.

Will Work for Food by Donna Bader [Laguna Beach] – Guess who's coming to dinner: a homeless man. Are Steven's affluent friends as tolerant and generous as they perceive themselves to be? Directed by Katherine James. Featuring Justine De Jesus, Stu Eriksen, Alexis Kiley, Jared Sorenson and Jim Thoms.

We Can Still Rock 'n' Roll by Eric Eberwein [Huntington Beach] - an edgy couple rekindle their marriage at Christmas by recounting their youthful misadventures and the way their unique and wild love helped save each other's lives. Directed by Tamiko Washington (Chapman University). Featuring Tyler Cherman and Taylor McDermott.

Christmas Future by Ray Jacob [Costa Mesa] - a down-on-his-luck Santa crashes a wealthy couple's Christmas celebration, cutting them down to size. Directed by Jo Black-Jacob (Long Beach Playhouse). Featuring Chad Glazener, Jen Vogt Lowell and David Rusiecki (with Fred Peters at selected performances).

Light by Andrea Sloan Pink [Irvine] - Joe returns home with a gift for his brother Mort and his wife Tabitha. Will Mort and Tabitha accept it? Or will the mysterious nature of faith intervene? Directed by Carlos Martin. Featuring Gina Allen, Ted Leib and Oscar Martinez Jr.

Happy Holidays by Jerry Berning [Huntington Beach] – one inquisitive and entertainingly loose-lipped grandmother prefers to celebrate Christmas year-round, if only as an escape from reality. Directed by Geoff Gread (New Voices Playwrights Theatre). Featuring Jo Anne Carrillo and Rachel Panas.

Chelsea De Jesus, Stage Manager / Trisha Siedlecki, Assistant Stage ManagerBenjamin T. Morrow, Sound Designer / Philip Presentadi, Lighting Designer / Nate Cargill, Set DesignerOCPA began in 1995 and has grown to be one of the largest playwrights groups on the west coast. It presents a quarterly staged reading series of new works (Discoveries) as well as occasional co-productions with notable OC storefront theatres. OCPA members have won the OC WEEKLY Award for Best New Play (Johnna Adams's Cockfighters), the Reva Shiner Playwriting Award (Johnna Adams's Sans Merci), the Las Vegas Little Theatre New Works Competition (Eric Eberwein's Great Western Wanderlust), the Grove Theatre Center New Play Initiative (David Hogan's Capital) and others. STAGEStheatre traces its roots to the early 1990s. It was started by students and alumni of CSUF and Fullerton College. They had produced theatre in Hollywood, and they wanted to present the kind of theatre they loved in north Orange County. Its attractive, welcoming Fullerton venue has hosted numerous new plays – in fact, it is safe to say STAGEStheatre has produced and presented more new plays than any other theatre in the county. STAGEStheatre has put up more than 275 productions in its history.

Order tickets at stagesoc.org – just $12, $10 students/seniors.Info: 714.902.5716