“Catch” explores the beauty of a tough existence
Lauren Mueller | 6-21-2010 | Comments |
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Making a trip to Streetlamp Studios, the thespian portion of “Art Share,” a community development center in South LA, sends one rolling down labyrinthine one-way streets and between grimy warehouses. But the scenery is significantly different in the 84-seat theater tucked away behind a small art gallery. Red, velvety curtains mask cinder-block walls, while clip lights and two concert speakers transform an industrial warehouse into a makeshift theater. The main course for the evening is a production called “Catch,” a show directed by Naisa Wong and composed of two one-acts, respectively titled “Sideline” and “Catch.” Both pieces are anecdotal compilations depicting the coming-of-age experiences of young men growing up in South Central Los Angeles.
The first piece, “Sideline”, written by Jenny Vaugn Hall, depicts four young men on a basketball court venturing to help a troubled teenager navigate his way into manhood. The second, “Catch” brings together three generations of fathers and sons (two of whom are convicted criminals) in a prison hospice unit to “traverse physical and emotional barriers [and] to find connection with each other, with God, and ultimately life itself.” In taking with the show’s title, “Sideline” begins with a ball, and “Catch” ends with a ball, in both cases symbolizing the sacred bond between a father and son.
Despite the distraction of a few technical problems, “Sideline” serves up a cheering exhibition of energy and talent. Gritty stories of abandoned childhoods are counterbalanced with occasional bouts of joyful humor. The actors, most of them students, bring a pleasing enthusiasm and fearlessness to their roles, and joy the audience with their various thespian talents. Donald Henderson (DC) and Justin Key (Robert) delight with their respective dancing and singing skills, while all five actors implicitly advise viewers not to challenge their visibly accomplished basketball technique. The piece ends with a tender performance by Aaron Levi (Cole) who tells a poignant story of surviving the “jungle within” to become a man.
The show’s tone becomes more somber in the production’s second piece and namesake, “Catch.” Maturely written by Lisa Sharon Harper, this play challenges the viewer to sympathize with two one-time criminals (father and son) and thereby to reassess one’s concept of humanity in the understanding that “a hard man” can also still be “a good man”. The play has a numbing effect on the audience, which is obliged to witness a family reconciliation at the bedside of a dying murderer, Grandpa Joe. Grandpa Joe, played by Kabin Thomas, steals the show with his very believable mix of deadening woe and sharp witty humor. Tanya Raisa Mironowski is a rock as the soft-spoken but resilient prison nurse, Linda, while Damion Horsley (Michael) surprises viewers with his natural instinct for comedy and comedic timing. The play is about finding the jewel in the mud, as is illustrated in Linda’s loving description of a coastal highway, Grandpa Joe’s longing narratives of baseball, and Luther (Donnell Safford) and Michael’s almost-forgotten but precious bond as a father and son. One walks away feeling the sense that some small glimmer of hope and love will always be present in even the toughest of existences, no matter how hard it may be to discover it. Streetlamp Studio’s Artistic Director, Jenny Vaughn Hall observes “the production as a whole is both a celebration of fathers and a call to action, as both pieces reveal the power a father has to help a boy know that he matters in the world.” Director Naisa Wong adds that both “Sideline” and “Catch,” “pertain to the universal human experience and speak to the active verb of ‘choice: to choose to be present, accountable, available and invested— not just in someone else’s life, but also in their own lives.”
Streetlamp Studio, which was founded in 2006, is a non-profit theater company that collaborates with community members to make theater in South Los Angeles. The organization strives to inspire creativity and community engagement. Since its creation it has produced three original productions and eight youth productions.
Remaining performances of "Catch":Friday, June 25th, at 8pm
Saturday, June 26th, at 8pm
Sunday June 27th at 7pm
There will be talk-back sessions with members of the cast after the show on June 19th, and June 26th.
Tickets are on sale for $20 and are available online at www.streetlampstudio.com or in person 30 minutes before the performance.
About the author: L. E. Mueller, a native of Los Angeles, is a junior at the University of California Berkeley. She is the founder and executive editor of an English department undergraduate academic journal “The Folio,” which publishes undergraduate-written literary analysis essays.
Tags: arts catch jenny vaughn hall naisa wong play sideline south central streetlamp studios theater
