Film festival reunites old friends
Natalie Ragus | 11-13-2009 | Comments |
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As an undergraduate at the University of Southern California in 1965, Steve Kent had no idea what the little improvisational theater workshop he started in South Los Angeles would become, or how much it would mean to the high school students who participated.But shortly after the teens debuted their improv routine at a Watts Towers Art Center function, people began to take notice — including then-budding filmmaker Les Blank, who spent six months documenting the workshop on film.
Flash forward 44 years to the Watts Towers Film Festival, held at the Mayme Clayton Library and Museum in Culver City.
Kent hadn’t seen Morris Taylor and Chris Small, two of his former improv theater students, since the workshop ended.
But, thanks to an old acquaintance and Facebook, the three reunited at the festival to share in a screening of Blank’s documentary about the theater troupe that shaped their youth.
Blank, whose signature ethnographic films have achieved international recognition, did not attend the festival.
Loud whispering and guffaws came from the row where Kent, Taylor, and Small sat together, pointing each other out on screen and reminiscing about the good times.
“My eyes were watery, I’m so moved by it,” Taylor said, of watching the documentary with Kent and Small for the first time in nearly four and half decades.
But the reunion almost didn’t happen.
Told that Kent had died years ago, it wasn’t until a chance encounter that Small and Taylor learned their beloved former theater director was, in fact, alive and well.
Best friends since their junior high school days, Small and Taylor decided to visit their old stomping grounds at Watts Towers following a baptism held for Small’s niece at a nearby church.
There, they bumped into Justin Powell, who worked with Kent.
“I said, ‘It’s too bad Steve (Kent) died,’” Taylor recounted. “(Powell) said, ‘Steve’s not dead. He’s teaching theater classes at the University of the La Verne!’”
Intent on tracking the theater director down, Taylor logged onto Facebook and found Kent’s work contact information. He then placed the call that turned into a blast from the past.
Following the screening of the documentary, the men, now each in their early to mid-60’s, gathered in the filmmakers’ room to talk about their experiences with the workshop.
It all began when the Watts Towers Art Center contacted USC professor Andy Doe about starting an acting program. Because his schedule that semester made it impossible for him to take the project on, Doe punted the request to his student, Steve Kent.
“I wanted to be a director and this was my chance to direct something,” Kent said.
Despite its director’s youth and inexperience, the workshop became a smashing success — something Kent attributes to the enthusiasm of his students, who seemed to exhibit a natural talent for the art of improvisation.
“I guess that kind of energy draws people together, and it was raw and rough, but we did it,” he said.
The group started out providing entertainment for the art center’s fundraisers, but quickly caught the attention of other organizations. Soon, the troupe members found themselves on the road most weekends, traveling to places as far away as San Diego to perform. Unwittingly, the troupe’s 16- and 17-year-old comedians became the city of Watts’ unofficial ambassadors of sorts.
“I always got a kick out of how surprised people were when they saw what a good command of the English language we had,” said Taylor, who is African American.
“They were surprised that we were intelligent and had a grasp of what was going on in the world, probably better than theirs.”
One of the highlights of their time with the workshop came when Blank approached Kent to discuss the possibility of making a documentary about the group and its exploits, Kent said.
During filming, Blank nearly owned the group and its members. One day, Kent made the disastrous decision to cut his long hair.
“I thought Les Blank was going to kill me,” Kent said, laughing. “He said, ‘Steve, what have you done?’
Surprised at Blank’s reaction, the young director replied, “I got a hair cut.”
Then, Blank let loose.
“He said, ‘Now I’m going to have to edit the film according to your hair!’” Kent said.
The documentary eventually aired on KCET, but the film festival marked the first time Kent, Taylor or Small had seen it since their youths. The troupe dissipated when its members went off to college and Kent moved on to become the resident stage director of the Junebug Theatre Project. Though neither Small nor Taylor pursued careers in theater, their experience with the troupe left an indelible mark on them.
The three men chose to go to a late lunch and catch up rather than attend the rest of the festival, which the Friends of the Watts Tower Arts Center put on to celebrate 50 years of art inspired by the towers built by laborer Simon Rodia.
The festival showed films that told the stories of Watts, a pocket of South Los Angeles more known for the riots of 1964 than fine arts.
I Build the Tower represents the most complete visual account of the life and work of Rodia, and Clips from CAP compiles selections of digital animation shots by student artists in the 2009 Cal Arts Pictures Media Arts Program, while Fertile Ground Stories from the Watts Towers Art Center sets the record straight behind the art center’s history, including the little-known fact that the center existed before the riots.
Though festival organizers say the art center likely won’t host another one anytime soon, it’s apparent the arts remain alive and well in Watts.
Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Tags: mayme clayton library and museum south los angeles steve kent watts towers art center watts towers film festival