By Jorge Lopez
The East Los Angeles intermediate acting class presented the play “Showcase Crisis” at the rehearsal room in the Performing and Fine Arts Complex.
The performances were split up into two days. The first day the scenes were related to social issues and the second day, the scenes had death-related theme.
The project for the students was to interview someone they knew over the age of 50 that has dealt with a crisis, and how they overcame it. After interviewing their subject, the students wrote either scripts or monologues inspired the person they interviewed. This is where the students began to prepare for their scenes.
Students spent their time outside of class rehearsing their scenes. Their main goal from writing and learning their lines was to perform in front of an audience. “For many students, it is the very first time performing in front of an audience,” said Kelley Hogan, instructor of the intermediate acting class.
The first show consisted of 13 scenes and the second show of 10. Some performances brought the crowd to laughs and others brought it to silence and had the audience attracted to the scenes.
“The Fredo show” was a good example of a comedic highlight. Written by Fredo Cervantes, the story was presented as a talk show. The host, named Fredo and played by MarioValdez, entertained the audience with his nonsense, just like Jerry Springer.
The crisis of this scene was about a husband named Mario, played by Cervantes, who cheated on his wife Nancy, played by Jewelene Dominguez. Mario ends up proposing to his lover and best friend, Angie played by Dulce Carrillo.
Other issues portrayed on the first day of plays had to do with drug overdoses (“It’s Always Darkest Before It’s Dawn” by Ashley Diaz) and breaking the news about pregnancy to one’s future in-laws (“Kind of a Funny Story” by Jose Jimenez.)
The second day’s performance was related to sensitive issues that were brought to the limelight, such as “Robert’s Story,” written by Gilbert Macabeo. This story depicts a man who tells the story about his son who was involved in a very serious accident while under the influence.
This led to the killing of two female passengers who he was with and his imprisonment. He couldn’t deal with the guilt and ultimately killed himself while incarcerated.
Strong performances were able to change the attitude of the audience, especially in “Leaving home” written by Monicakea Murray. The story seemed normal until the plot thickened. A young female gets pregnant and the mother reacts in a calm fashion.
Later the audience is hit with the shocking news and find out that it was the father who ended up impregnating the daughter. That was when the audience was left with a shocked face.
Overall the two days were full of great scenes with a variety of styles.