By Rogelio Alvarez
Casa 0101 premiered, “Drunk Girl,” a series of 16 plays that focuses on the traumatic effects of sexual abuse and the various ways of coping with it.
“Drunk Girl,” premiered last friday at Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights.
The majority of the plays were written by East Los Angeles College alumni Josefina Lopez. “Pink Scars” was written by Rocio Diaz and “Drunk Girl” was written by Libette Garcia.
The ensemble cast gave an amazing performance. The set was designed to represent sexual intercoarse.
All 16 segments of the performance were centered around the issues concerning rape. The plays brought artistic attention to the psychological and emotional effect of physical abuse and the path to recovery.
According to one of the directors, Elvia Rubalcava, it was an emotional moment watching the performances.
“The message and power of theater is very healing,” said Rubalcava.
The issue of rape is hardly a laughing matter, but the play carefully integrated comedic aspects. The stories were told boldly and captivated the audience.
Each play was able to transition between witty humorous sketches to somber dramatic pieces with ease.
The plays were directed by Claudia Duran, Elvia Susana Rubalcava, and former ELAC student Maria G. Martinez.
“I’m amazed we worked hard these past four weeks trying to get the emotions out of the actors,” Martinez said.
The show opened up with the wildly hilarious “Red Flag Game Show.” and closed on a musical note with “Yes! Let’s Have Sex!”
“Red Flag Game Show,” involved a teenage girl competing for the right to have a boyfriend. The play interacted with the crowd by having them clap whenever a contestant answered a question correctly.
Although there was no intermission, the cast kept the audience refreshed by implementing comedy as they would change from set to set.
One of the funnier sketch pieces was “Can Finally Laugh About It.”
It included ELAC theater student Jasia Topete performing as comedienne Altagracia.
Her insightful performance brought light to the gender inequality amongst comedians and the controversy surrounding Bill Cosby’s rape allegations.
Director Elvia Rubalcava previously worked with Topete on another theater production and was pleased with her performance.
“I’ve seen her grow. She performed with such rawness. She did an amazing job,” Rubalcava said.
Although most of the plays focused on female sexual abuse, “Unlucky Man” and “A Real Man” showcased awareness on male victims of physical abuse.
Alex “Alpharaoh” Alfaro brought the audience to tears with his monologue as John, a man convicted of molestation who ends up being raped in jail.
ELAC theater student Samuel Solorio provided a powerful monologue, encouraging men to stand up for women.
“It was satisfying to see on stage. The audience gets the message without it getting too preachy,” Martinez said.
“Drunk Girl” is running from Sept. 25 to Oct. 18. Shows are on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m.
Tickets for general admission are $20, $17 for seniors and students and $15 for Boyle Heights residents. More information can be found on Casa 0101’s website, Casa0101.org.