On May 2, 2010, Watts Village Theater Company (WVTC) will present the 1st Annual Production of Meet Me @ Metro, featuring original works by: Collage Dance Theatre, East LA Rep, Epic Megalopolis Productions, The Nonsense Company, and Moo Doo Puppets. Meet Me @ Metro will perform on May 2nd 2010 at 11:00am and 4:00pm. Performances will take place around the METRO RED, PURPLE, and BLUE lines starting at Union Station and ending at the Watts Towers Amphitheater. Performances are FREE. Reservations are limited so book early!
Meet Me @ Metro is an interactive, trans-disciplinary theatrical journey, conceived by WVTC’s Artistic Director Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez, which takes place around LA’s Metro Rail Transit System (Metro). Meet Me @ Metro was inspired by
Meet Me @ Metro–A Moving Theaterinteractions with the youth of Watts who, despite being in their late teens, had never traveled outside a ten-mile radius of their community. A further exploration of this phenomenon revealed that just as youth seldom ventured outside of Watts, many Los Angeles residents never travel to Watts. Meet Me @ Metro will bridge the gap between the Watts Towers and several other surrounding isolated and segregated sites and communities by guiding audiences from the Red Line‟s Union Station to The Blue Line’s 103rd Street Station, taking a communal journey to view original 10-minute long, site-specific performances revolving around the theme of movement in America today. The process and performance will be documented by Blague Communications.
Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez charged six companies, WVTC included, to create art that moves by engaging their assigned community. The artistic process began in the Fall of 2009 and will consist of several creative workshops leading up to the festival. Avilés-Rodríguez explains that the journey “will reinforce the message that art lives everywhere, and with us all. The people who witness art forming are as much a part of the process as the ones who craft it. Like the Metro moves people, so does art.”
Meet Me @ Metro is keeping with WVTC‟s 14-year track record of producing socially relevant and theatrically daring work. Coming off of a three-year cycle of exploring Afro-Latino relations in Watts and South Los Angeles, the company has decided to branch out and explore the culturally universal themes of how movement relates to identity (both individual and communal) as well as communion, community and commonality in the context of present day Los Angeles, an environment that often perpetuates isolationism. Meet Me @ Metro‟s multicultural and multidisciplinary celebration combats Los Angeles‟ prevalent “car culture” by essentially forcing residents from drastically varying demographics to interact with each other within the shared space that is Metro. As the company is constantly striving to create work that bridges gaps within and between communities, the Metro presents itself as an ideal venue for examining the over 250 nationalities and languages that comprise Los Angeles. Meet Me @ Metro also represents the ideal in WVTC‟s theatrical aesthetic – cutting edge, thought provoking performances that are accessible to all.
“Meet Me @ Metro is an example of a Los Angeles theater company creating the learning curve in theatrical innovation, rather than following it,” says Avilés-Rodríguez. It is also a response to the seismic shifts taking place within the current economic and cultural landscape of the city and country. “Everywhere you turn, funding for the arts is being cut. So we believe that future sustainability in the arts will consist of developing strategic partnerships in order to do more with less.” Avilés-Rodríguez explains, referring to his decision to partner with other organizations in the creation of the piece. And even as funding declines, increasing access to digital media and the web is pushing theater even further into the fringes of American culture. “The future of our art form lies in using the word „theater‟ as a verb rather than as a noun,” asserts Avilés-Rodríguez. “Rather than being a building that you must go to in order to enjoy art, our theater is an activity that you can engage with. It‟s art that moves and that is constantly transforming. You don‟t have to go to the theater – we will bring it to you.”
Participating Companies
Collage Dance Theatre
Collage Dance Theatre (CDT) creates ephemeral contemporary art experiences in extraordinary places that boldly redefine the relationship between audience and art. Through cultivating innovative collaborations with artists, arts organizations and local communities, CDT brings meaningful interdisciplinary dance to new audiences throughout Los Angeles and the world. www.collagedancetheatre.org
East LA Rep
East LA Rep is rooted in the culturally rich communities of East Los Angeles, where they have worked to establish an epicenter of Latino theatre by producing, presenting and developing the work of playwrights of Latino heritage. www.eastlarep.com
Epic Megalopolis Productions
Epic Megalopolis Productions (EpicMegaPro) was founded to support the development of new work for the stage and to produce innovative and socially relevant material for a new generation of theatergoers. As a company, they place as much value on the integrity and ingenuity of the creative process as they dedicate toward any finished production. www.epicmegapro.com
MooDoo Puppets
MooDoo Puppets provides interactive puppet shows for children and adults throughout Los Angeles. It is their goal to promote peace, diversity and imagination through extraordinary and unique performances that touch the heart. Each year,
MooDoo Puppets stretches its reach, touching tens of thousands through live shows at festivals, parades and theatres, puppetry and puppet-making workshops. www.moodoopuppets.org
The Nonsense Company
The Nonsense Company, based in Madison, Wisconsin, performs new and innovative works of contemporary music and theater, with an emphasis on the musical use of speech in estranged contexts and the application in theater of techniques more commonly associated with music. www.nonsensecompany.com
Watts Village Theater Company
Watts Village Theater is a multicultural urban theater company that seeks to inspire positive social change through innovative theatrical work. They infuse communities with tolerance for differences and create an appreciation for all cultures through the collaborative art of theatrical play production. WVTC produces and develops new plays by Los Angeles-based artists that address sociopolitical issues pertinent to Watts and the greater Los Angeles area, and promotes literacy and self-empowerment amongst the youth of Watts through internships, volunteer opportunities and education in the performing arts. www.wattsvillagetheatercompany.org
Meet Me @ Metro will take place on May 2nd with performances at 11:00am and 4:00pm. Performances will take place along the Red and Blue Lines starting at Union Station (800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA) and ending at the Watts Towers Amphitheater (1727 E. 107th St., Los Angeles, CA). Go to www.wattsvillagetheatercompany.org to make your reservations. For information about Meet Me @ Metro call 323-215-7740. Performances are FREE. Reservations are limited so book early! Audio Describer and Interpreter at each performance.
Meet Me @ Metro is made possible by the generous support of the California Arts Council, MAP Fund, The US Census, The United Latino Fund, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
