Fred Blanco

Over the years, as I bounced from theatre groups to acting classes to workshops, I always had the desire to create my own projects. Like most of us working on our own things, I’ve always wanted to write something challenging and meaningful for myself as a performer and was even willing to produce it myself, if necessary.

I’m an actor based in the Los Angeles area, with no formal training as a writer, but that’s a skill I wanted, and knew I needed, to develop. But I took my time; I never pushed. I never forced a subject to develop. I knew I wanted to write a play but lacked the writing chops and, therefore, the confidence.

Occasionally, I tinkered with an idea here or there. I even wrote a short play for children that I toured with briefly and eventually attempted something with a writing partner. Still, I never felt truly inspired. I flew through my 20s and was drifting into my 30s when I started reading some things about the civil rights and labor leader Cesar Chavez.

I think, like most native Californians, I knew little more about Chavez than the streets and schools I’d pass daily that bore his name. He established the first farm workers’ union and held an important, if not sacred, place in the hearts of Mexicans and Chicanos everywhere. Beyond that, I fell short on what I knew about him. While he is well-known, his legacy really isn’t. So I read more. And the more I read, the more I understood Chavez not only as a historical figure but as a man. The more I understood his motivation and his passion for social justice, I realized more people needed to know.

As I became completely caught up in his story, I’d read more material, review more documentaries and search through more photos. Before I knew it, I was entirely engrossed in a writing and research project that led me to road trips and interviews with principals in Cesar’s life that stretched across two years. Granted, a good deal of that time went into just discovering how to write it but I also finally found a story that compelled me to tackle it: something with such great meaning that it not only excited me but greatly intimidated me. It was exhilarating.

Fred Blanco

Cesar’s story is more than worth telling. It needs to be told. That’s how much his story began to resonate with me. “The few times his life has been written about and dramatized will never be enough,” I thought. If I had been searching to tell a story of positivity and meaning, what could be more worthwhile than telling the story of a man who is so highly respected by Latinos and so worthy of being understood and respected by everyone? His legacy isn’t just for Chicanos or Latinos but for all people. His message of peace and hope knows no bounds and is always relevant.

When I felt confident enough with my information, I put together a 20-minute piece that I would present at libraries. Since it was a presentation on a historical figure, it became an educational piece, making it an easy sell to the libraries. So, I found an easy and virtually free way to produce it. The stakes were low: small audiences, no financial risk and I could still get it on its feet in front of absolute strangers. I performed solely as Cesar, recounting dates and events in the first person, almost like a lecture.

I received a lukewarm response, at best, and I knew things had to change if I wanted audiences to actually be moved and motivated by the piece. It lacked passion. It wasn’t compelling. I needed to stop approaching it as a lesson and allow myself to do what I loved to do: act. I began working it again in my garage and creating a variety of characters to tell the story in order to satisfy the performer in me. I knew nothing about writing structure or formal technique but I knew how to improvise and create characters, so I worked first with what came naturally. As I worked from a few facts I took from my research, I slowly developed living characters and scenes, and eventually a dramatic story that resonates with audiences of all ages and ethnicities.

The play truly took on a life of its own. The show was no longer simply a historical re- enactment, but had become an hour-long piece rich with drama and complexity that was finally satisfying my artistic drive and challenging me in more ways than I had expected. I knew going in I wanted this piece to be a tribute to Cesar but in the end it also became a tribute to the Mexican culture. It became a love letter to the culture I’ve known all my life but always felt slightly on the outside of. Unexpectedly, it really became a part of me.

Fred Blanco

I’ve been touring the show for over four years now across the U.S. and Canada and have known no limits to where I will take it. The show has had a great life in academic circles visiting college campuses, high schools and juvenile halls. It has also received great responses from the general theatre community, even stretching its reach to military bases, union meeting halls and theatre festivals throughout the country. The hope is to simply get it out to as many audiences as possible. Not just to schools but also to general audiences who don’t expect its surprising dramatic appeal.

I hope people not only find it entertaining but can see a man close up they can relate to and perhaps even relate to another culture in a way they never thought possible in that they might see the universality of the characters brought to life in the show. The struggles of those characters really are universal because the struggles of life are universal in whatever form they present themselves. In seeing that, perhaps folks can see there really isn’t much of a difference in any of us at all.

The Stories of Cesar Chavez, runs through December 12; plays Sundays at 7pm plus Tuesdays, Dec. 7 & 14 at 8pm. Tickets: $10. Sacred Fools Theatre Company, 660 N. Heliotrope Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90004; 310.281.8337. For tickets and information, visit www.sacredfools.org.