This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Indira G. Wilson: We invite your apprehensive.

[0:02] Blaine Teamer: Here it comes.

[0:03] Indira G. Wilson: The Afro Existential Podcast presents 60 Second Elevator Pitch.

[0:09] Blaine Teamer: I was afraid of that.

[0:10] Indira G. Wilson: Now, playing today are HANNAH CHODOS and RICHARD LOYA from the ACTORS Gang Theater Company Prison Project.

[0:18] Blaine Teamer: Well, what do we do now?

[0:19] Indira G. Wilson: Give us your elevator pitch.

[0:22] RICHARD LOYA: This is where you get out.

[0:24] HANNAH CHODOS: Is this her?

[0:25] RICHARD LOYA: Oh, yes.

[0:26] HANNAH CHODOS: I've kept her under special care for almost two years.

[0:28] RICHARD LOYA: London isn't a safe place for any girl now.

[0:32] HANNAH CHODOS: Oh my god.

[0:33] RICHARD LOYA: Hello.

[0:34] HANNAH CHODOS: Uh good evening, sir.

[0:35] RICHARD LOYA: Oh my god, your donations and your generosity.

[0:39] HANNAH CHODOS: Yes, it is pleasant, isn't it?

[0:40] RICHARD LOYA: What it has done for us, especially for someone like me being formerly incarcerated, you know, sending us through training and now being able to teach.

[0:49] HANNAH CHODOS: Yes, it is pleasant, isn't it?

[0:50] RICHARD LOYA: What is it?

[0:51] HANNAH CHODOS: You're working on so the ACTORS GANG is a theater company in Culver City with a 40-year history making risky, relevant theater in Los Angeles.

[1:02] RICHARD LOYA: Baba.

[1:03] HANNAH CHODOS: And offering programming in schools and prisons throughout LA County and throughout the state of California.

[1:09] RICHARD LOYA: You want to add anything, Rich?

[1:11] HANNAH CHODOS: Continue giving what you've given us or maybe even a little bit bigger this time.

[1:15] RICHARD LOYA: We really, really, really appreciate it.

[1:18] Indira G. Wilson: What is your name?

[1:19] HANNAH CHODOS: I'm HANNAH CHODOS, program manager of the ACTORS Gang Prison Project.

[1:25] RICHARD LOYA: I'm RICHARD LOYA, co-program manager of the ACTORS Gang Prison Project.

[1:31] Indira G. Wilson: You're listening to the Afro Existential Podcast.

[1:34] Blaine Teamer: On the Broadway Podcast Network.

[1:42] Indira G. Wilson: This is where you get out.

[1:43] Blaine Teamer: Welcome to the Afro Existential Podcast.

[1:45] Indira G. Wilson: A podcast and audio play in one.

[1:48] Blaine Teamer: I am one of your hosts, Indira G. Wilson.

[1:51] Indira G. Wilson: And I'm Blaine Teamer.

[1:53] Blaine Teamer: This season we'll be presenting a brand new audio play entitled Pandora's Tronk and a new interview series entitled The Breakthrough From Vision to Fruition.

[2:01] Indira G. Wilson: In this series, we hear from people who took a great idea and made it a reality.

[2:07] Blaine Teamer: We want to know how they did it and how they got over the obstacles along the way.

[2:11] Indira G. Wilson: We hope that it helps and inspires you to make your great idea a reality.

[2:16] Blaine Teamer: But before we go to commercial, here's an excerpt from our audio play DEAD WAIT.

[2:22] Indira G. Wilson: In this scene, Oliver comes out of a closet and encourages his mother to do the same.

[2:30] Blaine Teamer: We shall begin now.

[2:32] Oliver: I just don't identify with not being rich. Does that make sense?

[2:37] Mother: It most certainly does.

[2:39] Oliver: And neither do I, mother. You know what we are, mother? We're trans affluent.

[2:45] Mother: Hmm? Trans what?

[2:46] Oliver: You know how you have your transgenders, people whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex, right?

[2:56] Mother: If you say so.

[2:57] Oliver: I don't say so. That's what they say. They feel like they belong to the opposite of what they are. Isn't that us? Isn't that us, dammit?

[3:05] Mother: No. Not at all.

[3:07] Oliver: Yes, it is. Listen, we feel like we belong with affluent people, and we don't identify with being poor, so we are trans affluent.

[3:17] Mother: You just made that nonsense up.

[3:22] Oliver: Oh, somebody said they were transracial. You remember that lady?

[3:26] Mother: Yes!

[3:26] Oliver: Now that's a thing. Transracial. She came out white as cotton, got some cornrows, a spray tan, said she was black and got a Netflix special. So why can't we be trans affluent?

[3:38] Mother: I guess, but what I'm trying to say is that look, I go to church, and I will say, don't I deserve something more than nothing?

[3:47] Oliver: People don't get what they deserve, mother.

[3:49] Mother: True.

[3:50] Oliver: People don't get what they deserve. God knows that's true.

[3:55] Mother: Wait. What do you mean?

[3:56] Oliver: You get what you can get away with getting. And that has nothing to do with what you deserve. You think the black people picking cotton deserve to be slaves?

[4:04] Mother: No.

[4:05] Oliver: No, it's right. But guess what?

[4:06] Mother: What?

[4:07] Oliver: The cotton sure got picked, didn't it? But moving your father's dead body. It's just wrong.

[4:13] Mother: Let me tell you something. That cotton got picked, and right and wrong didn't have nothing to say about it.

[4:21] Blaine Teamer: And we'll be right back.

[4:23] Alistair Justin Black: Hello, I'm Alistair Justin Black from Theater and the Black. Playwright Blaine Teamer began writing DEAD WAIT in 2016.

[4:33] Alistair Justin Black: He finished it nearly four months later. The writing of the perfect line in a great play, or the making of a line of fine fancy wines, takes time. Perfect example is Afro Eggs' new and improved bougie bouger.

[4:51] Alistair Justin Black: A red wine with notes of tang, green apple, tropical punch, black cherry, and invisible grape. It's a fancy wine for those fancy moments. What was true nearly four months ago is true today. It's five o'clock somewhere.

[5:08] Alistair Justin Black: Take life one sip at a time.

[5:13] Blaine Teamer: And welcome back to part two of our interview with the ACTORS Gang Theater Company's Prison Project.

[5:20] Indira G. Wilson: And we're talking with HANNAH CHODOS and RICHARD LOYA.

[5:22] RICHARD LOYA: And Richard is explaining the first day the ACTORS GANG came to the prison.

[5:27] RICHARD LOYA: And I can feel everybody looking at me like, what is this, Rich? These are the gang?

[5:32] RICHARD LOYA: Yeah, just like, all right, we're here now, so ain't no going back. But so they're there for seven days, right?

[5:39] RICHARD LOYA: I mentioned nine in the morning to one p.m. And so you heard Hannah mention earlier. Once they leave, they come back every back then was eight weeks.

[5:48] HANNAH CHODOS: We were told we'll be back in seven weeks to check up on you. Understand this 25, there's 10 alphas. There's maybe 10 junior alphas, and then the last five are like they just roll with the flow.

[6:00] RICHARD LOYA: Just to clarify that switch that happened when we first started programming, we would do an eight-week session and then we wouldn't come back. It was just like here's your eight-week program. That was the end of our obligation and what we've grown into based on our experience and our partnership with people inside.

[6:17] HANNAH CHODOS: Is we offer this seven-day intensive, which is what Rich is describing, where we work for four hours a day, and it's we're turning, we're our objective is to give the tools that we've got to give them to the group and then to turn the group over to them.

[6:30] RICHARD LOYA: And so, as Rich just said, that moment can be really difficult. That's a huge challenge because now we're gone, and the group, the ensemble, has to figure out how they're gonna carry the work forward together.

[6:40] HANNAH CHODOS: And as Rich said, like there's all kinds of dynamics involved in that, just like there are for us on the company.

[6:45] RICHARD LOYA: I worked at a movie studio. It sounds exactly like a movie studio, right? So often you have the leader wanting to hold on to that spot until they're out of touch.

[6:55] HANNAH CHODOS: And so I love the fact that you're really like, Well, this is how you do it, go do it, and we'll be back, we'll check in. But you have the tools to know how to do this.

[7:04] RICHARD LOYA: Exactly.

[7:05] HANNAH CHODOS: Yeah, and they did a great job. They meaning Hannah, Sabra, Jeremy, which is our director of programming, and Heather.

[7:12] RICHARD LOYA: So before they left, I believe it was the Sunday because we started Monday for seven days. They announced in our work, Blaine. We say to the participants, there's no leaders, no followers. There's the partnership. But obviously, you need some kind of leadership to push the thing forward.

[7:29] HANNAH CHODOS: So they chose three of us to facilitate. We'll call it like facilitators of the group.

[7:34] RICHARD LOYA: And I so appreciate what you said because when he was speaking, Hannah, it made me think of CIM and the struggles there and how the leaders there are holding on a different way.

[7:45] HANNAH CHODOS: And so in facilitating, you have to do what's best for the group.

[7:50] RICHARD LOYA: I say, I always say, take care of the circle, and the circle will take care of you. That goes with everything.

[7:56] HANNAH CHODOS: We're individuals in this journey together as an ensemble to figure out how to create theater, but using the tools, the emotions, being stated, all this the style of work.

[8:07] RICHARD LOYA: And so when they all buy into it, and it's about treating everybody equal. I know in the list, there's questions there. What would you say to a new theater company? Is you have to have people at the top that are going to listen to the company that are gonna allow people's voices to be heard and treat everybody equal.

[8:25] HANNAH CHODOS: This group was already within that week, was willing to work together, and almost everybody, Blaine, didn't care what the yard was gonna think of us seeing us working together. We were all in it.

[8:36] RICHARD LOYA: And so was that putting on the show? We just did a haka, it's a form of ceremonial tradition with islanders, you know.

[8:45] HANNAH CHODOS: Super, super beautiful, powerful. It's like watching this group of 25 men, and it's simple, it's a it's traditional.

[8:52] RICHARD LOYA: Is it Polynesian rich? It's like a traditional form of dance, but it was like it was overwhelming to see this expression of power and gratitude and like joy come through, and that's form of exchange.

[9:06] HANNAH CHODOS: It's a gift that they gave us, this energy that they gave us, and then that group. I don't that wasn't a show, but that group has created since that time three shows, three plays that they did as a group, and again, like incredibly powerful, like challenging, provocative, skillful theater, beautiful theater.

[9:26] RICHARD LOYA: So our program is not specifically designed to create a performance, but because it's a performance form, obviously it lends itself to performance.

[9:34] HANNAH CHODOS: But these plays, and they're not the only group that have done that, are completely of their own. They have generated those on their own.

[9:40] RICHARD LOYA: And like you say, Blaine, it's the same human politics that happen whenever we gather in groups.

[9:46] HANNAH CHODOS: And for me, it's like watching these groups do that process in prison and form lasting, meaningful community inside. It's like these little diamonds of human expression and community.

[9:59] RICHARD LOYA: And if they can do it, we can do it.

[10:01] Indira G. Wilson: How did you get the gig at the ACTORS GANG?

[10:04] RICHARD LOYA: So I come home and I parole to San Diego, right? Our theater company's in Culver City.

[10:04] RICHARD LOYA: I parole to San Diego, and there was no communication, no contact with anybody from the ACTORS GANG.

[10:16] RICHARD LOYA: Again, I knew being on parole, I can't be in touch with because I still looked at them like these are staff that go into institutions into prisons.

[10:23] RICHARD LOYA: And but I always knew that I wanted to thank them for what they did for me.

[10:28] RICHARD LOYA: And so I was in San Diego for a year, and then I asked my parole officer for a transfer to be closer to my family in LA.

[10:36] RICHARD LOYA: They granted it. And so a year later, because I approved in September, a year, almost a year.

[10:41] RICHARD LOYA: In August of 18. I had a car now, Blaine, I had my license.

[10:44] RICHARD LOYA: I learned how to GPS in my phone. And it was a Friday afternoon.

[10:48] RICHARD LOYA: And I just said, Man, I'm gonna go to the ACTORS GANG unannounced.

[10:51] RICHARD LOYA: So I put in my little ACTORS GANG in GPS and Culver City.

[10:55] RICHARD LOYA: So I took off Friday afternoon. Didn't know where to park, what to do. I found a shopping center, parked there, walked across the street, and literally just rang the doorbell. There's a doorbell in front of the theater. And lo and behold, Jeremy Lanka opens the door. And he was one of my teachers that came in that day when the three white people and the English woman came in, it's him. And he's oh my god, what are you doing? And I'm like, hey man, um I'm here. Like we hugged and just wanted to thank him. And right away he took me upstairs. And I know you weren't there, but we FaceTimed you. We FaceTimed you, and we already had ridiculous wigs on. We put on these wigs. And so he's hey, what are you?

What's your plans this afternoon? I'm like, nothing. I'm here. Can I take you out for lunch? I'm like, yeah, let's go. So we went out for lunch and had a conversation of what would I like to do? I'm like, I didn't really exactly know what that meant. But he was asking, would you like to get involved? What do you see yourself if you could get involved doing? I'm like, Well, I would want to continue teaching somehow. And so, in doing that and having that conversation there and going over there unannounced, make a long story short. I believe then it was getting closer to maybe bringing me back in, getting me on board. And so now I had a meeting with Hannah and Jeremy. They were like, Hey, we have an opportunity to take you back in.

At first, just going volunteering and just being part of teaching out here now. But one thing that I understood right away, Blaine, was that being inside, like I know my guys. There's a certain way that I can talk to them, certain buttons I can push, what I can and can't say. And now I'm out here with a new group of people, strangers. I knew like my language had to change because I can't talk to them the way I talk to my guys inside, obviously. And so learning that process of I didn't want to lose the way I taught, but being mindful of the language. When I found myself in the room and I'm seeing experienced teachers teaching them, I was like, oh man, he couldn't get away with that inside. Being so strong and bold and almost touching the guys.

You couldn't get away with that. Physically, right. Inside, you couldn't you can't do that. You can't teach like that. But then the language was different. It was more of theater language from other teaching artists that I was picking up on. And so then that's when I knew, okay, I don't want to lose myself the way I taught my guys inside because it worked. But I also have to bring in this new style of teaching, if that makes sense.

[13:22] HANNAH CHODOS: Once again, you had that adaptability in prison where you were able to talk to different people and pick up like, okay, this is how I have to communicate. It happened again the first time I went to women's prison to teach. I found myself self-talk, like, hey Rich, these are women, be mindful of the tone. And you don't want to seem or sound superior or authoritative because it could easily trigger anything from their past. And so again, I didn't want to not teach the way I know how, but just be softer. And you're right, it not everybody can are mindful of those things. We deal with that. Yeah. We're in 13 prisons throughout the state on 15 yards. And about five years ago, we started our youth project, which is working in LA County probation camps and halls.

And we also have a program running at behavioral health services in Lincoln Heights for youth. And then we have our re-entry program with which Rich mentioned. And that is offering the program to folks coming home from prison. We are really trying to develop a mentorship program for our youth where we could pair alumni of the prison project with young people who are just coming home from carceral settings. And then we have this alumni network, which is a network. It's meant to be like a community for all those that have done the program and are coming home. And I hope Rich, you'll talk about like the meetings that we've had. I know, Blaine, you've got questions here about like pandemic and the impact of that.

And one of the things that happened during the pandemic was this amazing weekly online meeting of the alumni, which was like this incredibly strong community. I feel like what I want to say is that I'm hearing Rich talk about how he evolved as a teaching artist. And this program, I think its great strength is that it is capable of evolution. It's changing all the time based on the input that it's receiving. And that's possible because we have this fundamental like principle of partnership. I think because we're listening to each other, we're really practicing listening to what's actually going on. And that's why this program is continuing to change all the time.

[15:23] RICHARD LOYA: One of the amazing things that has happened is that it's like the actors' gang, I feel like we came in 15 years ago and we had this vocabulary, this language, this form of theater and these tools. And that changed culture on the yard where we were. And what's happening now, and what has happened over time, and or happened from the beginning, really, is that that exchange went both ways. So the alumni network and the alumni who are now part of the company of the actors' gang are having a profound impact on the theater company and the way that we talk and walk and the way that we, you know, carry ourselves and how we understand what our work is. And that's a beautiful process. That's part of this creative process.

Rich talks about how his language is changing and how he's learning the language of the theater. And we also are learning the language of prison and we're learning the language of community. And I'm learning what does this mean. Now I understand my own freedom better, my own ability to free myself through this work and in my life and in my mind and my heart. And I also understand theater differently. What is this thing that we're doing? For whom is this theater? What is the relationship between the ones who are performing and the ones who are witnessing? And what is the process about? What are we doing with each other? That's very fundamental human stuff that we're doing. Creating art, presenting it to each other, telling the stories of who we are. That can be a deeply healing process for everyone, for those creating it, for those witnessing it. Those are profound experiences of my life, witnessing these pieces.

[16:47] HANNAH CHODOS: What happened when the pandemic hit, we weren't allowed to go back inside, obviously. And the alumni, which is all formally incarcerated, we started meeting every Thursday on Zoom, just like here. We met last night, 6 to 8 PM. And so what we did is first it was a form of just to stay connected with each other and learning because we were now working with camps, and a lot of times we were asked to do a workshop for a school, UCLA, USC. And so we wanted to train because we were gonna do it remotely, how to do it on this platform. And so that's what we were using these Thursday nights for. The style is already difficult enough to do in person. So now we're trying to figure out how do we do it with 12 little boxes on a screen.

And so we did, Blaine. We learned how to pass the food to each other and how to use the eyes to the camera and pass it to each other and being in a state. I just discovered on a side note, and it's making me think of what you're talking about. Once again, it's on Hulu. It's called staged. I don't know how they did it, but the premise of it is that there's a young director and he has a friend who's this famous actor, and they are planning to do a play together in London. The pandemic happens and the play is shut down. Okay, why don't we rehearse on Zoom? It's all on, it's all like we're looking at the screen now. And so all of these real life celebrities come on Zoom. It's so brilliant because it's taking this whole Zoom thing, and it's all this, it's never outside of, it's all in this world.

That's crazy. But it's so brilliant, and it's just showing that people are now taking this and pivoting in it to some form of entertainment. So it's awesome that you're taking what you created on this. Yes. It's creating something else out of this, which is great.

[18:38] HANNAH CHODOS: One of your questions, Blaine, is about what advice we would give to a theater company before and or after the pandemic. And I'm just as you're describing this show, it just makes me think I'm just I'm excited about what is gonna happen in our world, in our creative lives. I feel like this show, I will watch it, but it's that sounds bizarre. That is a bizarre and wonderful like use, like twist on what our lives are right now. And it's like mixing formats and genres and mixing reality and script. And I just feel one of the things I thought when I read that question was like this moment is like this fertile mud for us. Nobody knows what's gonna happen. And I just might the advice that I was thinking, what advice do I give myself right now?

And it's really about risking and trying and failing a lot, and just because I am excited about what's possible right now. What things are possible now that would not have been possible before. I think we talked about, yeah, re-entry in the network. I wanted to make sure that we that people know about that. And like I say, we're constantly evolving in order to serve the need as it arises. But at the very least, right now, we're a community where people can come and be part of this community. We hold right now, it's a monthly circle online. It's a council circle, it's just a space for us to gather and see and hear each other and be in community. And then we are doing our best to have this network of resources.

When people need something, if we can't give it to them, we can point them in the direction where they can get it. And then we do want to hire people. We need our formerly incarcerated alumni to be on our teaching teams. So we're working to train and hire them to continue to do that. And then the network is now, as Rich just described, creating theater that's going to be on our main stage at the theater and really is integrating into our company as part of what the actors gang is.

[20:29] HANNAH CHODOS: You guys are absolutely wonderful. Blaine, it's really been a pleasure talking to you. As Rich said, the questions that you asked were so beautiful. So thank you for having us. We are so glad you joined us for another episode of the Afro-Existential Podcast. And take a moment to visit us at our website, AfroEXPodcast.com for more fun and insightful content. Anything else? Please click subscribe. And check us out on Instagram at AfroEXPodcast. Anything else? Email us your comments or questions at AfroEXPodcast@gmail.com. Again, thank you for joining us. I am Indira G. Wilson.

[21:09] Blaine Teamer: And I'm Blaine Teamer. And as always, have a great day on purpose.

[21:13] ♪ Musical number ♪