program had a blast sharing their experience with us as we taught them some theater exercises. They had just recently come from a social justice workshop a week ago and had that subject in their mind so vividly. In Richmond, one of the most notorious problems is crimes and gangs. They did a sculptor of a police profiling scene. It was incredible and definitely reflected for them what was going on in their neighborhood. It gave us insight into the city they call home. Majority of the group were Khmu ethnics from Laos. It was great to connect with them and I hope they achieved a sense of ownership and validation of their history and personal stories.
Each and every time we rehearse Leilani and I get better and better. We delve deeper into the characters or story or concept that we continue to learn more and more about how important and very powerful the play can be. There are great lessons to learn from it. I hope the push this weekend to get the word out brings commitment by audiences to attend. We've worked very hard to bring the dramatic tensions into certain scenes and can't wait to share it with everyone.Oakland International High School gave us an hour with some refugee students to work with. We had a fun time exploring theater games but the challenges were also there as the language comprehension and vocabulary stumbled us a bit. Time is of the essence and we covered only a few exercises. In the end we did get through to them but it was interesting to be able to share a workshop with refugees and immigrants from such various places like Burma, Africa, Yemen, Russia...they all had similar yet different experiences. We did our best and hope we influenced and educated. One of the surprising comments by one of them was when we did a cultural mapping exercise and asked participants to step into the circle if you are a refugee...when he saw me stepping in...he said "YOU are a refugee?" I simply replied "Yes."
As we work here in the Bay Area I am thinking of my LaLao group down in Los Angeles. They are my Lao'd and Proud friends whom I've come to cultivate and nurture. They are having a beach get together this coming weekend and though I will miss it...I know they are sending good vibes for us. Some of them will actually trek from SoCal to NoCal for our performance weekend. Lou, Litdet, Sinakhone and Bangbay for sure will make the trip. The Lao'd and Proud group came together when I started to search for Lao connections and friendships in Los Angeles. Since my initial push I can now count a good dozen or more active young Lao-American men and women coming together for social and cultural gatherings. It's been great to have group to bond with.
