New Play Brings Charity to the Door : Theater: CalArts production on city’s homeless will include a Red Cross display and pleas for clothing and food assistance.

The whole thing began with a telephone call.

Edward and Mildred Lewis, well-known for writing or producing successful Hollywood movies such as “Spartacus” and “Harold and Maude,” had written a play about homeless people in Los Angeles and were looking for somewhere to premiere it.

The husband-and-wife playwrights called Ruben Sierra, the artistic director of the Seattle Group Theatre.

“People had talked to them about me and the kinds of things I was interested in,” Sierra said. “I thought it was a great play.”

But Sierra was leaving Seattle to become dean of the theater school at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. He persuaded the Lewises to let him direct the play with students--a perfect example of the kind of professional-student interaction that CalArts prides itself on.

So, tonight, “Zone D” will premiere in the institute’s Modular Theatre and will continue this weekend and next. But there’s more to the story. The play has inspired a flurry of charity at the hilltop campus.

At each performance of “Zone D,” a Red Cross display will be stationed outside the theater doors. Audience members will be encouraged to donate clothing or contribute to feeding homeless people. Furthermore, there’s a chance that a group of homeless will be bused from Los Angeles to see the play.

The credit for all this goes to Ruthi A. Yoda, who is earning a master’s degree at CalArts. Yoda was in charge of designing costumes for the play and, as part of her work, made an appointment with Red Cross officials at their Weingart Center downtown.

“I started out trying to research costumes,” Yoda said. “But I also asked them what kind of donations they might need.”

Food and clothing, the Red Cross officials answered.

So, people who attend “Zone D” can drop off clothing or buy food coupons from the Red Cross display. The coupons are redeemable for meals at the Weingart Center’s Homeless Cafe and can be dispersed in two ways: Audience members can keep the coupons and give them to panhandlers on the street or the coupons can be returned directly to the Red Cross to pay for meals served at the center.

“At our 600-bed hotel, only 80 beds are funded for meals,” said Elizabeth Bailey, vice president of development and public relations at the Weingart Center. “With these coupons, we’re able to give more people food.”

The value of “Zone D,” however, goes beyond donations, Bailey said. The drama takes place in the near future of the city, which is filled with homeless people who are banished to a special area.

“The play reaches a whole different audience than we normally reach,” Bailey said. “It helps us educate people about the homeless.”

CalArts donated a block of tickets to the Red Cross, which is seeking to transport homeless people from downtown to Valencia to see the play.

Meanwhile, CalArts students outside the theater department have joined in the spirit of generosity. At this year’s Halloween party, students will be asked to donate clothes for admission.

“People here are getting inspired,” Sierra said.

Said Yoda: “The whole process has been really rewarding. We feel like we can help the homeless.”

“Zone D” opens tonight and plays at 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 8 p.m. Nov. 1-3. Tickets are $5, $2 for senior citizens and students. For further information, call (805) 253-7832 or (818) 367-5507.