O.C. Theater Is Slow in Catching Up

Isn’t art supposed to mirror society?

Despite a growing multiethnic presence in Orange County, theater catering to that audience, and reflecting it, has been hard to find here. Works by non-Anglo writers are rarely performed. Even less frequent are performances in languages other than English.

Jim Lykins, director of the New Plays and Players Workshop at Fullerton College, says there is a good deal of work by minority writers in other parts of Southern California. “But as far as O.C. goes,” he added, “it’s always been a stepchild at best.”

Los Angeles has a long history of bilingual theater: currently active organizations include the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, the East-West Players and the Latino Theater Lab. San Diego is home to several bilingual theater groups such as the Teatro Sin Fronteras and Teatro Mascara Magica at the San Diego Repertory Theater, and Teatro Meta at the Old Globe Theatre.

If anything, the demand for ethnic theater is increasing. In the past, according to one acting teacher, “a lot of Latino actors would hide the fact that they are Latino because they didn’t want to get typecast. But the call is going out: ‘Your century is coming.’ ”

In Orange County, however, very few theaters are even toying with the idea of doing works that would attract the minorities in their communities.

Spokespersons for several community theaters either said they do not get any requests for ethnic plays, or even for plays that include ethnic roles, or they do not believe that the Asian or Latino populations of their cities are interested in seeing plays.

“We just don’t tend to have a lot of bilingual children or adults audition,” said Jeanni Diamond, president of the La Habra Community Depot Playhouse in La Habra, which has the second-highest Latino population in the county. Officials of many theater arts departments at colleges and universities in the county said they, too, have no plans to do bilingual productions.

“I think Orange County theater is a little backward in terms of what is happening over all in the arts,” said Karen Hensel, who teaches classes for South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. SCR has made some strides with its annual Hispanic Playwrights Festival, where for six years it has showcased readings (though not full productions) of new plays by Latinos.

SCR’s Jose Gonzalez has been instrumental in the readings. He also works with Cucu Cuevez, a multicultural volunteer theater group founded last year by theater arts teachers at Rancho Santiago College. The troupe has presented four bilingual productions.

Gonzales acknowledges that “there are a lot of factors to why the Latino and Asian communities have not been attending theater” and that ticket prices are one of them. Barbara Covington, who has worked with Cucu Cuevez, agrees. “These are people who are trying to make a living,” she said, “so they cannot go to the theater.”

“But,” she added, “there is incredible desire for (theater), I think.” She said her group’s productions have been well attended. Gonzales said that regardless of economics, a main reason Latinos and Asians don’t attend theaters is that so much of the material offered here has no connection to them.

Covington said to forge that connection, she makes an effort to cast multiculturally, no matter the work. “It makes it more interesting,” she said.

Tony Reverditto of the Way Off Broadway Theater in Santa Ana said he would like to do the same kind of thing. “We’ve really been looking for a bilingual coach in order to do some outreach to the local community,” he said.

“It takes a lot of commitment,” said Jaime Gomez, a founder of Teatro Cometa, the only group in the county to consistently perform its own bilingual works. Since 1979, the troupe, which is based in Fullerton, has been touring the county with works that mix social commentary with comedy about the dilemmas faced by the Latino community, and that suggest solutions to common problems.

“I think audiences are willing to come see (bilingual) plays,” Gomez said, noting that his productions have drawn non-Latinos as well. “But as far as actors participating, bilingual theater just doesn’t have the appeal that commercial work has.”

Members of Cucu Cuevez concede that their own involvement in the group often takes a back seat to their individual theatrical careers, and that perhaps they could accomplish more for the ethnic community if their dedication to it was full time.

To make sure that high ticket prices don’t keep people away, Teatro Cometa either lets its audiences in free or doesn’t let the admission charge exceed what it would cost to see a movie. Actors get paid only if the theater makes a profit. The group has received financial backing from various governmental agencies such as the Orange County Human Relations Commission, but it operates independently.

“I wish there was more activity,” said Gomez, who balances his days between Teatro Cometa and his work at a local homeless shelter. “I wish there was more support for (multicultural theater) to happen here.”

One bright spot on the horizon is the Hermandad Mexicana in Santa Ana, a nonprofit social service agency that recently approved plans to sponsor theater in Spanish. The plays will be intended to “educate, more than just entertain,” according to project director Julio Alfredo Lopez.

“We will present theater for all ages and try to show social problems in the plays, such as immigration, drugs, health,” Lopez said. The group will begin casting for its first production in January when the Hermandad moves into a new building that includes an auditorium.