The Sippin’ Tea In The Balcony Podcast

On this episode, Chandra, Walter and Ricky talk about the importance of taking time to create the right relationships and the realities BIPOC organizations are experiencing during the pandemic. In this episode they will be referencing the article from the January 25th 2021 Chicago Reader about UrbanTheater Company's Miranda González's outlook on what 'cultural triage' means for BIPOC theaters. Miranda González of UrbanTheater Company on what 'cultural triage' means for BIPOC theaters

Chandra, Walter and Ricky have a discussion about what we've seen and learned from the shenanigans of 2020 and how we can prep for the year to come. 

Minneapolis based playwright and scholar AnaSofia Villanueva joins us to unpack a series of articles from her Power Dynamics Series that she created for the Minnesota Playlist, where she defines, analyzes, and questions differing aspects of how power is divided and reflected within the theater arts industry from a Mixed-Race Latina's perspective.  Chandra and Ricky discuss two specific articles with AnaSofia,  "Hamilton: anti-Blackness, Indigenous erasure, and whitewashing Latinx" and "Latinxs Navigating Theaters' Reactions to BLM." 

In our final installment of the The Imagined Reality, Artistic Director Anthony Runfola joins Chandra and Ricky for reflective discussion on how some of the issues addressed in the article, "What I Think About When I Hear That Broadway is Racist" by Heathcliff Saunders (June 10th, 2020 Medium.com), and how he is attempting to create change in his practice.  To listen and subscribe to Sippin' Tea in the Balcony visit www.sippinteainthebalcony.com

A continuation of the discussion surrounding the article " What I Think About When I Hear That Broadway is Racist" by Heathcliff Saunders (June 10th, 2020 Medium.com). Chandra, Walter and Ricky continue the discussion and unpack the idea of 'Black bodies are not Black lives and Black lives are not Black bodies.' To listen and subscribe to Sippin' Tea in the Balcony visit www.sippinteainthebalcony.com #supportbipocpodcasts #supportblackpodcasts #supportbrownpodcasts #blacklivesmatter 

The Imagined Reality Pt 1: Black bodies in the Great White Way, the first episode in a four-part series discussing race and theatre utilizing the article, What I Think About When I Hear That Broadway is Racist by Heathcliff Saunders (June 10th, 2020, Medium.com) as a foundation to spark discussion about the complicated race dynamics that play out in the Arizona theatre scene.  Episode guests: AZ theatre artists Chandra Crudup, Walter Belcher, and Ricky Araiza To listen and subscribe to Sippin' Tea In The Balcony visit www.SippinTeaInTheBalcony.com      #supportbrownpodcasts

This week Ricky and Ernesto review Space55's Night Of The Chicken: Revenge of the Angry Booger To listen and subscribe to Sippin' Tea In The Balcony visit www.SippinTeaInTheBalcony.com      #supportbrownpodcasts Resources: https://www.artequity.org/artequity-resources  Show Transcript Ernesto: [00:00:00] Hello Theatre Goers Ricky: [00:00:02] hello. Hello. Ernesto: [00:00:04] Welcome back to sip and tea in the balcony. I am at an Ernesto Ortiz Ricky: [00:00:08] and I am Ricky Ariaza. Ernesto: [00:00:10] Oh my gosh. I am very excited. This is our third show. Third show, second review, Ricky: [00:00:15] second review, third show. And this is a good one. Ernesto: [00:00:17] Yeah. So thank you everyone who has been, everyone that's been listening. Um, yeah, thank you very much. So, uh, we are reviewing what Ricky: [00:00:24] we are reviewing Night of the Chicken. Revenge of the Angry. They're booger by Carrie barons and directed by Kim Porter at Space 55 Ernesto: [00:00:34] revenge of the angry Booker. What a title. Ricky: [00:00:36] Yeah. To give everyone a quick synopsis, the show itself is, this is the third part of a, of a cereal that Space 55 has done. Um, and it is about a young girl dealing with the twin horrors of going to junior high school and being "Ware-Chicken'. This is the third installment to a popular series that they've done is actually Zonie award-winning Ernesto: [00:00:57] Ooh, it's an award winning. [00:01:00] YAAAS! Ricky: [00:01:00] And I think we picked this show because the title alone was really funny to both of us. And then, um, and, and, and I think one thing that I've, I always, uh. I don't know why it always escaped me. The two other times that I've seen it advertised was the fact that it's a live radio play. Ernesto: [00:01:15] Oh, I love that. Ricky: [00:01:16] Which is, yeah. Which is when you have a concert style setup and you have, you know, a fully table with fully artists making the sound effects. So we were really interested in checking this out. So that was our choice. Ernesto: [00:01:26] Yeah. Yeah. And we also wanted to review, um, plays that aren't normally reviewed. Right, right, right. So, um, so where do we start? Ricky: [00:01:35] So let's start, let's just jump right into statements of meanings. So who were things that, uh, that were, that were meaningful to us that we liked, that we enjoyed? Ernesto: [00:01:43] Okay. Ricky: [00:01:44] Yes. Ernesto: [00:01:44] So of course, I mean, we have to talk about that foley work. It was beautiful. It was great. It was great. It was awesome. Yeah. It was such a, Oh gosh. What's, why did it stand out to me? You know, what stood out to me was that we were in a small space, [00:02:00] a very small space. Um, and that we were right next to that Foley table. It was going on right next to us the whole time. It could have been distracting. It wasn't. It turned into a beautiful piece of the, of the story. Ricky: [00:02:11] Yeah. I think I, you know, and I think what, what, what helped that. Is, yeah, it's like fully integrated into the performance. Uh, Carrie Barron's, who's, it was Carrie Barron's and Alexander Hollis, where the Foley artists and Carrie is the playwright. So it was, yeah, it was just a beautiful marriage of Foley and play. And, and it was fun cause they had their set up there, like you said. And then they had like lab coats on goggles, you know, just like this is their little laboratory of sound and, yeah. Ernesto: [00:02:38] Yeah. And you know, at the beginning, um. They during their curtain speech. They who, who was that? Here's Carrie. Carrie came out and she gave some examples of, of some sounds they were going to, to use in the show. And then when they, they, they made their appearance on the sound sounds came out. Everyone's like, Oh, yeah. It's always fun. Ricky: [00:02:57] It's an old style of theater. I mean, the Prairie Home [00:03:00] Companion does it every weekend on NPR. Uh, not Prairie Home Companion. Yes. Pretty well. Ernesto: [00:03:04] Yeah. Ricky: [00:03:05] But, but I think, um. Yeah, it's, it's, it's not a lost art, but it's dying. It's dying art. It's just something we don't see often. Ernesto: [00:03:13] Yeah. Ricky: [00:03:13] And it was, yeah. I thought it was great that she gave the opening tutorial and what they were going to see and how it's done. Um, yeah. Yeah. That was great. Ernesto: [00:03:22] You know, I also, what else? I loved what I had. We have to talk about this actress that, my gosh, I fell in love with . We was Excellant. So funny. Uh, it was Amy Carpenter. Ricky: [00:03:33] Yeah. Ernesto: [00:03:33] Yeah. Oh my gosh. She played, she played the principal, she played the lunch lady, she played....Was that it? Ricky: [00:03:39] She played a bearded woman . Ernesto: [00:03:41] Forgot about that. Ricky: [00:03:43] Yeah. She played, yeah. This whole ensemble was so solid. Ernesto: [00:03:47] Yeah. Ricky: [00:03:47] I mean, it was very clear that they have, um, that they work together a lot. They work well together. And just the array of characters. I mean, to me what I loved was the [00:04:00] throwback to like junior high, like the, the, the really like surreal and campy high school and junior high tight narratives that we saw like back in the day with like shows like Pete and Pete on Nickelodeon or Bob's burgers. And like Strangers with Candy. Like you see that she's really crazy Accenture characters. And I was kind of like, what the world that this play lived in, just like this high camp and things that were very familiar and any Carrie, I mean, Amy's, Amy, Amy really supported a lot of, I mean, she was giving me some Catherine O'Hara realness. And I mean, and another. I mean, all of them were fabulous. Uh, but another one that did stand out to me was Sean Collins. Who plays, uh, Matt. He plays a janitor and he plays the villain, uh, Reggie Funkhouser and just, there's a moment where he's arguing with himself or having different exchanges and you're just watching the, the quick changes happening and his voice just flipping back and forth, which was is always really cool to watch. Ernesto: [00:04:56] Because the way they had it set up was, um, kind of like a staged reading where they had [00:05:00] mic, I'm sorry, um, music stands there and the scripts were on the, on the stands. And you know what? I did love about it, but I've seen plenty of stage reading where it's that setup. But I loved that when they were making transitions or going to another scene, it would pick up their script and go to a different mic stand. So they didn't stay stationary there in their their in their stand. Ricky: [00:05:18] Yeah. I think Kim Porter's vision for the stage reading was like you had mentioned, it's like kinda like. The stage reading plus Ernesto: [00:05:24] Yeah staged reading, plus. Ricky: [00:05:26] It was just elevated, right? We had blocking, you had movement. Even the offstage areas like, looks like a, like a classroom and it's like school seating and, um, world map behind. Ernesto: [00:05:38] Yeah. Yeah. Ricky: [00:05:39] And I mean, I don't know, it was just really well thought out, but still really minimal. Like just sidelighting on a wall of posters that would look like they were handmade and the junior higher high school hallway. Um. Yeah, super simple, super clean, but super effective. Ernesto: [00:05:52] You know, I think, um, that helped with it. Again, it was a small space and there was some guys in front of us that were sitting so close that they could [00:06:00] have touched one of those, one of those mic stands. But I think all of that movement helped out by making that that space, not so awkward or, or, yeah, cause a small space and can kind of feel awkward. I think if they were just standing there stationary in their spots, I would have felt like, Oh God. From the show over. Yeah. And again, the cast was really strong. This was quirky, fun, um, script. But in order to make that work, you had have some people that, that had some great chemistry, some great timing. My goodness. Ricky: [00:06:33] The timing Everyone, everyone, you know, and I think, yeah, BJ Garrett, who's the new artistic directors, plays 55 is in the show as well. Like, yeah, I think the big hit he has and I didn't realize they've all created a really dynamic ensemble. Um, and I'm really, I'm really excited to see future stuff cause I wasn't sure like what, like when we saw it, we were a little hesitant or like, yeah. Clearly by title alone, it's corny. It's going to be corny and campy, so we know what we're getting into, but this corny can be [00:07:00] really effective or corny and camp can be, can be really painful. And this was so not painful. It was great. So much fun. Um, yeah, this was a lot of fun. Ernesto: [00:07:09] So were there any things that you had from questions about, or, yeah, Ricky: [00:07:13] yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I think it's a very funny play. I think the setup, like I said, it's clever. It's smart. Um. It's a, it's a joyful performance. I do think it's too long. It felt long. Um, I feel that a lot of the, the length of it felt, because we were coming back to a lot of jokes, which were so solid the first couple of times, but then when we would come back again, it wasn't landing the same way. And you called it out, you said it was Ernesto: [00:07:41] yeah it felt like, um, it felt like they were trying to call back to the jokes, but instead they were just repeating the joke. Ricky: [00:07:48] Yeah. And when you put it that way, like, okay, that's exactly what it felt like. Ernesto: [00:07:51] So we kept hearing it over and over and over. Ricky: [00:07:53] Because there was a point halfway through the performance where I kind of felt myself getting lost on where the direction of the story was going, and who am I [00:08:00] supposed to do? I know it. I mean, it all surrounds the Andi character who's played by Sarah Starling, like it's her experience, but, and how she maneuvers her friendships. But it was. It gets a little confusing, especially since they're playing so many different characters that I think if they just tightened it up, it would have, it would've just been more effective and, and I mean to kind of go back on like things that I on a, on a statement of meetings, something I liked is they're really pushing it forward as a family friendly, which it totally is. Ernesto: [00:08:27] Yup. Ricky: [00:08:28] There were youth in the audience when we went, but I think if it's going to be a family friendly piece has got to be shorter. If you're going to be shorter or if it's going to be, if you're going to keep it that length. There's gotta be an intermission. Ernesto: [00:08:37] Yeah. Ricky: [00:08:38] Um, it felt long. And, and, and, and like you said, there was a moment where you felt them losing steam. Ernesto: [00:08:44] Yeah. They felt like they were losing steam, you know, and there's a lot that's going on that, that the actors had to do on stage. There was a lot of, it felt exhausting, but you know what? I felt like, with that length and all that, all that going on there was also some audience fatigue there. Ricky: [00:08:59] A little bit. [00:09:00] Ernesto: [00:08:59] Yeah. So the audience was following along and they weren't engaged with, Oh, yeah. They got tired along with actors. Yeah. Ricky: [00:09:06] Um, another thing that stood out to me was that I think needed some, you know, some, it's an opinion, uh, was, um, because we're pushing forward fully art so much, I felt like there needed to be a little more sound support in some of the choices there was. I got confused on some of the sounds. Um, yeah, they just, some were very clear, uh, as far as being amplified at the right times. And there were other ones that got lost. Um, Ernesto: [00:09:33] yeah. And you know, such beautiful Foley work, it's, you don't want just the one to listen to you. I mean, you don't want to lose that. So I didn't just pushing it forward would have been better. Ricky: [00:09:41] Um, and then there were like two transitions for me that once again, because we're really pushing forward sound, um, that were just like dead silent in the dark, and it was like, why don't we have scoring here? Why don't we have a sound or a conversation or something sonically. Ernesto: [00:09:56] Right. Ricky: [00:09:57] But it was only like, I'm being super [00:10:00] nitpicky. Ernesto: [00:10:00] Yeah. Yeah. Ricky: [00:10:01] Um, yeah. Any, any, anything else? Ernesto: [00:10:04] Yeah, I think, um. No, I think that's all about, you know, what do you, would you recommend this show to anyone? Ricky: [00:10:11] I would recommend it. Ernesto: [00:10:12] Yeah. Ricky: [00:10:12] I think it's fun work. I think it's original work that's happening out here. Um, it's definitely something that's family friendly. Um, like legit family friendly. Not that ,that phrase gets, Ernesto: [00:10:23] yeah. Ricky: [00:10:23] You know, connotated with like, it's for kids. It's totally not. . I mean it's, it is, but it isn't like it's totally for adults. It's got the throw back. Uh, I don't know if I said this already, but it's got a throw back to like early Nickelodeon shows that Pete and Pete, it's got character, like zany characters you would find on like Bob's burgers. Uh, I'm not saying like these are the characters in it, but the quality, right? The playfulness of the things that you can like relate it to, uh, the high school, junior high craziness of like strangers with candy. Like everything's just very absurd. Um, that I would definitely enjoy walking out. I felt, I felt, I felt good. I felt. It was, I felt playful. [00:11:00] Um, I felt, honestly, I felt kind of inspired because you and ma, you and I have always talked about, Ernesto: [00:11:04] yeah. Ricky: [00:11:04] Because we have these podcasts platforms, how we want to do a radio theater thing with a Foley table and everything. So Ernesto: [00:11:10] I think I turned you and said, we're doing the doing this. So, yeah. So, yeah, I think, I mean, I felt the same. I would totally recommend it. And I did love, like you mentioned, it was a family friendly show. And it definitely was, there were some innuendos there. I had to look. I mean, I listen, I, I thought to myself, I heard one and I thought to myself, Oh, I wonder if there was any more cause I didn't catch them. So yeah. So I was a great show. If you want to bring your family, it's a great show to see. Yeah. Yeah. So. So, so great show, great show night of the chicken. Ricky: [00:11:42] So if you want to check it out, it's running until March 14th. Um, on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 and then Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM at Space 55. Um, adult tickets are $20 a student and kid tickets are $10. And on Sundays there's a special deal [00:12:00] where kids can get in free on Sundays, but it's limit two free kids per one adult and they cannot be combined with other discounts. Um. Yes. And then you can find out any other information about 55 out space, 55 their season and their location at space55.org. Ernesto: [00:12:16] Beautiful. So is there anything we want to plug before we go? Ricky: [00:12:19] Yes. Um, so Rising Youth Theatre has their yearly performance of the Light Rail Plays happening. March 6th, 7th and 8th at the Tempe transit center. And if you want to find out more information, please, please, please visit their website risingyouththeatre.org Ernesto: [00:12:34] so is this a play on the train? Ricky: [00:12:36] Uh, so not, not on the train. This me on the train platform. Okay. Uh, so they, yeah, but it's all, uh, original work. It's a youth artists, uh, uh, collaborating with adult artists and creating a series of, uh, individual pieces. I don't remember what the theme is this year, but, they never disappoint. Ernesto: [00:12:54] Ah, beautiful. Beautiful. And Teatro Bravo was doing some work? Ricky: [00:12:56] Correct? Yeah. So we're in the middle of rehearsal right now for Fade by [00:13:00] Tanya Saracho. That opens April 10th and runs, so April 26th happening at Space55 so visit our website at www.teatrobravo.org. under our who, uh, who we are, uh, our work, our work, sorry. Under the, our work tab, uh, hit Fade and it'll take you right to the spot on Space55's page to get tickets. Ernesto: [00:13:20] All right. And you know, if you like this show, or even if you don't, please, please go on, uh, Facebook and I'm sorry. Please go on iTunes and give us five stars. And if there's any comments that you want to, you want to leave, please leave them there. We'd love to hear from you as well as our Facebook page with just Sippin' Tea in the Balcony and, uh, Instagram as well, right? And we also have a Twitter. Uh, someone took Sippin, so it's @TeaInTheBalcony, but whatever. But if you want to get in contact with us that way as well, we also have a Twitter and all of that information is on sippinteainthebalcony.com Ricky: [00:13:56] And if you do follow us on Facebook or Instagram, please share, [00:14:00] like, and share our, uh, our posts. Cause it helps us get the word. I definitely helps us cause you our biggest form of advertisement. Ernesto: [00:14:06] Yes. Yes, definitely. All right. So that's it. Yup. Anything else? I think that's all I have. All right. Well until next time, Ricky: [00:14:13] see you at the theater. Ernesto: [00:14:15]See you at the theater!

Show#2 Reflection Episode (Chandra Crudup) Valley theatre artist, arts advocate and activist Chandra Crudup joins the discussion to reflect with us about different types of issues that can occur when doing a production such as blind spots, inappropriate casting, and how artists can be a part of change and dialogue.    Resources:https://www.artequity.org/artequity-resources       #supportbrownpodcasts

Show #1: ¡AMERICANO!  This week we review Phoenix Theatre's, ¡Americano!         #supportbrownpodcasts

Coming soon: Phoenix Latinx artists Ricky Araiza & Ernesto Ortiz review local theatre through a queer, POC lens. From the creative minds that brought you the ¡Uy, Cucuy! Podcast.       #supportbrownpodcasts