The LACER Afterschool Programs

proudly presents

The Culture of Me

a new play from the Bancroft Stars Theatre Workshop

Directed by Los Angeles

Cultural Affairs Department Artist in Residence

Cristina Frias

with Guest Artist

Corky Dominguez

THREE SHOWS ONLY!

Thursday, June 3 1:30pm and 4:00pm

 Friday, June 4 6:30pm Reception, 7:00pm Showtime

the cast - photo by Dyanne Cano

Bancroft Middle School - Auditorium

929 N. Las Palmas Ave.

Hollywood, CA  90038

THE CULTURE OF ME

Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Artist-in-Residence Cristina Frias and the LACER Afterschool Program's Theatre Workshop at Bancroft Middle School will present their play, THE CULTURE OF ME on Thursday, June 3 and Friday, June 4 at Bancroft Middle School's Auditorium in Hollywood.

THE CULTURE OF ME is a poetic play straight from the minds and hearts of young people. The play explores cultural diversity, individuality and  violence in the world today.  The young actors enter the stage as immigrants from their home countries of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Mexico and France. 

They are then interrogated by an INS officer who strips them of their "individual/ethnic" identity; "anything that makes them look original". 

Later in the play, in an open letter to “America” students candidly and poetically express their feelings about war, gangs, and terrorism. 

The Culture of Me poignantly and dramatically comments on the culture of young people living in today's world.

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excerpts from

THE CULTURE OF ME

I Write America

ALL: I WRITE AMERICA!

Christian:  Dear America, I write to you today because my life isn’t as good as it should be because of the nation’s ignorance which fails to see what is happening in the world and at home.  America, you try and fix things yet you make it worse.  I am not saying I do not like you but you can do better. Please, America, please.  The world should be on its way to complete paradise, kind of like a 21^st century Eden.  We need to plant more flowers and recycle as much as possible….or face the consequences.

ALL: I WRITE AMERICA

Jesse:  Dear America, I really do not want anymore wars.  The world is really like a circle.  Like the saying goes, whatever goes around comes around.  If you do good, good makes its way around.  If you do bad, bad will make its way around. You choose, America.

ALL: I WRITE AMERICA

Arthur:  Dear America, when I grow up I don’t want there to be violence or bombing in the world.  I want peace everywhere.  I want to see myself in the future happy with a wife and kids.  Killings happen all over the world which makes me sick.  We are losing more and more people everyday.  America, this is what is painful to me.

ALL: I WRITE AMERICA

Daniel:  Dear America, I write this today because I am really angry.  People who have so much hatred and poison are spreading it around this earth.  Gangs, death and terrorism makes me mad.  It is damaging our country and other people’s too. So please America fix this or we will fix you!

THE CULTURE OF ME at LACER's STAR-Fest, May 8, 2004

Photo by Kitty Yuen and THE CAST photo by Dyanne Cano

This FREE event is made possible by

a grant from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department

Cristina Frias

Los Angeles Cultural Affairs

Artist in Residence

excerpts from

THE CULTURE

OF ME

Remembering Family Stories

Christian: Family stories, folktales, songs and secrets are often lost from one generation to another, from one culture to another, one language to another. Sometimes people are ashamed of their past, so they lock the door and throw away the key! But sometimes, a simple object, like a letter, a photograph, or music can bring back important memories and people from our life.

(Music plays, Actors start to take special objects from a box.  The following scenes are acted out as they remember these stories)

Maisha: Coming to the U.S. from Bangladesh takes about 2 days.  You can imagine how miserable we were.  I love going to the weddings there. It takes about 4 days to get married.  The first day, the bride puts Mendhi, it is like a henna tattoo! The second day the groom puts on mendhi! The third day they get married.  The 4^th is the wedding reception.

Daniel: I can remember my aunt telling me stories about the Zipatillo, the legend son of the Zihuanaba. The Zipatillo’s feet were turned backward and he would scare all the pretty ladies away.  La Zihuanaba was a woman who came out of the river at night, when the men and horses came she would become a pretty woman for them to look at.  The men would invite her to ride on the horses and when they did….she would stab them in the back! That story always scared me!

Christian/Arthur:  My dad would always tell us the story of La Llorana.  A native princess falls in love with a Spanish nobleman, but they cannot marry because his family does not approve. They shack-up for a couple of years, have 2 or 3 kids, then he doesn't come home one night. She finds him at his parents' house, in the middle of his wedding reception. Furious, she drowns her children in the nearby river. When she comes to her senses, she kills herself in grief, and is doomed to wander the riverbed in search of her murdered children.

Tamari: In my culture, when a person dies, we put a plate of food on the grave as an offering.  They say that the person who dies will eat the food. My grandfather died 2 years ago, his grave is near my grandmother's.  I still miss them.

Ulises: In my culture we celebrate “el dia de los payasos” day of the clowns.  Everybody dresses like a payaso, they eat bacon, tamales and then get drunk!

I Write America

ALL: I WRITE AMERICA!

Ulises: Dear America, I am 12 years old and things people say are just plain cold.  People living in the streets and kids listening to a band called Creed.  Husbands hitting their wives, people stabbing each other with knives! I am so sad, I think of all the good times I could have had.  There are too  many problems at home.  I just had a fight with my mom on the phone.  There are a lot of fights at school too; it makes me feel like a mad mad bull.  American this violence has to stop or else I think my head will pop!

ALL: I WRITE AMERICA

Brittney: Dear America, SO upset, so misjudged, so unrealistic to everyone. So confused and predictable. So opposite of what everyone thinks. So confused about what everyone thinks.  Can’t understand what is going on, is everyone mad at me? What did I do? What did they see? Is everyone mad because of me?  If they don’t understand that Brittney is me.  I don’t care.  I will never leave.

ALL: I WRITE AMERICA

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LACER

Afterschool Programs

Literacy, Arts, Culture, Education and Recreation

1718 N. Cherokee Ave., Suite A

Hollywood, California 90028

323 957-6481 tel

323 957-6480 fax

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