USE/ VALUE: Annabel Grace Regier on "Compassionately Preparing an Audience"
USE/ VALUE is a new recurring feature on NNH where creative folks from the community share practical tips on how to plot, plan, strategize, organize and mobilize within the Arts.
Our first offering is from Annabel Grace Regier- Film director, theater producer, photographer, and all around maker of things both big and small. My family and I attended her outdoor staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream last year; and the the show began with a measured announcement of what audience members should do if ICE was show up. LA was experiencing a massive surge in daily raids at the time, and tensions were at an all time high.
Amid the picturesque side yard and fairy lights, it was a moment of mind-warping juxtaposition. The realest of real talk delivered in Shakespearean costume. A city defined by its immigrant population, besieged by a nouveau Gestapo. The immediacy of our current reality followed by an invitation to lose oneself in the 16th Century. What a time to be alive.- MA
Compassionately Preparing An Audience
By Annabel Grace Regier
This past June I put on a play.
It was the first play I had ever directed.
It was the first time I was directing Shakespeare.
It was the first time I had an audience to think of, so honestly the ICE raids were only a murmur in the back of my head with all the other things I was thinking and doing and making.
I was not however doing this alone. I had a full cast of talented actors, who are good and kind people. Hermia, the young woman in A Midsummer Night’s Dream whose lover falls out of love with her, was played by my dear friend Alyssa Durbin-Tan.
This brave and intelligent friend of mine is so active in her community and is ever-aware of the tragedies and aggressive behavior the GOP commits. She is the one who brought to my attention the potential of an ICE raid at our show. Together we decided to make an announcement at the beginning of the play. We wanted the audience to be aware of the potential threat and communicate that we had a safe place for them to be in the case that something were to happen. We put the show on in a backyard in Whittier and had about 90 people in attendance. We needed to appoint someone to deal with the authorities, especially since so many of us had “beef” with them already and did not want to escalate the situation. My friend Joshua Roberts, trained in deescalation and conflict resolution, and overall lovable father figure, was a natural choice in partnering with Alyssa in this pre-show speech.
I wish I could take credit for Matt’s words of compassionate preparation but I really can't. Alyssa and Joshua can though, their words and intentions spoke for themselves at the show. It helped create a safe and aware audience.
I can take credit for having them as friends and creating an environment in which Alyssa felt comfortable bringing this up to me. I hope as a director to always create spaces in which my actors feel taken care of and heard on all different levels. I don't think you can make good art without good people.
Very, very excited to announce that we'll be hosting CLOSE ENOUGH by Cathy Ellis- The show opens on 2/14 (lovers only) at our DTLA space in The Bendix Building. A bunch of other galleries will open as well, come by say hello and show some support for CHIRLA.
For those of you new to Cathy's work, there will be a full post on NNH going live next Saturday- She's a real painter's painter.
CHIRLA was founded in 1986 to advance the human and civil rights of immigrants and refugees. CHIRLA became a place for organizations and people who support human rights to work together for policies that advance justice and full inclusion for all immigrants.
CHIRLA’s first director was Father Luis Olivares, the pastor at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. As a leading voice of the Sanctuary movement, Olivares used his church to protect refugees fleeing human rights abuses in Central America in the 1980s.
CHIRLA has since become one of the largest and most effective advocates for immigrant rights, organizing, educating and defending immigrants and refugees in the streets, in the courts, and in the halls of power.
At CHIRLA, civic-minded immigrant families work for a world where they are free to move, participate in democracy, and enjoy human rights. CHIRLA relies on the love and vision of our community to organize and build power among people, institutions, and organizations to change public opinion and craft progressive policies that promote human, civil and labor rights for everyone.
"Nadie es ilegal en tierra robada"
A call to action, commonly known by the initialism CTA, is a strategic marketing tool designed to spur an immediate response from an audience, guiding them toward a specific action.
NNH began with the (perhaps naive) hope that it could be of service to folks who needed it. I wasn't exactly sure who that meant- Was it the potential readership? The Mutual Aid groups that would be featured in each post? Or other creative types (equally fed up with the constant "me at the center" paradigm required by our Tech Overlords) looking for a place to get weird and do some good.
SO, if you're out there- whomever you may be- Let me know. Leave a comment. Click a link. Tell a friend. Pitch an idea. Do anything to feel less alone in the world.
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