WVTC's Past Productions

"WVTC's previous logo"

"Meet Me @Metro II"

Presented by Watts Village Theater Company in association with Watts/Century Latino Organization

Meet Me @Metro II is an exciting theatrical journey that takes place at Metro stops between Watts and Long Beach. Through the prism of this year's “Traveling Circus” theme, Meet Me @Metro II will entertain audiences with performances from over 10 cutting-edge, professional Los Angeles theater companies, bands and solo artists. With the help of your tour guide and the Metro Art Docents, you will take a journey on Metro from the Watts Towers through Long Beach and back. Experience colorful and inspiring performances near stations along the way as you become part of a side show caravan. Each theater company has developed a 5-10 minute piece to engage the community in which it will perform using theater, dance, puppetry, music and spectacle. Bring the family and enjoy unique productions that highlight the cultural richness and diversity of South Los Angeles and Long Beach. Come and be transported by Metro and the arts!

Meet Me @Metro II is a presentation of Watts Village Theater Company, a multicultural urban theater company that inspires its community with an appreciation of all cultures through new works about contemporary social issues.

PERFORMANCE DATES:
Sat., July 2, 11:00am
Sun., July 3, 11:00am
Sat., July 9, 11:00am (A donor appreciation reception follows the show at the Watts Towers Arts Center)
Sun., July 10, 11:00am

Box Office check-in: 10:30am

PERFORMANCE STARTING POINT:

The Watts Towers Arts Center, 1727 East 107th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90002

"The Unrequited: Between Two Worlds"

In April and May 2011, Cornerstone Theater Company in association with Watts Village Theater Company presented The Unrequited (Between Two Worlds) Written by Lynn Manning Directed by Shishir Kurup The Unrequited (Between Two Worlds) follows the tale of Isela. Betrothed to Fernando, a manshe doesn’t love, she is devoted to Cris, a man who stole her heart and died trying to win herhand. When Cris’ soul possesses Isela on the eve of her wedding, a Pandora’s box full of secrets, lies, betrayal, and hoodoo is opened, and nothing will ever be the same. Set in Watts,CA during Depression-era 1930s, this world premiere play was based on The Dybbuk, the classic 1914 play by S. Ansky. Community partners on this project: Lighthouse Community Outreach Church, Watts SeniorCenter and Rose Garden, Youth Opportunities Watts High School and the Mafundi Auditorium.This project was part of Cornerstone Theater Company’s 25th theatrical season. Times & Dates: April 28 – May 22, 2011. Location:Youth Opportunities High School (YO Watts) performed in the Mafundi Auditorium1827 E. 103rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90002 (Cross streets: 103rd St. & Wilmington Ave. Secure parking in lot.) Tickets:Sliding scale $5-$20 online.

"Ochre & Onyx: The Langston Hughes Project"

In Jan 2011, In partnership with KPCC, Watts Village Theatre Company (WVTC) presented a staged reading of the critically acclaimed original play Ochre & Onyx: The Langston Hughes Project.
Ochre & Onyx (written on commission by WVTC co-founder Lynne Manning) follows an African-American slam poet in her struggle to come to terms with her preconceptions about Latinos after losing her day job to a bilingual Latina replacement. Thanks to a chance meeting with an Afro-Latina painter on a guided museum tour, the poet learns that Langston Hughes, father of the Harlem Renaissance, lived in Mexico from 1920-21 causing a cultural collision that changed young Langston’s life forever. Further exploration of Hughes’ legacy leads her to re-examine her past, her relationships and Los Angeles’ ever-changing ethnic landscape.

For the past 14 years, WVTC has produced exclusively new plays that address and examine issues facing Watts and the Los Angeles community. Ochre & Onyx was developed in that spirit with a focus on Afro-Latino collaboration; both within the story of the play and within the team of artists working to bring the play to life.

The reading was directed by Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez, Artistic Director, Watts Village Theatre Company and was followed by a post-reading Q&A moderated by KPCC’s Hettie Lynne Hurtes.

"Clover & Cactus"

@ the LATC Saturday, December 11 @ 8pm
@ the Watts Towers Arts Center Sunday, December 12 @ 1:30pm

In the late 1840’s approximately 200 United States soldiers defected from the American army to fight for Mexico in the Mexican American War. These mostly Irish soldiers came to be known as Los San Patricios (the St. Patrick’s Battalion). Clover & Cactus, set the night before the final battle of the war, sharply explores the historical issues that helped draw a group of strangers from opposite sides of the world together, discovering common bonds, and the worth found therein.

Starring:
Iliana Carter
David Guerra
Germaine De Leon
Tim Orona
Michael John Pappas
Matthew Weedman

Featuring:
Scott Rodarte and the Ollin Band LIVE!
Director: Guillermo Aviles-Rodriguez
Musical Director: Scott Rodarte
Playwright: Beto O'Byrne
Playwright Mentors: Carlos Morton and Jorge Huerta

"Meet Me @Metro"

May 2010 along Metro's Red and Blue Lines
Watts Village Theater Company (WVTC) is proud to present the first annual production of Meet Me @ Metro, conceived by WVTC Artistic Director Guillermo Aviles-Rodriguez, with original works by WVTC, Moo Doo Puppets, Epic Megalopolis Productions, The Nonsense Company, Collage Dance Theatre, and East LA Rep.

Meet Me @ Metro is an exciting, interactive, trans-disciplinary theatrical journey, taking place at Metro stops between Downtown Los Angeles and the community of Watts. Using theater, dance, puppetry, music and even food, this eclectic happening will explore cultures that often converge aboard Metro that are rarely examined or understood. Meet Me @ Metro will reinforce the message that art lives everywhere and with us all. You, as the audience, will be just as instrumental in crafting these stories forming in public spaces as the performers themselves. Just as Metro moves people, so does art. We invite you to come along on this epic journey.

"Making Watts Count: Watts Village Theater Company Performs Guerilla-Style Show Encouraging Participation in the 2010 Census"

March 2010 @ the Watts Farmer's Market

Watts Village Theater Company’s (WVTC’s) “US Census: It’s In Our Hands” works to encourage participation in the 2010 Census by explaining the purpose and uses of Census data as well as dispelling common misconceptions that often exist in disenfranchised communities about Census activities.

In keeping with their mission to bring issue-driven, thought provoking theater to Watts and the South Los Angeles area, Watts Village Theater Company (WVTC) will perform a short play written by Damion Teeko Parran and directed by WVTC Artistic Director Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez that encourages residents of underserved communities to participate in the 2010 U.S. Census. The project is part of a season that is dedicated to site-specific or found space performance, and will be presented at the Watts Farmers Market in Ted Watkins Park.

Historically, communities such as Watts have been difficult for the Census to reach, as many people harbor feelings of mistrust toward census takers that come door-to-door to collect information. This is especially common in areas with large immigrant populations, where undocumented immigrants avoid the Census, thereby resulting in an inaccurate count of the population demographic and an inaccurate allocation of funds to an already underserved community. In an effort to combat this issue, the Census Bureau has partnered with organizations such as WVTC to raise awareness and spread accurate information about the Census.

“We are proud to serve our community with this entertaining, relevant and educational piece of theater, and remain committed to continuously producing cutting-edge, timely work by artists of color that speaks to our community,” said WVTC Artistic Director Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez. “Partnerships with entities such as the Census Bureau are proof that what WVTC is working to change lives, and we’re committed to continuing on that track.”

Starring:
Raul Cardona
Angelo Francois (Spoken Word Artist)
Angela Imperial
Juan Parada
Maria Pasquarelli

Featuring:
Erick Medina

"Black Words on White Pages: New York State of Mind"

Written/Performed by: Christopher Rivas
Directed by: Nataki Garrett

January 2010 @ the Watts Towers Arts Center

As William Williams arrives in New York for his best friend’s wedding, he encounters a slew of colorful characters with some rather unpredictable stories. In this poignant, hilarious and provocative one-man show, everyone is yearning to share their lives with someone, and William is there to listen. And as the wedding draws closer, he finds that he, too, is inevitably entangled in this complex web of narratives. As the past resurfaces to collide with the present, William begins to piece together the network of volatile relationships connecting everyone around him and realizes his lasting influence on the world he thought he left behind.