From Page to Stage

Unmasking Hercules is a play that I started writing in 2013, beginning as a 10 minute scene, entitled, “Sunrise for Hercules and Eros,” while I was a beginning playwriting student under Josefina Lopez, founder and Artistic Director of Casa 0101 in Boyle Heights. As I began working in Restorative Justice at a middle school in Los Angeles, I was having an incredible struggle working in a strongly oppressive school where the adults were under extreme stress and many relationships on campus were unhealthy and debilitating.

 As a way to respond and to heal I began writing a story set in a high school, where young men were struggling to be in connection with each other and struggling to find ways to express themselves and their needs, while the adults provide different examples of behavior and intentions. As I was guided in organizing the story, I was filled with remembrance of students I had taught and worked with in my life while also reflecting on my own relationships as a man, the result was, “Unmasking Hercules.”

Story

"In Brotherhood, love and strength are unmasked."

"Unmasking Hercules," presents the masks that boys and men wear with each other and the effects and consequences of those masks. "Unmasking Hercules," attempts to uncover and reveal strength and vulnerability and the necessity of relationships. 

Reading

In the spring of 2016, under the leadership of Miguel Garcia, “Unmasking Hercules,” was selected for presentation in, “Casa 0101 New Works Play Reading Series." Cast for the Reading included: Hector A. Garcia, Jose Antonio Garcia, Roland Garcia, Karlo Ishibashi, Jesse Maldonado, Michael de la Pena,  Matthew Benjamin Ramos, Albie Serna Jr., Devan Torres and Joey Zepeda.

Hearing the play read for the first time by actors was a vulnerable and frightening experience.

This reading, as most readings, was for the purpose of the playwright to hear the play read by actors, receive feedback from audience, to see what interest and engagement there may be in a future production and what changes and revisions need to be made.

Workshop production

After the revisions and meetings with Directors and Producers, the next life of a play usually is a workshop production where a Director puts the play up on it's feet with action and staging. In the fall of 2016, Josefina Lopez, under Casa 0101 produced a workshop production of the play. The play was given to the talented and skilled, Corky Dominguez to direct and co produce. Auditions were held and an amazing cast was assembled, I began witnessing the characters I received through the writing, on their feet and in action. The cast included: Marco Aguilar, Joshua Bermudez, Evan Garcia, Jose Antonio Garcia, Jesse Maldonado, Matthew Benjamin Ramos, David Ty Reza, Devan Torres and Joey Zepeda. A huge intention of gratitude to Josefina for her mentorship and support of this story and my writing.

Masking

Masking is an important aspect of the play, as characters are challenged to make decisions that impact each other. The play calls upon audiences to consider what aspects of their selves they engage or don't engage in with others. 

As preparation for the work, the workshop cast was asked to partner with each other in pairs to create a base mask that the Director, Corky Dominguez, would use to create and decorate the individual masks of the characters.

Audience responses

Audience participation

Audiences were asked to write their responses to three questions during intermission. The larger the text the more often it was noted on post it's.

What do you see in your reflection?

How do you define strength?

What would you like to unmask in others?

From Spirit to page, through ritual

It was ritual that helped me to be open to receive the guidance through comadres (godmothers) like Gloria Anzaldua and ancestors to write and organize the story events and themes and elements in the play, they helped me crack myself open and to help expose others to light and healing. I would begin writing and later editing through candle and lightening and smudging myself with Palo Santo, and sometimes listen to the music of flutes. It was the ritual of Circle and a talking piece that brought the ensemble together after the initial table work and readings of the play, as we began our masking workshop. In this first initial Circle we shared the stories of our names and what we needed as support in the roles we had in the production and how we needed to cope with the elements of violence in the story. Every night before the house was open, as often happens before a performance, we were all in Circle, we used a talking piece to questions that reflected the journeys we were all undergoing through performing and producing this story, both the impact to us and what we were learning about each other and what we appreciated about each other. The final question in our last Circle before our final performance was, "What is a mask of yours that you are aware of and/or attempting to remove?"

Writing this work and sharing this work with other artists and with audiences was deeply spiritual and transformative in the ruptures of the story and in the healing. So when my spiritual brother Kieran, who some of the masking and ritual work we did together when we were students influenced some of the elements of the play, was with me for the final weekend of the play, he reminded me of celebration by asking me, "How do you want us to celebrate your work?" Hermanidad, or brotherhood, is a light throughout the story and the way we celebrated the closing of this incredible portion of the journey of the play was through a stay in Joshua Tree with rituals connected to my element of water and his element of air and a final ritual with fire. We began our opening of ritual with prayers and ceremony at the Los Angeles River before we went to the desert. We set intentions for our personal selves and our creative work and for our partners with intentions of Abundance and Journey.

I pray for the next phase of life for "Unmasking Hercules" that it continue to work towards a value of my life, to uncover, what needs to be uncovered and to touch more people. I hope that I will continue to learn from Mr. Rivera, Coach, Hercules, Eros, Tomas, Andres, Christian, Simon and Elder who were and I hope will continue to be embodied by amazing artists and collaborators. The play is currently searching for a home in a larger production.

Matthew Benjamin Ramos sent me this picture he saw on a street somewhere after the play. It sums up the play and some of my journey very clearly. My upmost and sincerest expression of gratitude to the brothers of "Unmasking Hercules," you helped me to loosen and shake off my masks.