PASADENA PLAYHOUSE'S PRODUCTION TO BE USED AS DIVERSITY TOOL

THE PLAY 12 ANGRY MEN A DIVERSITY TOOL Pasadena Playhouse’s – Sheldon Epps Vision – version of the play could be used as a tool to open and focus the concept of “Diversity” in Education, Business, and Government. Young black and white actors, with a cautious regard for class, gender and gender preference, could be immersed in the Playhouse Version and set out to help meet the challenges of diversity in institutions throughout our pace-setter state of California, and the rest of our beautiful country. I encourage Schools and Theatres that have as their mission to train young actors as change-agents to add this suggestion to their agendas. In a country, a world, that’s growing ever-more complex, as we are forced by choice and circumstance to sit at the same table of necessities, a tool that could enable us to deal with inevitable change is an absolute necessity.

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE BOLD NOT AFRAID

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE’S 12 ANGRY MEN, BOLD, NOT AFRAID The play and players will leave the Pasadena Playhouse stage Sunday, 1 December of this year. I have some parting thoughts a few of which are in this post. The impetus of these thoughts is the human habit of avoiding difficult subjects – we are inclined to talk about the sun but not the rain, the day but not the night, happiness, but we tend to avoid speaking about, or even thinking about sorrow. Race is the central theme that drives our Playhouse production. Our director, Sheldon Epps, didn’t falter when he laid out his vision of the play in our first rehearsal. Each actor, to a man, committed to employing the skills of his craft to meet that vision. I recently viewed the film 12 Angry men, Directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. I ejected the disk from my computer with the fussy notion that the story was about a lower class of people and how such individuals were treated in a court of law – the film is dated, so it’s difficult to know how the film might change if revised for today. It was clear to me the film was more about character than story. Sheldon and his mighty band of brothers did not slink away or avoid the ugly side of race, but marched, fearlessly, into the thick of battle for equitable race relations. A closing note: if we humans continue to avoid difficult subjects, solutions will never be attained. If we continue to avoid taking on difficult challenges today, our tomorrow will be the same as it is today – undoubtedly worse.

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE BOLD NOT AFRAID

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE’S 12 ANGRY MEN, BOLD, NOT AFRAID The play and players will leave the Pasadena Playhouse stage Sunday, 1 December of this year. I have some parting thoughts a few of which are in this post. The impetus of these thoughts is the human habit of avoiding difficult subjects – we are inclined to talk about the sun but not the rain, the day but not the night, happiness, but we tend to avoid speaking about, or even thinking about sorrow. Race is the central theme that drives our Playhouse production. Our director, Sheldon Epps, didn’t falter when he laid out his vision of the play in our first rehearsal. Each actor, to a man, committed to employing the skills of his craft to meet that vision. I recently viewed the film 12 Angry men, Directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. I ejected the disk from my computer with the fussy notion that the story was about a lower class of people and how such individuals were treated in a court of law – the film is dated, so it’s difficult to know how the film might change if revised for today. It was clear to me the film was more about character than story. Sheldon and his mighty band of brothers did not slink away or avoid the ugly side of race, but marched, fearlessly, into the thick of battle for equitable race relations. A closing note: if we humans continue to avoid difficult subjects, solutions will never be attained. If we continue to avoid taking on difficult challenges today, our tomorrow will be the same as it is today – undoubtedly worse.

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE BOLD NOT AFRAID

PASADENA PLAYHOUSE’S 12 ANGRY MEN, BOLD, NOT AFRAID The play and players will leave the Pasadena Playhouse stage Sunday, 1 December of this year. I have some parting thoughts a few of which are in this post. The impetus of these thoughts is the human habit of avoiding difficult subjects – we are inclined to talk about the sun but not the rain, the day but not the night, happiness, but we tend to avoid speaking about, or even thinking about sorrow. Race is the central theme that drives our Playhouse production. Our director, Sheldon Epps, didn’t falter when he laid out his vision of the play in our first rehearsal. Each actor, to a man, committed to employing the skills of his craft to meet that vision. I recently viewed the film 12 Angry men, Directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb. I ejected the disk from my computer with the fussy notion that the story was about a lower class of people and how such individuals were treated in a court of law – the film is dated, so it’s difficult to know how the film might change if revised for today. It was clear to me the film was more about character than story. Sheldon and his mighty band of brothers did not slink away or avoid the ugly side of race, but marched, fearlessly, into the thick of battle for equitable race relations. A closing note: if we humans continue to avoid difficult subjects, solutions will never be attained. If we continue to avoid taking on difficult challenges today, our tomorrow will be the same as it is today – undoubtedly worse.

12 ANGRY MEN AND OTHERS

12 ANGRY MEN AND MORE Reginald Rose’s iconic play opened at the Pasadena Playhouse Sunday past. I am fortunate to be one of the twelve jurors charged with deciding the guilt or innocence of a 16 year old boy charged with killing his father –the boy is, presumably, a person of color. Sheldon Epps, the artistic director at the theatre, directed six white men and six black men, and supportive staff, in their deliberations. Our play is about race and how it manifested itself in the social, political, and psychological mind-sets of these 12 men. It is truth stripped naked – nothing is understated for very long. The men tare at each other until what is deep in their minds is exposed for everyone to see. The play closes 1 December 2013. You owe it to yourself to witness 12 Angry Men at the Pasadena Playhouse.

NO SYRIA ATTACT

NO SYRIA ATTACT I'm just sharing something on Syria that doesn't need many words. The hypocrisy of our leaders has taken on an even bolder face in recent years. If I understand our president he adds to other absurd reasons for attacking Syria by saying, 'We don't have evidence they did it but the chemical weapons they have might one day fall into the hands of our enemies – America could be attacked one day.' I've understood other voices in national leadership to say, 'We're not trying to force a regime change but just punish it for using a chemical weapon.' Our country is openly supporting the rebels in a civil war. Do our leaders believe Americans are so dumb we fail to see that an attack would likely help the rebels win the war and overthrow their government? In the language of the street, if you gonna fuck me at least give me the option of using a lubricant – it would also be civil to kiss me once in a while.

STOP and FRISK is CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Just thinking aloud – hope you find something of interest in it. My mind is in New York and the controversy around the Stop and Frisk Law. The law is not new to people of color and poor people in general – they've always been stopped, searched, and their homes entered by officers of the law, often without pretense or warrant. When the issue first started to generate some heat in the press I thought it curious that what was already a fact in some communities had become a matter of law and policy. Then my mind as always, started to grapple with the why of it. It wasn't long before I ran smack into the truth of it. There's a tactic used to control group behavior – it's referred to as "Corporal Punishment". When one person of a group does something objectionable all members of that group are punished as if each is responsible for the act. The idea is that innocent members of the group would be encouraged to point out or stop the guilty member from further objectionable acts. All those with power and influence have or will use the tactic to maintain power – governments, law enforcers, wealthy individuals, large organizations and institutions. It seems odd, but people with power gain an ally when they use the tactic of Corporal Punishment – people who are punished without just cause are often all too willing to help those in power achieve their goals: there is usually favor in doing so.