Arts & Life, Events

CSULB Theatre Department presents After Orlando

On June 12, the United States was hit with tragic news about a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

This Sunday from 4-6 p.m. in the Studio Theatre on campus, the Cal State Long Beach Theatre Arts Department, in partnership with Missing Bolts Productions and NoPassport Theatre Alliance and Press, invite all to explore together how to move forward after the shooting.

Beginning in July, co-artistic directors of Missing Bolts Productions  Blair Baker and Zac Kline invited playwrights to create short works in response to the shooting, as reported from American Theatre’s writer Diep Tran. Those works were then compiled into a larger, capsule show meant to honor the 49 victims. Since then, more than 40 theatrical institutions and universities across the world have agreed to host “After Orlando.”

CSULB theatre arts graduate student Christina Ramos, the producer and curator for the campus event, said this is the first time collaborating with the two companies. Jeff Janisheski, the CSULB theatre arts department chair, is personal friends with Caridad Svich of NoPassport. Svich reached out to Janisheski, who was very passionate about the topic, Ramos said.

Current theatre arts students, alumni and community members have worked together on the production of “After Orlando” since the beginning of the school year, Ramos said.

“There are still a lot of raw emotions surrounding the topic that can range from grief to anger to fear,” Ramos said. “It is a chance for all of us to sit together and process together and move forward.

Ten short readings of plays, presentations by local artists and a group discussion will take place during the event. There will be a reception following the discussion.

CSULB professor in performance Alexandra Billings will be reading and singing during the event. Billings is known for her role as Davina in Amazon’s “Transparent” and being the second transgender women to play a transgender character on television.

The panelists for the discussion will include: Jon Higgins, assistant director Office of  Multicultural Affairs; Dr. Stacy Macias, assistant professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies; Lt. Don Mueller of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; and Porter Gilberg, Executive Director of The Center in Long Beach.

They encourage students to respond to the play readings during the discussion, and also welcome discussions about the frustration people felt after the mass shooting.

“I welcome that anger,” Ramos said. “Be angry and bitter. Let’s talk about that and rage at each other or against the world.”

The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and the department recommends attendees reserve seats through CalRep.org.

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