Lively reading of CSUF play reinterprets real issues

The upcoming play “Joy in Uncertainty: A Glory Chicken Adventure,” written by Sigrid Gilmer, was revealed at its first heightened staged reading at Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center in Downtown Santa Ana on Friday, Oct. 4.

The childlike yet inspiring tone of the story, paired with the performer's vivacious energy, created an ambiance so immersive that the scripts and podiums on stage seemed to disappear. With only two weeks of rehearsing, minimal costuming and no set, the performance still drew audience laughter, participation and thunderous applause.

The two-day run was presented by CSUF’s Department of Theatre and Dance studio series in partnership with Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble as a workshop for this play's upcoming production next spring. Its production will also take place at the Santa Ana center.

Sara Guerrero, director of the play, founding artistic director of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble and part-time professor at CSUF, uses her passion for the arts to work in tandem with the university and the center to create change.

“Part of my mission is to share and provide opportunities to create and build theater for my community,” Guerrero said. “Our mission for Breath of Fire is to focus on theater for young audiences, which we call ‘TYA.’”

This production is also a part of the BIPOC Superhero Project, a nationwide initiative led by Guerrero's past colleague, playwright and educator José Casas. This project aims to give opportunities to playwrights of color and give people of color opportunities to play roles that may not be otherwise presented.

Sigrid Gilmer, playwright and theatre graduate from Cal State Los Angeles who studied playwriting under Suzan-Lori Parks at Cal Arts, got the opportunity after Casas shared the piece with Guerrero. Gilmer hopes that through her play she can explain to younger audiences, in a comedic and light-hearted way, how to understand or cope with tragic real-world events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“I wrote it for 8-year-olds, and what I found in thinking about that is it’s also sort of what I needed to hear as a freaked out adult,” Gilmer said.

Gilmer is also playing an active role in the beginning stages of production for the show, sitting in with the cast during rehearsals, offering her own feedback to help them bring her story to life.

“All of the actors have just been tremendously beautiful and talented in embodying the work,” Gilmer said. “Once it gets into people's bodies, you're like, ‘Oh, here's the story, here it is, here's how these moments actually sort of unfold.’’’

Rhylee Smith, a third-year theatre major, was in the audience opening night and she could not help but notice the life that the cast brought into the heightened staged reading.

“The creativity really ran wild in this show, because I think there's not a lot of just silly, fun, positive-messaged shows recently,” Smith said. “We all felt like a part of our inner child was healed, or kind of seen.”

Eliane Moenho, who plays the Glory Chicken, is a third-year devised performance theater major who reflected on tapping into her wacky side when performing stories made for children.

“You have to fully commit to theater for young audiences,” Moenho said. “Even if you're doing something silly or ridiculous, there's no embarrassment because it's more embarrassing to do it halfway.”

With the play being stripped to its bare bones for this staged reading, Gilmer and the cast are able to see “Joy in Uncertainty: A Glory Chicken Adventure” in its infancy and learn about what did or did not work. Moenho has big hopes for this production and sees this reading as just a stepping stone for the story.

“I'm really excited to see how this staged reading helps Sigrid because they're going to be doing — next semester — a full production,” Moenho said. “So I'd really like to see how the piece evolves from this.”