The Three Same Guys, by playwright Joe Roland, takes the stage at the Actor's Gang in Los Angeles, CA, on February 3, 2004.
Followers of New York's off-Broadway scene know Roland as a founding actor of Water Theate r Company, where the founding charter touts "the political and social change that enlightening, artful theatre brings...We dedicate ourselves to exploring and sharing the explosive, transforming power of that human endeavor--the creative process--with all its revelations."
And here's where the rubber meets the road. These guys really believe this stuff. This month Roland has pressed his own creative output into this ... well ... this noble purpose. The Three Same Guys begins a run at Trinity Rep in Providence, RI, in fall 2004; acclaimed director Mike Nichols recently said of The Three Same Guys, "There hasn't been a play like it since Waiting for Lefty." But at the Actor's Gang in L.A., Roland himself will appear as Dev, along with four intrepid New York actors of like mind, as a benefit performance to raise money and awareness for the 70,000 supermarket workers on strike in Southern California. Three giant corporations (Safeway, Kroger and Albertson's) are attempting to eliminate health care benefits at work, effectively destroying affordable health care for these workers. Says Roland,
"There is a war being waged on the working class in America. They are slowly disappearing into the ranks of the working poor.... Personally I think that [corporate America is] taking the short view. A nation of poor, overworked, underinsured service workers can't be good for business.
"[But] this benefit isn't really about the money. It's about morale and attention. Those mothers and fathers and sons and daughters are fighting for their jobs, and for the jobs of millions of Americans, because although the American public may not be watching, you can bet your ass that American business is. I want those people on strike to know that I am paying attention, that many of us are paying attention and that we appreciate it...."
Artful theater has the power to enlighten, to effect political and social change--because its explosive, transforming power motivates human endeavor. It can give voice to the voiceless, to the unspoken, and to the unspeakable. This is what theater in the right hands can do.
You can help these five artists effect change for 70,000 Americans.
Make out a check for the price of a ticket--$50--payable to:
UFCW Strike Hardship Fund
and mail to
19 Commerce Street #12
New York, NY 10014
And if you're in L.A, go see the show:
Tuesday, February 3rd
7:00 and 10:00 pm
Actors Gang
6209 Santa Monica Blvd.
(323) 782-6277
Theater matters. So do you.
Ciao for nao!>
1/18/2004 12:24:36 AM
