A Heartwarming Story of Immense Burden

First off, I hate blogging.  The pressure of writing something short yet witty while shedding light on a deadline annoys me.  I prefer to write monsters and take my time with things, but I can never say no to Phil.  Don’t know why that is considering Phil can be so freakin’ difficult at times.  I can never say no to Chil either.  I suppose once you’re part of the Lodestone family, you just do things b/c they ask.  So when Phil asked if I would blog about my experiences with Lodestone as Resident Producer and sometimes writer, as usual - I acquiesced.

Grace Kim & the Spiders From Mars is about to open, which means Lodestone is about to close.  For those who don’t know, Grace Kim is Lodestone’s last show… which means Grace Kim is my last Lodestone show.  

That’s right; I’m bringing it back to me.  Now, I’m supposed to blog about my experiences producing for Lodestone, but seriously, producing a play is common sense.  I have nothing intelligent to add that Phil/Chil can’t say or do better.  It’s definitely time consuming, but to call it difficult is to say high school is difficult, which I never understood.  If you can remember hockey stats from 1992, then you can remember what Rose of Sharon did at the end of Grapes of Wrath.  I imagine producing a play to be two hundred to a thousand times easier than producing a film, so I would rather not waste anybody’s time with what I did.  

How I feel about it is a totally different matter.  

Truth be told, I only joined Lodestone because I wanted to get my plays produced.  I moved to LA after Berkeley to be a writer and was already a regular at the David Henry Hwang Writing Institute.  I knew of Lodestone.  Judy Soo Hoo was in my class when we workshopped her plays Texas and Refrigerators.  Jason Fong was getting his work produced by hereandnow.  Lucy Kim, Daniel Cariaga, Ken Narasaki and Annette Lee all had plays produced.  Tim Toyoma was already famous to us all and Sujata Bhatt was getting her play done by the East West Players (EWP).  To me, it seemed every writer in class was getting produced except me and that pissed me off to no end.  

Deep down I always knew EWP would never produce my plays.  I suppose my plays weren’t good enough, but I liked to believe my work was too edgy for them so I went looking for another theatre company.  I figured I would continue writing at the DHHWI as long as I found another company that would produce them.  If you’re any kind of writer – it’s not enough to just write…. at home… alone.  That shit is whacked and it’s lonely as fuck.  There comes a moment when you seriously beg for an audience and dare ask the question: Am I any good?

Anyway, I checked out Lodestone’s production of When Tigers Smoked Long Pipes.  I dug the title and had no idea it was an adaptation of a Korean folktale.  I enjoyed it very much despite the fact it was not about marijuana.  Then something caught my attention.  There it was right in the program: “Lodestone’s mission is to develop, create, promote and present edgy, compelling and impassioned works…”  Edgy.  The word was actually part of their mission statement and I thought; “now here’s a theatre company for me.  If only I can get these guys to produce my plays.”

Lodestone is a membership theatre company and it doesn’t quite work out that way.  For actors, you have to commit volunteer hours every month before you’re even given a chance to audition.  It’s much harder for writers.  I had a shot when I was allowed a Yellowbox reading of my play Hyperbola, but that was quickly turned down.  I doubt it was even considered.  Then I had a reading for my play Point.  That too was turned down.  Again, I was doing something wrong.  Then came the offer.

Phil asked me if I wanted to produce Claim To Fame.  With all due respect, I really didn’t.  Along with my writing, I had just founded a gallery district in downtown called Gallery Row and was about to open my own art gallery called Niche.LA.  Never mind my day job. The last thing I needed was another thing to do, but I agreed partly because I thought if I produced this play, perhaps I’ll get mine done later on. After all, I had dues to pay.

Producing Claim To Fame was an interesting experience because it was trial-by-fire for a first time theatre producer.  It demanded an enormous cast and had the largest budget of any Lodestone show done previously.  Lodestone flew in a highly acclaimed lighting designer.  The set was enormous and looked like it would crash on top of the actors at any given moment and the theater space had numerous acoustic issues.  The list goes on and I made mistakes.  I said yes to everything and by the end of the six-week run, we were in the red $5,000.  Then Phil/Chil basically ordered me to throw fundraisers till it got paid back.  That part of the deal wasn’t made clear to me in the beginning, so I learned my lesson. The show came in the black eventually, but not until after I produced the next show, Solve For X.  

In my pursuit to be a writer, I became an accidental producer, but that is something that comes naturally to any small business owner.  All I ever wanted to be is a writer and it would be four years before Lodestone produced my play, Trapezoid.  They had passed on my first two, but lucky for me, my third script was the charm. All those years writing in the David Henry Hwang Writers Institute finally paid off which reminds me, when will EWP add my name to their list of alumni that have had plays produced that were workshopped at the DHHWI?  I think I deserve to be included.

I’ve collected many fond memories of Lodestone and it’s not opening night I cherish the most.  It’s all the little things that gave me grief and not because I’m still upset, but because I can laugh about it now.  Those were good times.  Like the time when the dimmer pack busted the day before previews and cost us $1000 to replace and overnight.  Or when I held the wrap party at my cottage and someone accidentally flooded my garden.  Or the night I had to fire my director.  I can go on and on…

 

Lodestone means much more to me than just a small theatre company.  It’s been a creative home and battle station, an incubator of many wonderful friendships, an opportunity to get my plays in front of audience, and a chance to work with a dedicated group of entertainers.  I love Lodestone and can honestly say there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for these guys.   It wasn’t always lovely, but it was always fun and totally worth it.  Though I will miss Lodestone the theatre company, I know my relationships aren’t over yet and it won’t be the last collaboration.

Here’s to another wonderful production everyone!   Congrats to Phil Chung and Chil Kong!  You two kept Lodestone pointing in the right direction for ten mother-fucking years.  I love you guys.  

Stay tuned for my next blog entry: How To Fire Your Director And Not Alienate Your Cast.

Nic Cha Kim has served as Resident Producer of Lodestone Theatre Ensemble since 2004.  Credits include Claim To Fame, Aziatic Nation ’04, Solve For X, The Trojan Women, Trapezoid, After Dark ‘08, Ten To Life, and lastly -- Grace Kim & The Spiders From Mars.