A Day's Work

A Day’s Work

I’ve been in a really intimate relationship with my food lately. Between my partner and I participating in Cedilo’s Fresh Produce Community Supported Agriculture program, and the large garden we’ve created in our backyard with a handful of neighbors and friends.  Most of what I eat is from the farm or the garden. When I’m sad or anxious, I go out and pick herbs for tea. When I want to relax in the twilight, I sit by the raspberry bush, and pet the cat while my partner relaxes near the tomatoes while the windchimes kinda plunkle in the quiet buzz of the city.

When The Syndicate opened up the possibility of completing A Day’s Work for them, it made sense to explore this intimacy more, and to encounter the intimacies people I care for have for their foods.  I wanted to maybe learn to cook a recipe or recipes, to practice sharing that kind of creative and storytelling in advance of a creative residency I had planned for the Month of August.  One month in Oaxaca with my creative partner Anna to create, cook, grow, heal, eat, and imagine. My friend Carolina suggested cooking rice; an Italian woman, she has a strong cultural relationship to rice, and offered to share her risotto recipes with me! That was a great idea.  Because I can think of several people I love who grew up eating rice for many meals and occasions, who could cook their rice without thinking, without measuring, just by sight, touch and heart.  What kind of memories do we associate with the rices of our ethnic histories, our childhoods, or cross-cultural encounters? How close are our ingredient lists, how far apart are our flavors? What do we remember of weathered hands in hot kitchens with canciones drifting out of la radio? 

For my Day’s Work, I cooked rice with friends in different places, from different places, and shared memories and musings with them as the sensory experience influenced our creative conversation. I wanted to teach someone the rice I always make, and be taught other methods.  I picked fresh ingredients from my garden, and set out to spend 8 hours on 5 different rices. 

They were, in order, 

Saffron Rissoto, via Carolina’s online cooking course Easy Medeterranean Cooking. 

Fried Rice, via whatsapp video chat with Earl T Kim

Mexican/Tejano Rice, via whatsapp video chat with Earl T Kim

Rice Pilaf, in person, with Sara Dickett

Garlic Fried Rice, in person, with Jonathan Kline

The rices used a lot of the same ingredients, sometimes with just one ingredient different, sometimes with a particular way of browning or heating the rice. Always fragrant as fuck, and delicious. 

True to my typical day’s work, there were meetings, obligations, commutes, and even a day between this rice and that.  So, 8 hours of Rice, but like many folks with careers like mine, there’s often a lot of details in the fabric. 

WED 28 JULY 21

5-7 AM, email admin for a longtime client

7-8 AM, Cermak for Jasmine Rice, a watermelon, veg broth, and some sundries

8-9 AM, I watched Carolina’s (at the time, un-released) EMC episode, learning about risotto, La Mondina, and texting her on Whatsapp (she was by the seaside). 

9-10 AM, cafecito, risotto with eggs, and a bit of rest and prep for the rest of the day

10-11 AM, work in the garden, then a shower. 

11:15-12:30, commute to Rivendell Theatre, where I am the new Associate Artistic Director

12:30-1:45, time with Rivendell’s summer interns, on their last day, to talk about how it went, their future plans, answer questions about my practice, or chicago, etc. 

1:45-3:00pm, commute back to the south side

3:00- 5:00pm, a whatsapp call with Earl, where I first taught him to make my rice, and then he taught me to make his.  An interesting term came up in this conversation, in regards to the experiences I had had thus far in the day, and how much intersection we had in our nostalgia for rice.  MotherRice. 

5:00-6:30pm, a rest

6:00-7:00pm. Rice Pilaf, with my partner, in our kitchen.  Pavy the Cat served as kitchen supervisor and chanteuse. 

Thurs 29 July 21

6:00-8:00pm, garlic Fried Rice with Jonathan, my upstairs neighbor. 

8:00-9:30pm, communal meal in the garden, joining many veg from our garden with tofu, and our garlic fried rice

How Do We Navigate Space?

BY KARISSA MURRELL MYERS
DIRECTED BY DENISE YVETTE SERNA

Mar 15, 2021–Apr 18, 2021

Pay-What-You-Can with a suggested amount of $15.

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Strawdog Theatre Company's will conclude its all-virtual 33rd season with How Do We Navigate Space?, a series of original performances inspired by the events of 2020, from the pandemic to social justice.

How Do We Navigate Space? will feature performances devised and performed by Yuchi Chiu (he/him), Terri Lynne Hudson (she/her), Josie Koznarek (she/her/they/them), Mah Nu (they/them), Gloria Petrelli (she/her) and Erik Strebig (they/them/he/his).

How Do We Navigate Space? is an original, devised hybrid of film and theatre. This work will explore the experiences of Chicagoans navigating through our current, drastically-changed world. The piece is inspired by surveys submitted by Chicago residents sharing their experiences during 2020. Combining movement, music, visual art and the voices of Chicagoans, the film will express a non-linear story of our diverse and complex city in the search for connection.

Director Denise Yvette Serna comments, "The places through which we pass, the areas we retreat to, and the spaces where we cultivate our safety have been broken open for examination. As the sun begins its next orbit we articulate what has been illuminated - the complicated depths of collective transformation. Artists know the greyest days can be transformed by color, the coldest places can be infused with the warmth, and our determined occupation of public space proclaims our existence and demands recognition of our humanity. Even the silence can be measured and manipulated when we want it to be. How we understand the space between us will inevitably inform how we dismantle the systems that divide and destroy us. We're excited to play."

The production team includes Kamille Dawkins* (director of photography), design), Kyle Hamman* (video editing), Jos N. Banks (costume design), Heath Hays* (sound design), Becca Levy* (movement design) and Karissa Murrell Myers* (casting director).

Following the production, Strawdog will share a portion of ticket sales with Black Lives Matter Chicago.

*Denotes Strawdog ensemble member

EDI Workshops for the Arts, Community Collaboration

“‘Equity in the arts is a complex subject which requires more than a simple desire for change,’ Werckle said. ‘We need to educate ourselves comprehensively and engage in challenging conversations. These workshops give arts leaders and participants alike a safe space in which to dismantle harmful practices of the past and imagine new creative spaces in which everyone is able to navigate equitably.’”

EDI WORKSHOPS FOR THE ARTS

The national arts community is engaged in a conversation about how to become more accessible and equitably diverse. In response to this, The West Side Show Room has collaborated with EDI Facilitator Denise Yvette Serna to create an ongoing series called EDI (Equity Diversity Inclusion) Workshops For The Arts which addresses the needs of the Rockford area arts community.

The workshops are funded by generous grants from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, Illinois Department of Human Services/Chicago Community Trust, and Rockford Area Arts Council. These grants enable The WSSR to offer the workshops at reduced cost or free to anyone associated with a Rockford area arts organization.

The Storefront Project

I recently had an incredible creative experience, commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Prop Theatre. The Storefront Project asked six Chicago-based directors to choose anything but a typical play and devise a new project, tailor-made for both the MCA Chicago and Prop Thtr, demonstrating Chicago theatre’s uncanny ability to pop up anywhere. The prompt for this project was incredibly open - choose something, anything (that isn’t a script) from the Public Domain, and devise a performance. This project was the opportunity to really showcase my style, my method, and my heart. 

After spending a month sampling the texts in the public domain, I found myself fixating not on a piece of literature -- but an artist whose work I had encountered while immersed in an entirely different project.  Antonio Ligabue -- the wild man of the river Po. I was stricken by Ligabue’s tragic and passionate life, complicated by a troubled childhood and mental illness, displayed in violently vivid colors on traditional canvases, barn walls, and long-eroded tree trunks. Taking note of the symbols and themes present in his body of work, I turned back to the public domain to find something that I could structure a piece of theatre around. I settled on a children’s poem called The Nine Lives Of A Cat - A Tale Of Wonder, By Charles Henry Bennett (1860).

I visited Ligabue’s former home while on a project in Piacenza, Italy and gathered primary and secondary accounts of his life and work. I employed friends to translate texts and interviews from the local language into English. I shared this dramaturgical work with four artists whom I trusted to explore Ligabue’s life with sensitivity, beauty, and vulgarity.- a visual artist/designer, a composer/classical musician, a two-spirit Latinx poet, and a circus performer.  Together we created a complex piece of promenade performance that allowed the audience multiple access points into the mind and practice of someone who experiences neurodivergence, sensory sensitivities, and gender dysphoria, depicting how artistic expression can be a shield to process trauma against, and an anchor with which we can hold tight to our humanity.

I facilitated stimulating conversations with each of the artists for 6 months, and we circulated our ideas and visions for the piece.  We identified the moments in his biography we wanted to illuminate, and abstracted them into larger than life vignettes and dreamy waltzes.

I rehearsed with the artists mostly in pairs for three weeks, devising and staging along the way, allowing for sharp spotlights on their individual practices woven throughout the ensemble performance. I pieced together the script from improvisations, biographical information, verbatim interviews, and writing from the team. I visualized a human/cat playground with live painting of cat murals that the designer and composer helped breathe into life. I joined the composer in experimenting with children’s toys, kitchen utensils, and classical arias around which the movement of the piece could be formed.

It was incredibly challenging work, and we felt duty bound to create a piece that painted Ligabue’s life with compassion, dignity and beauty. I feel that to date it is the one of the most comprehensive snapshots of the tools I employ when creating new work, as well as a clear demonstration of the clarity and finesse that have come into my practice as a result of my directing and producing work in Chicago. 

A Weekend of ConeXión

I recently had the tremendous honor of participating in the 2018 Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) Carnaval of New Latinx Work at DePaul University in Chicago, IL.

I was selected by the LTC, and counted in a cohort of some of the most exciting and respected practitioners in the industry today.  To say that I am honored, or humbled, does not even begin to express how much it meant for me to be in that space, and counted as a peer. 

I directed a play called Richard and Jane and Dick and Sally, written by Noah DIaz.

Carnaval Directors: with Ricardo Gutierrez, Diane Rodriguez, Denise Yvette Serna, David Mendizábal and Rebecca Martinez.

Photo Credit: Lisa Portes, Carnaval Champion

The classic “Dick & Jane” characters from the ubiquitous 1950s children’s books are grown-up and struggling to stay afloat in a home fractured by grief. Newly widowed Dick (now going by Richard) is raising his two children, Dick Jr. and Sally, who is deaf, while trying to manage a terminal illness that will inevitably leave them orphans. When he calls home his estranged sister, Jane, the family must reconcile and make peace with their shared and misunderstood histories before it’s time for him to go. A recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally is a dramatic comedy about brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers, with sign language, talking dogs, picnic tables, and Snickers bars.

When the play was sent to me, I had a block of time between one thing and another, and stopped at Dante's Pizza for a beer, a slice, and a read, I did not expect to be so moved by the piece.  I definitely cried in my pizza, and grabbed a second beer. The play had all the elements I love, a strange, surreal, painful, magical flow, movement sequences that were several pages long, people who love one another who somehow cannot seem to see one another, and the frank and honest portrayal of women and POC. I immediately emailed Lisa Portes, the Carnaval Champion, and agreed to participate. 

I was paired with a fantastic design team, who I learned a lot from and who captured everything about the piece that inspired and moved me.  We only had two 1-hour meetings - and they came up with a fantastic, impressive, magical design that felt like it came straight out of a dream. The creative team included Mariana Sanchez (scenic design), Carolyn Mazuca (costume design), David R. Molina (sound design), Pablo Santiago (lighting design), and Dr. Liza Ann Acosta (dramaturgy).

The Carnaval itself was so much fun.  6 readings, multiple sessions and conversations, food, drinks, and the largest scale affinity space I have ever experienced in my professional life. You can see the spirit, charge, and power of the weekend captured in the opening ceremony, which was live streamed around the world. (Hi Mom and Dad!)

Pop Magic Productions 10K Match Campaign!

What is Pop Magic?

Pop Magic engages audiences through the production of original live performance and develops artists of different backgrounds and disciplines to create a diverse community of collaborators. Pop Magic is committed to intersectionality in the teams we assemble, the communities we create, and the stories we put on stage.

Pop Magic is on a mission to expand the definition of the performing arts in the context of contemporary nightlife. We bring talent together to create music, theatre, dance, interactive parties, feasts, social media, video, and projects that don’t fit in any one category. We partner with other organizations to bring live performance experiences into non-traditional contexts, reaching new audiences who would generally pick the bar over the ballet.

In addition to our work as a production company and development house, we have a private club with several levels of Membership. Popmagic.org/join/

What is The Pop Magic Match Campaign?

Our Primary Investor has committed to donating 10K, if we can raise 10K from our community’s support. [All donations are 100% tax deductible. We are a 501(c)3.] 

A total of 20K will be the budget for our 2018/2019 fiscal year. This will allow us to do the following:

1. Hire on a part time grant writer

2. Hire on a part time production manager to organize and facilitate all of our events and incubator projects

3. Create an open submission procedure for future productions, allowing us to screen submissions, take meetings, and evaluate proposals

4. Produce four custom designed Incubator Workshops over the next year with budgets

5. Create a multi-platform showcase system that gets all projects in front of producing organizations in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and around the country

6. Create a bi-monthly Musical Theatre Songwriters Workshop with quarterly showcase concerts

To donate to this campaign, just click on the prizes in column to your right, select, and then go to the cart button at the top of this page to 'check out'.

Thank you for your support!

Windy City Times "30 Under 30" 2018 Honoree

I'm very honored to have been counted among The Windy City Times 30 Under 30 Honorees for this year.  I was listed among some of the most talented, intelligent, and selfless individuals in the city.  These people are truly creating positive change in our city, and will continue to lead Chicago into a brighter future. 

Windy City Times 30 Under 30 Awards held in Bridgeport
The 19th annual Windy City Times 30 Under 30 Awards were held June 20 at Polo Cafe in Bridgeport. A diverse group of people from 18 to 30 were honored for their activism, cultural work, entrepreneurship, promotional work and more.

Windy City Times welcomed co-sponsors AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago House, Center on Halsted, Howard Brown Health and Polo Catering.

See full list of honorees and their stories here: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/30-Under-30-to-be-honored-June-20-in-19th-annual-award-ceremony/63255.html .

And the Windy City Times Pride issue has a full review of honorees in PDF form here: www.windycitymediagroup.com/images/publications/wct/2018-06-20/current.pdf .

A conversation about SPARK

20% Literary Manager Rachel Bykowski asked SPARK Director Denise Yvette Serna some questions about the show, what first drew her to this script and how a play comes together onstage.

Written by Caridad Svich.
Directed by Denise Yvette Serna. 
January 20 - February 24, 2018
In the Pentagon Theatre at Collaboraction Studios (1579 N. Milwaukee Ave.)

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Rachel Bykowski:  What is your mission as a director?

Denise Yvette Serna: I aim to create compelling work that captivates and engages. I support artists in celebrating their shared experiences while reflecting on our diverse global community. Theatre is most meaningful when it holds space for intersectional dialogue, and advocates for positive social change. want folks to do the things they love and feel great about doing, and truly see one another.

RB: What attracted you to SPARK?

DYS: Often, when I have seen marginalized populations presented on stage we see the big moments in their lives. oming out, death, divorce, ig victories, finding love... That sort of stuff. And yet our lives consist of many more seemingly unspectacular moments. Mostly unspectacular moments. The little devastations and fleeting joys. SPARK gives these moments in the Glimord sisters' lives dignity and complexity.

RB:  What do you think Spark is about?

DYS: SPARK is partly about the ways devotion and sacrifice for the ones we care for can bruise our love for them. When extreme sacrifice is layered into the foundations of a relationship, resentment can creep up in love like vines, and become so entangled ith it you can't tell where the love ends and the resentment begins. I see this tendency often in female identified people and people of color I admire, and there isn't often social support to compensate them for the emotional labor they do for those around them. s the Glimord sisters attempt to articulate this phenomenon in their lives, I hope we, in turn, can start to speak about it in our own lives.

RB:  What is your favorite line in the play and why?

DYS: "We all get through what we get through, even if no one’s hangin’ any kind of flag for us." There are a lot of battles female identified people in this world face that go unseen, or worse, ignored. As we take the responsibility to tell one another’s’ stories, we’re hanging those victory flags for one another, and lifting one another up.

RB: Without giving too much away, what are you most excited to see in this production?

DYS: I'm excited for the laughter. For all this story has to say about coming to an understanding about things that have harmed you, there are certainly moments of joy. Laughter has been getting people through tough times and breaking down barriers between them for a long time. There are some lovely moments in the show where we get to laugh with the women on stage, to marvel with them at the world we are moving through - absurd and intimidating though it may be.