Post pandemic, there’s been an uptick in conversations around the relationship between community and the theater.  Concerns have risen as regional theaters have reduced their offerings or closed altogether.  So when I was invited to a discussion entitled “How Theater Serves Community, and Community Serves Theater” I quickly signed up.  The event was being hosted by Bob Ost of Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU), a supportive group of playwrights, producers, writers and promoters.  Their COVID-motivated move to Zoom in April of 2020 has so far resulted in 175 conversation involving many TRU associates who live outside the New York City area where the organization was founded.  Although the evening was not what I had expected from the subject line, it was fascinating and ultimately quite moving.  

The guest speaker, John Malpede, heads up an unusual ensemble.  He is the Artistic Director of Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD, a deliberately stinging abbreviation).  The members of his ever-changing troupe are homeless.  The company grew out of Malpede’s meetings with activists from skid row and has been nurtured using his experiences gained in workshops throughout lower Manhattan.  He originally moved to the west coast to do outreach for the Inner City Law Center, and found overlap with his in-the-moment listening skills developed as as a performance artist.  Built on a firm foundation of compassion and Malpede’s knowing approach, the LAPD has continued to thrive for over 30 years.  For many, their participation in the project has been literally life changing.  

Malpede keeps the productions inclusive, which is a balm to those who are used to being marginalized or completely ignored.  With an open heart as well as open ears, he is able to tap into their natural creativity.  Most works start by improvising around an agreed-upon scenario.  This way even those with poor reading skills can be involved.  The process evolves like a huge trust-building excise with the constituents.   In lieu of a dedicated venue, the neighborhood has offered up offices, computer rooms, and other shared spaces that are available rent free usually after hours. No tickets are sold and promotion is almost exclusively through word of mouth.  Financial support comes through community grants, humanitarian support, and in-kind contributions.

Most shows begin as a riff around a current high profile issue.  Representative Maxine Waters gave LAPD a transcript from a congressional hearing which they were able to perform in the style of Is This A Room.  Back Nine grew from a movement to rezone a golf course, which raised awareness about the impact the elimination of public land has on the homeless.  State of Incarceration, which was presented in the Queens Museum in New York City, explored prison overcrowding by having the performers literally pressing in around the audience, referred to as “the witnesses”.  Their most recognized show was the B-movie style No Stone for Studs Schwarz. Inspired by the killing of several homeless people who had been sleeping on the streets near Chinatown, it featured a cast of 15. There was no “hard” script, so the outcome was slightly different each night, lending a genuine quality to every viewing. It ran for nearly a year, achieving a cult following.

For some participants, the LAPD theater program works as a springboard to a new chapter in their lives.  A paralegal is able to learn more about their issues and help them gain entry into the right city programs.  Still others have stayed with the population in order to improve policies and conditions for the unhoused.  Visit LAPovertyDept.org  if you would like to learn more about this extraordinary group or watch one of their programs.  To receive the Zoom invitation for future TRU meetings, email TRUnltd@aol.com with “Zoom Me” in the subject header.  There is a small attendance fee for non-TRU members.

Tagged: Bob Ost, Cathy Hammer, John Malpede, LAPD, Los Angeles Poverty Department, Theater Resources Unlimited, TRU