Walking Elephant Theatre Co.
Actors 7 to 17 years old create original theatre & films about “the elephant in the room” and then walk that elephant to theaters and film festivals around the world.
To create their recent production, “Prop 8 Love Stories”, this group of young actors interviewed 8 couples (3 mixed gender and 5 same gender) about love, life and discrimination. Now watch these young actors portray those couples, word for word, in the most potent, moving, and hilarious theatre you’ve ever seen.
We sat down with Artistic Director, Brian Glenn Bryson to discuss the company, their process, and their recent tour to off-Broadway.
Interviewed by Kipley Wentz
Brian, tell me about the Walking Elephant Theatre Company… as the founder and artistic director of the company, what inspired you to set this in motion?
It’s all of my passions coming together: creating original theatre & films, working with kids, and exploring whatever subject i’m most interested in at the time. Our first play was “The HABIT Project” because it occurred to me that weaning oneself off cigarettes is a lot like a culture weaning itself off oil. I felt that understanding addiction psychology would be helpful, even necessary, as we try to become a healthier, more sustainable society. The young cast interviewed recovering addicts, behavioral psychologists, a marshal arts master, environmentalists, and 25 other creatures of habit who could shed light on our capacity to change our habits.
Another piece we created is called “The BULLY Theatre/Film Project”. There are rich and powerful forces out there stoking the fires of fear and discrimination; I thought it would be a good idea to walk a mile in the shoes of some of those folks we’re supposed to be so afraid of. The young cast members interviewed a Muslim engineer & mother who chose to start wearing a headscarf in grade school; a high school filmmaker who came out of the closet in middle school; a large actress who starred in the play “Fat Pig”; an 18-year-old magician with autism; a liberal-intellectual-female mayor; and other scary people we’re encouraged to bully in an effort to protect ourselves and our culture.
What is the overall mission of the company’s work, and how does that give rise to the projects you create?
The short answer is we foster empathy. We walk a mile in the shoes of others and then we use the experience to create a work of art to share.
Our mission is to connect young people with their local and global communities, create original theatre and films, present them in theaters and film festivals around the world, and foster a world of empathic human beings at peace with each other and themselves.
Your current show, “Prop 8 Love Stories” has had a very successful run on the West Coast. What is the show about, and can you describe the unique process through which it was created?
Actors 10 to 17 years old interviewed 8 couples (3 mixed gender & 5 same gender) about love, life, and discrimination. We chose the “golden moments” from those interviews (the moments that made us laugh, and cry, and cheer.) The cast transcribed those moments and then we pieced them together to create a compelling play. Each cast member portrays their interview subject word for word, drawing their portrayal from careful observation of their subject’s vocal rhythms and physical mannerisms.
Original songs were written by 16-year-old cast member Audrey Maye Tatum and the play was co-written and assistant directed by 14-year-old cast member Dezi Gallegos.
When seeking to talk about “the elephant in the room”, you must surely encounter resistance along the way. What have been the greatest emotional challenges of creating and performing this show?
A surprisingly large number of people seem to think that being gay is synonymous with perverted sex. One guy said we should change the title (Prop 8 Love Stories) because it sounds like we’re teaching kids how to have perverted sex. Another woman sent an email saying she would never allow her kids or any of her friends’ kids to be involved with a theater that would allow our play to be performed.
And at a performance of “The BULLY Theatre/Film Project” for the 3rd through 8th graders of an arts charter school, we had to cut out all the parts that included the high school filmmaker who came out when he was in middle school. And this is in Northern California at an arts school.
How have you and your performers dealt with these challenges?
We kindly invite them to see the play (or movie) before they judge it. We believe laughter is the quickest road to empathy, and when people come to see this play, they laugh big.
One of the most profound moments in my life was when a woman stopped me in a parking lot to thank me. She said she had voted yes on proposition 8 (against same-gender marriage in California) and came to see the play with her 11-year-old daughter, who had a couple friends in the cast.
After the play they were driving home and started discussing the play and prop 8. She said she had to pull the car over because they were crying. The mother confessed to the daughter that she had made a mistake when she voted to deny rights to her neighbors. She said that she and her daughter hugged and cried and healed.
You’ve been preparing to bring the show to New York for a run off-Broadway. What excites you most about traveling and presenting the show in NYC?
It’s truly thrilling to think these kids have created something so hilarious, so moving, and so potent, that it is worthy of an off-Broadway run. We can’t wait to make New Yorkers laugh and cry and cheer!
On the flipside, what has been the most challenging aspect of preparing for the tour?
The cost and logistics of taking a cast of 16 actors, ages 11 to 17, from California to New York for two weeks to perform off-Broadway presents many challenges; from fundraising, to travel arrangements, to publicity, to figuring out how to prepare lights, costumes, set, furniture, projector, and other production considerations from the opposite end of the country. My theatre partner Stacia and I are ready for a nap.
Your company has employed some unique fundraising techniques. What has been the most successful method you’ve tried so far?
Our two most successful fundraisers were an online auction and a performance at a 400 seat venue.
What are your long range hopes/goals for “Prop 8 Love Stories”?
We hope a fat rich guy with a cigar sees the show and says, “Listen kid, I wanna produce this show on Broadway.” (A petite non-smoking woman is acceptable to this fantasy also.)
We also hope high school drama teachers around the world will hear about “Prop 8 Love Stories” and produce it at their school. (16 leading roles in a controversial play that makes audiences laugh and cry and cheer. What could be better?)
By the way… “Prop 8 Love Stories” is being published by TheaterTrope (aka Booktrope) a fantastic publishing company.
About Kipley