June 4, 2014 @ 8:25 pm
Episode 186, “Mis/representing Our Roots: Three Looks at Poetic Expression”
(hosted by Tali
Ariav with production assistance of Chris Hartig, Marlon Molinos, and Robert
Wang) was recorded April-May 2014 and aired 5/23/14.
This episode focuses on the theme of
cultural misrepresentation and our identity—how it changes over time; how we
can reach back into history and change the meaning of the past to make a
political statement about our present and future.
The first program guest is Arielle Taitano Lowe, a student at the
University of Guam, majoring in Chamoru Studies and English Literature with a
minor in Sociology. Arielle is passionate about writing short prose and
performing slam poetry. Since August 2011, she has been training as a
youth poet with the Sinangan-ta Youth Movement, Guam’s Official Spoken
Word Arts Organization.
She talks about her approach to poetry and to revealing the misrepresentation
of important aspects of Chamoru culture and the decline in authenticity as the
culture is presented and passed on to successive generations. Arielle
also performs her spoken word poem: “Trongkon Nunu (Banyan Tree)”
that was written for SYM’s annual competition. This poem was
inspired by her love for learning the Chamoru language and desire to use her
voice in order to resist colonization. She also performs the poem
“Dance.”
The second guest is Dr. David Garcia-Ramos, a visiting theatre
practitioner, playwright and professor of philosophy and theatre at the
Catholic University of Valencia, Spain. David’s work often addresses
sacred themes and pushes theatre beyond the confines of old-world traditions.
By representing the past in a different manner, he evokes political statements
about ideas that might otherwise be considered “sacred cows,” and blindly
accepted as truth by the people who grew up in a culture steeped in these same
ideas.
A reading of David’s play “Un Balde de Agua,” or “Bucket of Water,” is
included in his interview. Translated from its original Spanish to English
through a collaboration of the author and Tali Ariav, “Un Balde de Agua”
is dramatically read by Michelle Blas and Richard Stump.
The third guest is Jim Holmes, a visiting scholar and actor from Hollywood,
California who traveled to Guam to critically review the play “Pågat” for
possible inclusion in the Kennedy Center American Collegiate Theatre
Festival. Jim is the Region 8 National Playwriting Chairman for the
Kennedy Center American Collegiate Theatre Festival. In addition to this role,
he is a professional theatrical, film and television actor, as well as an
adjunct professor at the University of Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.
Jim discusses his approach to the craft of acting and directing in film and
theatre, including the ways Hollywood productions differ from other forms of
artistic expression—to include the different ways of representation of its
stories and tales for entertainment and profit.