California with Prop. 8. This show is very much dealing with it. It partly centers around faith, but faith serves as a launching point for discussion. It also deals withfamily rights, if you do have a partner and you have built a life with the person and God forbid something happens, what rightsdo you have?”
“This show is extremely relevant now, especially in
Tell me about working at the Diversionary. It’s a quirky space with a lot of artistic freedom. For so long the Diversionary
has provided a voice for our community. That voice has changed over the years. It started as a way of getting our face and voices out there—the stories were very LGBT driven. Now it’s fantastic, we can steer a little bit away from stereotypical gay stories, they have become human interest stories. We are finding our place, our voice in the community. We don’t have to hide anymore and Diversionary has taken a huge role in allowing us that freedom. What are you enjoying most about directingNext Fall? I’d have to say, well, we’re only in rehearsal week one, but this is one of the most challenging pieces I have worked on. It is deceptively easy. When I read it on paper, I thought, “I got it, this is easy.” When I met with the actors to discuss it, they had completely different opinions. Each person formed their own unique opinions about the story. The show allows for you to come to your own conclusions and feelings without
NEXT FALL by lisa lipsey Most of us San Diego theatre-goers have followed the career of Director/Chore-
ographer James Vasquez (consciously or sub-consciously). His visionary direction shaped Diversionary Theatre’sFair Use andTwist. He directedLittle Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd andHedwig at Cygnet Theatre and over at the Old Globe his direct- ing/choreographing credits include: The Rocky Horror Show, Emma (Associate Di- rector),Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2003-2011) andBoeing-Boeing. It’s rare for him to direct a non-musical, but Next Fall at the Diversionary caught
his attention. Written by Geoffrey Nauffts, the show portrays the ups and downs of a gay couple’s five-year relationship with sharp humor and unflinching honesty.
With every show you’ve worked on there is uniqueness, an edgy creativity. How would you describe it? I’ve never been asked that before. Huh, I guess I never considered it to be edgi-
ness. I do like to take risks and push the limits a little bit. I’ve been very lucky to work with theatre companies that have given me the freedom to say “hey, I want to take a chance and tell this story through my eyes and not the way we’ve typically seen it done in the past.” I like to make it creative, new and interesting.
18 RAGE monthly | FEBRUARY 2012
any judgment. Audiences might leave feeling unsure or it might even change how they feel, I am finding that in rehearsal. This is an unbelievable and thoughtful cast—Diversionary has really upped the talent. At the end of the day we feel differ- ent about it than we did at the top of the day. This show is billed as being about faith, devotion and unconditional love. One character is not out to his family, is it set in current day? Yes, this show is extremely relevant now, especially in California with Prop. 8.
COMES TO DIVERSIONARY THEATRE AN INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR
JAMES VASQUEZ
This show is very much dealing with it. It partly centers around faith, but faith serves as a launching point for discussion. It also deals with family rights, if you do have a partner and you have built a life with the person and God forbid something happens, what rights do you have? The main theme deals with the family we were born into and the family we create as we get older. The show is done in a simple and beautiful way. It leaves audiences at the end, not necessarily with an answer about what has happened, but with the idea of hope that discussion will happen. In addition to your theatre work, you co-own a film production company and you just came from the film’s premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival—congratulations! Thank you. We had four screenings at Sundance and all of them sold out in
advance so we feel very lucky. My partner Mark Holmes and I, and a classmate of mine, Carrie Preston, founded Daisy 3 Pictures eight years ago. Our first indie film was 29th and Gay, in which I starred—it was semi-autobiographical. Our second film,Ready? OK!, was also gay-themed. We took a big leap with our latest film,That’s What She Said—we created a bigger budget, we filmed it on the streets of New York and we hired a cast. It stars Anne Heche, it’s been very exciting. Our mission is to make gay-themed stories you can take your mom to see and strong female stories—stories in which they are free to be open and talk about themselves. Between acting, directing, choreography and running a film company, do you have any down-time? What do you do in your off time? I feel extremely lucky to be working non-stop doing what I love to do. When I’m
not in the theatre or the editing studio, I love sitting at home with my boyfriend and our two dogs. I obsess over them. If I weren’t doing this, I think we would buy a farm and just rescue dogs.
Next Fall runsSaturday, February 18 through Sunday, March 25 at Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Boulevard. For tickets and more information call 619.220.0097 or go
todiversionary.org
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76