San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
THEATER NOTEBOOK
Patchwork Theatre forging a new medium out of pandemic limitations
Over the past 10 months, the pandemic has decimated San Diego’s theater community. But for the founders of newly formed Patchwork Theatre Co. it has also created opportunity.
Launched in March 2020, Patchwork is a small collective of recent theater graduates devoted to producing new plays in new ways. Company founder and artistic associate Kian Kline-chilton said the limitations caused by the pandemic have fueled the creativity of Patchwork’s team, which includes artistic producer Eric Clark and technical manager Dillon Hoban. They met a few years ago in San Diego State University’s student-run Skull and Dagger Dramatic Society.
“Our focus is on how to make people passionate about the theater that exists right now. We think it can still be empowering and exciting because we’re given no strings,” said Kline-chilton, who works as an artistic associate at Cygnet Theatre. “What’s exciting for 2021 is we can jump into the national conversation of what it means to produce American theater in this year. It has to be different. It has to be new.”
Kline-chilton said that the pandemic opened up new lines of communication for digital collaborations via platforms like Zoom. It has also introduced theater to at-home viewers who may not have attended plays in the past. An example is the company’s debut production, a free online audio play that began streaming Dec. 12. It features artists working remotely from all over the country.
“We Will Not Describe the Conversation,” written by New Hampshire-based playwright Eugenie Carabatsos, was directed by San Diegan Jillian Jones, with an original score by Josh Concepcion of L.A., and features actors in L.A., New York, Kansas and North Carolina. Inspired by a line from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1866 Russian novel “Crime and Punishment,” the 95-minute play is about two women in the American Midwest talking about an ax murder committed by a man who is the lover of one of the women and the brother of the other.
Kline-chilton said Patchwork’s team originally considered filming the play by Zoom, but it has such a spooky quality that it worked better in an audio format where the listeners can use their imagination to fill in the scene. The play is emblematic of the kind of work Patchwork looks to do in the future: new plays by new playwrights.
The company is now looking at other plays that can be produced digitally in a video or audio format, with the goal of producing something live onstage when theaters can reopen. Even though Patchwork was forged in the pandemic, it was created to survive long after.
“We will never go away because Patchwork is part of a new generation of theater,” Kline-chilton said.
For a link to stream “We Will Not Describe the Conversation,” go to patchworktheatreco.com.
San Diego Rep hosting ‘Kristina Wong’
A few years ago, longtime Los Angeles performance artist, playwright and comedian Kristina Wong decided to run for public office as part of her act. To her surprise, she was elected to serve on the Koreatown Neighborhood Council in L.A.
Wong has drawn fodder from her life for all of her solo plays, so her work as an elected official is the subject of “Kristina Wong for Public Office,” which she will perform live from her home for three performances later this month for San Diego Repertory Theatre.
In the comedic play, Wong describes campaign rallies, church revivals and theater shows while uncovering the history of voting, how to run for public office, and the impact artists can have on democracy.
“Kristina Wong for Public Office” will be presented at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 and at 2 p.m. Jan. 23 and 24. Tickets are $25. Visit sdrep.org.