CALIFORNIA STORY First Play In Roger Q. Mason's Califas Trilogy to Premiere At Caminito Theater

California Story, the first play in Roger Q. Mason's Califas Trilogy, will premiere at Caminito Theater at Los Angeles City College on May 12, 2025. Directed by Michael Alvarez, the production features an outstanding cast, including Aphrodite Armstrong, Camila Arteche, Davi Santos, Gracie Cartier, Morgan Day, Sawyer Shine, and Peter Mendoza.

This historical drama reframes California's past through the lens of its last Mexican governor, Pío Pico, set against a backdrop that weaves between Manifest Destiny-era California and a dystopian, water-logged future.

Due to extensions on the construction process at Outside In's main theatre space this production was forced to quickly find a new space for their performances. After a massive search, scouring all of Los Angeles, Outside In is thrilled to have found a new home for this production at Los Angeles City College's El Caminito Theatre.

Outside In's Producing Artistic Director, Jessica Hanna, said "When circumstances beyond our control forced us to either relocate the show or postpone it for at least a year, I was determined to uphold our commitments to the development process we have had with Roger and this play since 2021. Roger has a unique, poetic voice and I am very excited this production has landed in a space that can support its epic storytelling style. Plus I am thrilled that LACC students will be supporting and learning from this process now as well. It's a fantastic opportunity for all of us!"

"Not a lot of people know this, but I began my collegiate education at LACC, taking classes from professors Melville Aaron (sociology) and Luther Henderson III (ethnomusicology). These sage educators galvanized my interest in making art that used multi-disciplinary storytelling practices to investigate the history and heart of our country through playwriting. It is only fitting that I bring California Story, a play I began 25 years ago in response to my time at LACC, back home." Says Playwright Roger Q Mason.

Tickets for California Story are available for purchase at https://outsideintheatre.vbotickets.com/event/California_Story_by_Roger_Q_Mason/155731

PRE-SHOW TALKBACKS

On Monday, May 12th, Sunday, May 18th, and Sunday, May 25th, audiences are invited to join in-depth discussions with community leaders, educators, and artists before the show. We are also honored to have Candido Cornejo provide a blessing of the piece on Opening Night. The themes for the dialogues are as follows:

• May 12: Passing the Baton- The Future of Theatre in the City of Angels
  A conversation with prominent Los Angeles-based playwrights about the future of theater-making in L.A. and how new voices are shaping the next chapter of our city's cultural narrative.

• May 18: BIPOC Day
  A community-centered conversation about the experiences of BIPOC communities in California, focusing on representation, heritage, and how the arts contribute to cultural visibility and identity-building in our region.

• May 25: Queer Day
  A dynamic dialogue exploring the importance of queer narratives within the arts, with a focus on intersectionality, community-building, and the ongoing fight for visibility and inclusion in storytelling spaces.

ABOUT THE PLAY

This genre-defying historical drama explores the complex journey of California's last Mexican governor, Pío Pico, whose pursuit of the American Dream forces him to sacrifice his family, identity, and integrity while pursuing a real estate empire during the Golden Era of 19th Century Manifest Destiny. To frame Pio's life, the play takes audiences on a journey between California's past and a dystopian water-world future, confronting the costs of ambition, race, and privilege in America. California Story was a finalist for the 2024 Ojai Playwrights Conference.

The largest and most ambitious production in Roger Q. Mason's Califas Trilogy brings together a powerhouse ensemble and visionary creative team. Under the direction of Michael Alvarez, the production features standout performances by Peter Mendoza (Pio / Mexican Salesman 1), Davi Santos (Andres / Mexican Salesman 2), Camila Arteche (Isadora / Mexican Wife), Sawyer Shine (John Forster / White Man), Morgan Danielle Day, Gracie Cartier, and Aphrodite Armstrong as the Legendary Children.

The production boasts an impressive creative team, including Salmah Beydoun (Scenic & Projections Design), Levi Manners (Sound Design), David Gonzalez (Composer), Noelle Rodriguez (Dialect Coach), Celina Lee Surniak(Intimacy Director), Joey Navarette-Medina (Choreographer), and Karen Boyer (Costume Design).

ABOUT CALIFAS TRILOGY

Roger Q. Mason will have their Califas Trilogy produced by Outside In Theatre and Skylight Theatre Company in association with Roots & Wings Project in Los Angeles this spring and summer. The first play in the trilogy, California Story, will premiere at Outside In Theatre, April 26-June 3. Part two, Hide and Hide, will be presented May 9-June 22 at Skylight Theatre Company. The final play in the trilogy, Juana Maria, will receive a staged reading at Caminito Theater at Los Angeles City College on May 25 & June 1.

Roger Q. Mason's Califas Trilogy is a trio of genre-obliterating plays about the beauty and the underbelly of ambition in America's West. These three new plays examine the past, present, and future of California as expressed through western expansion and gentrification.

"My goal for the Califas Trilogy is to bring Los Angeles together as a community," said playwright Roger Q. Mason. "Our city has often been divided by social disparities, real estate interests, and culture wars aimed at dividing rather than uniting us. The LA of my youth was essentially a collection of suburbs in search of a true center. But that is not its present and cannot be its future. The recent fires have highlighted our need to come together and transcend our differences in finance, geography, privilege, and access. Califas Trilogy is an invitation for Los Angeles to embark on a new journey of unity through the exploration offered in these works of performance."

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Roger Q. Mason (Playwright) (they/them) is an award-winning writer, performer and educator who satirizes and revises history to disrupt the biases that separate rather than unite us. Their playwriting has appeared on Broadway; Off/Off-Off-Broadway; and regionally. Their recent productions have garnered five Barrymore Award nominations in Philadelphia, a Jeff Award Recommendation in Chicago and the San Francisco Chronicle's prestigious Datebook Pick. Mason's World Premiere of Lavender Men was lauded by the Los Angeles Times as "evoking the mingled visions of Suzan-Lori Parks, Jeremy O. Harris and Michael R. Jackson." They received 2024's Playwrights' Center McKnight National Playwright Commission, the inaugural Dramatists Guild Foundation Catalyst Grant Award, a Hermitage Residency, a Lucille Lortel commission, a Kilroys List nod, and the Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award. Mason is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and an alum of the Ma-Yi's Writing Lab, Page 73's Interstate 73 Writers Group, the Fire This Time Festival, and Primary Stages Writing Cohort. They currently produce a memoir/cooking segment on Instagram called Cooking with Q: A Playwright's Guide to Telling My Truth. Previously, they co-hosted the podcast Sister Roger's Gayborhood and hosted This Way Out Radio's Queerly Yours: Portraits in Courage. As an educator, Mason has served as a mentor for Lambda Literary, Workshop Theatre, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute's Starship Fellowship, the New Visions Fellowship and the Shay Foundation Fellowship. They are currently on faculty at CalArts. Mason holds degrees from Princeton University, Middlebury College, and Northwestern University. Instagram: @rogerq.mason

Michael Alvarez (Director) Michael is a Latinx interdisciplinary and international theatre director, creator, and visual artist. He has been a Directing Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop, a Drama League Directing Fellow, and a Director with The Civilians R&D Group, amongst others. He has directed and created work in New York, London, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Eastern Europe, and at such institutions as Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End, Arcola Theatre, London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, National Theatre of Slovenia, New York Theatre Workshop, Serenbe Playhouse and made performance art pieces at the British Museum. He is the founding Artistic Director of The Muse Collective and is Assistant Professor of Directing and Interdisciplinary Performance at UNCSA. Most recently, he directed Julius Caesar at Catskill Mountain Shakespeare. Member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Education: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and California Institute of the Arts. www.Michael-Alvarez.com

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