Café Vida

WRITTEN BY LISA LOOMER DIRECTED BY MICHAEL JOHN GARCÉS

The press is buzzing about CAFE VIDA! Check out the LA TIMES feature by Hector Tobar "Cafe Vida is "bursting with ... truth, humor, and pain ... it’s what Cornerstone does best." - BACKSTAGE  *Critic's Pick* "Garcés' production is a kind of contemporary oratorio, well performed and peppered with songs and procession-like choreography ... [I]t's not easy to serve up a work of theater that's both noble and smart in the same gulp. There's an array of topical issues on their plate. Here, they remain fresh, rather than boiled down." - LA WEEKLY (GO!) "What makes Cornerstone an LA treasure, is they commit to giving voice to these communities, to a bigger idea ... If you've never seen Cornerstone's work, Cafe Vida shouldn't be missed." - Anthony Bynres, KCRW "[A]nyone who’s hungry for a vital LA story told in compellingly theatrical terms should schedule a visit to LATC pronto." - LA STAGE TIMES "Lean and mean, perfectly integrated in its staging and bristling with authenticity, this production is undeniably one of the most generous, refreshing, and vibrant theatre pieces LA has seen in years." - CULTURAL WEEKLY Acclaimed playwright Lisa Loomer pens the first play in The Hunger Cycle, a collaboration between Cornerstone, Homeboy Industries and Homegirl Café. Chabela and Luz are rival homegirls ready to leave the life and begin anew at Café Vida — the only place in the city that gives young women and their troubled pasts a genuine second chance to start a new life free of violence. It’s here that these former enemies choose "la vida" over "la muerte" as they learn to compost, tend a garden, julienne an onion, and rock your lunch order with a smile and a heaping side of transformation.  

CREATIVE SEEDS EVENTS:

Join us throughout the CAFÉ VIDA run for pre- and post- show activities. You’ll have the chance to meet the artists, learn more about issues of hunger, justice, and food equity, and get a taste of more art being made in the community. CAFÉ VIDA Thought of the Day Thursday, May 3, 7:00 p.m. Hear from Father Greg Boyle, Founder of Homeboy Industries       Writing about the Community – A Writers’ Salon I Sunday, May 6 @ 4:00 p.m. Meet acclaimed Café Vida playwright Lisa Loomer & Luis J. Rodriguez, author of the bestselling memoir Always Running, La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.     Word on the Street Thursday, May 10 @ 7:00 p.m. Enjoy spoken word performances from Homeboy Industries & LA poets (also a Downtown Art Walk night!)     Telling Our Stories Through Dance Saturday, May 12 @ 7:00  p.m. Café VidaChoreographer and Artistic Director of CONTRA-TIEMPO Ana Maria Alvarez will lead you through a movement workshop exploring hunger. Through a series of movement explorations and exercises, you'll create a performance that reflects your ideas and collective voice - you'll then perform the piece for audience members as they enter the theater. No experience needed! Writing about the Community – A Writers’ Salon II Sunday, May 13 @ 4:00 p.m. Meet acclaimed playwrights Luis Alfaro, (Cornerstone's own Artistic Director) Michael John Garcés and Richard Montoya (Culture Clash co-founder) discussing their works made in the community. Moderated by Professor Tiffany Lopez at UC Riverside.   Employing Social Enterprise to Combat Hunger Thursday, May 17 @ 10:30 p.m. The Social Enterprise Alliance - Los Angeles Chapter will co-host a panel discussion detailing how some local nonprofits use social enterprise programs to eradicate hunger while empowering individuals and communities. Real Talk: On Gender Violence Thursday, May 31 @ 7:00 p.m. Join members of the cast from Café Vida, along with members of the Cornerstone Theater Company and Peace Over Violence communities in this very important dialogue on Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence.     All events are general admission and free. Event lineup subject to change.

DIRECT ADDRESS

DIRECT ADDRESS is theater as discourse. It is a celebration of the First Amendment and an experiment in making art out of the present tense. DIRECT ADDRESS is an appeal to your imagination and a gathering in the heart of the storm. Cornerstone Theater Company has commissioned a group of local artists to make works for public spaces throughout Los Angeles County—works that directly address the state of things as they are right now and attempt poetic interventions on behalf of a just future. These short works will be performed across Los Angeles leading to their complete one-night presentation at The Ford on October 24th at 8PM. DIRECT ADDRESS is inspired by the history of American activism and public performance—from Frederick Douglass to ACT UP and beyond. It's an invitation to reimagine how we exercise our first amendment rights. Commissioned artists include Ana María Álvarez, Agnes Borinsky, Daniel Alexander Jones, Fahad Siadat & HEX, Mario Vega, Members of the Cornerstone Ensemble, and more.  DIRECT ADDRESS is inspired by the history of American activism and public performance—from Frederick Douglass to ACT UP and beyond. It's an invitation to reimagine how we exercise our first amendment rights. Commissioned artists include Ana María Álvarez, Agnes Borinsky, Daniel Alexander Jones, Fahad Siadat, Mario Vega, Members of the Cornerstone Ensemble, and more. Founded in 1986, Cornerstone Theater Company began as a traveling ensemble living and working in primarily rural communities. In 1992, the company settled in Los Angeles to focus on urban collaborations. Cornerstone has commissioned more than 100 playwrights, produced over 150 new works, trained thousands of students, and worked with tens of thousands of community members, in Los Angeles and across the country.

A Jordan Downs Illumination

Thank you for joining us for A Jordan Downs Illumination. View press related to the production below and continue your education & inspiration by visiting our Jordan Downs Transformation by the Decade Blog that takes a look at the many transformations that have laid the foundation for the Jordan Downs and Watts community as it exists today. Click here to view photos, and tag and search #ajordandownsillumination. Dramatic change is happening in the heart of Los Angeles in the neighborhood of Watts. The Jordan Downs Housing Project, originally built during WWII, has been home to Watts families for generations, and is now being completely transformed into a modern urban village. Join us as award-winning, multi-disciplinary artist Nancy Keystone, Cornerstone Theater Company, and local residents present a one-of-a kind immersive experience: part theatrical performance, part installation and part participatory activities with and about Jordan Downs. A Jordan Downs Illumination will be a celebration and commemoration of the residents’ lives past and present with a vision toward the future, marking a moment of change and transition for a deeply connected community. A Jordan Downs Illumination is the first play in our Change Series. In these volatile times, Cornerstone Theater Company is undertaking an exploration of how societal change across the country and the globe is impacting our local communities and, by extension, the very nature of the work we do as a company. PRESS CLICK HERE for A JORDAN DOWNS ILLUMINATION PRESS RELEASE. Further press inquiries, please contact Director of Strategic Relations Ilia Lopez at ilopez@cornerstonetheater.org.                                                          

What Happens Next

View online program for What Happens Next HERE, or download here.

Commissioned and produced by La Jolla Playhouse, the play was created with, for and about veterans, inspired by stories shared by the military community in San Diego. Written by Naomi Iizuka and directed by Michael John Garcés, the play explores the complexities of sacrifice and resilience of people who have served, and sheds light on what they carry into their civilian lives.

What Happens Next premiered at the Challenged Athletes Foundation in San Diego, April 19 – 29, 2018 and was remounted in San Diego and at UC Irvine in 2019. In June 2021, Cornerstone re-imagined What Happens Next as a Zoom play which is available for screenings.

Original Cast: Judy Bauerlein, Nick Borrelli, Bruce A. Lemon, Jr., Hannah Logan, Francisco Martinezcuello, Nico Marcolongo, Jennie McFarling, Anthony Pone, Kionte Storey Michael Garcia, Associate Director Amanda Novoa, Stage Manager

Remounts

Originally produced by La Jolla Playhouse in 2018, Cornerstone produced the play again with the same cast, and with an eye toward performances to be brought in to veteran communities anywhere.

Performed at UC Irvine at Winifred Smith Hall in Claire Trevor School of the Arts, November 18, 2019.

Performed at Challenged Athletes Foundation in San Diego, November 20-24, 2019.

Streamed online June 24-27, 2021 on YouTube. Read about the original production in the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bring What Happens Next to Your Community Performed by eight actors and produced with minimal space and technical requirements, What Happens Next can be produced in any type of venue, including non-traditional spaces like a recreation center, meeting hall, or veterans community space. The performance is approximately 90 minutes long and runs without an intermission. You can learn more about bringing What Happens Next to your community, HERE. Photo courtesy of Jim Carmody/La Jolla Playhouse

Native Nation

Native Nation is now available for touring. Visit our Native Nation touring page for more information. Do you like the Native Nation artwork? Then check out OXDX, the Native clothing company that designed and created the Native Nation cast shirts.

Thank you for joining us for Native Nation. View press related to the production below and visit our  photo and blog series #HumansofNativeNation, sharing stories of the cast members who help make up the local community and Native Nation. Click here to view photos and follow #nativenationaz and #nativenationctc.

In April, 2019, Cornerstone Theater Company partnered with ASU Gammage in Phoenix, Arizona, where they collaborated with the local indigenous communities to create a unique immersive experience, part marketplace, cultural performance, community gathering and theater, NATIVE NATION.

Written by Larissa FastHorse and directed by Michael John Garcés, Native Nation is an Indigenous theatrical experience for the whole family with the original people of Arizona to see the world through their eyes.

A new play that will forever change the way you see this land.

Native Nation performed: Saturday, April 20, 2019 -Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Saturday, April 27 & Sunday, April 28, 2019- Steele Indian School Park near the Circle of Life With a marketplace complete with food, entertainment, fashion and wonderful things to purchase between shows. Original art work "Abundance" by Paul Molina - Akimal O'Otham, Pee-posh, Quechan, Pawnee, and Hispanic from the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC).

Bring Native Nation to your community

Native Nation is a timely and relevant experience that can be adapted for communities, campuses and institutions of any size. CLICK HERE for more information.

 

CHECK OUT NATIVE NATION IN THE NEWS

Phoenix New Times, Native Nation: Immersive New Play About Issues Facing Indigenous People by Laura Latzko Inclusive Activism podcast, Update on Native Nation with host Rowdy The State Press,Upcoming play 'Native Nation' seeks to showcase indigenous stories by Troy Hill