August 12, 2024
20 Years Since Lost Hills
August 5, 2024
From Paula Donnelly,
Cornerstone’s Director of Engagement, formerly Institute Director
We’re putting a sparkly ribbon on the fact that 20 years ago Cornerstone Theater Company did our first Institute Summer Residency in Lost Hills, CA, (pop. 1500-ish). For four weeks some Cornerstoners and 18 other (kind, generous, adventurous, thoughtful, talented) adults from across the country lived on the campus of a middle school – using the teachers lounge as our kitchen for shared meals,the gym showers to bathe, and sleeping on twin beds on the floor of classrooms, school library, an office. Most of us arrived for the very first time at the beginning of the residency, though some of us had been visiting and talking with people and getting to know people and a *little* about what it is like to live in Lost Hills.
We hosted our first Institute Summer Residency designed to shared our process for making this kind of community-engaged play with interested artists, activists & educators. It was a wild leap for us and definitely for those individuals who were our first “Institute Students.” As a company we wanted to nurture a new generation of community-based theater while returning to our earliest nomadic experiences of temporarily living in a community as we collaborated with residents on a new play. 2004 in Lost Hills was the first of 12 Institute Summer Residencies so the schedule, the curriculum, and the communal living in this particular way was untested.
We said hello and then got out into the neighborhood to invite the residents to participate in, or at least come see, a play that was written about Lost Hills. It was so warm there and dry. And dusty. No sidewalks, not many roads were paved. Some homes have pistachio & almond orchards right next door. The one public gathering place- the park, right along the highway, was much simpler than it is now- a very basic community room, a few shade structures over picnic tables. Now there are 2 new community buildings, and playground structures and more trees.
Some of us—the Students– were really jumping in with so much trust in Cornerstone and a willingness to put their whole selves into the place, the process, and the new little communities of Cornerstone + Students and the bigger one: Lost Hills + Cornerstone + Students.
We were all a little shocked to find ourselves walking around town with audition flyers, knocking on doors and talking with families in the park, to invite them to be involved with the play.
The script, “Waking Up In Lost Hills, a Central California Rip Van Winkle,” was written by José Cruz González. The stories & circumstances of Lost Hills residents, the local landscape and landmarks, and history inspired the plot and the design. The cast included 28 local residents, 12 Institute Students, one Cornerstone Ensemble member, two guest artists, and the playwright’s mother, who stepped in after a few residents had to drop out of a small but key role. The cast included the live band led by Michael Archuleta who composed original songs. The play was performed in the auditorium at Lost Hills School which doubled as a basketball gym. Director Bill Rauch and scenic designer Shigeru Yaji put the audience bleachers on two sides and put the action of the play between them. The stage represented a major feature of Lost Hills: Highway 46 which cuts right through the town and, in 2004, had only one stop sign and no traffic lights.
The 18 students hold a special place in my heart because of who they are, but also for their willingness to participate and give four weeks of their lives wholly to this “Institute” which Cornerstone was trying out for the first time. They were all so stellar! We learned a lot together.
There were two sets of friends who arrived together- undergrads from Boston and recent grads from Brooklyn. One Student was a newly ordained Jesuit priest, another a newlywed. One had been running a theater company for decades and others were in school and at the beginning of their theater experience. Artists, educators, musicians, a filmmaker, a puppeteer, organizers, directors and actors. They participated in morning classes. They worked on the play and wanted to do more. They got to know Lost Hills’ residents and learned a lot about almonds and pistachios. In addition to rehearsing the play they made puppets, built the set, played with the kids. They got those neighborhood boys on bikes involved somehow, and got lights for their bikes, too. One put together a letter-campaign to elected officials to get a traffic light on the highway.
We did pretty well. I’m not sure I have ever worked as hard in my entire life- mentally, emotionally & physically, even in the Institutes that followed. There was a lot of love and joy generated by getting to know each other and making something complicated and beautiful together. There was unique pleasure watching the audience across the way while watching the play as people saw family onstage in person and in the story.
Connections with many folks involved have continued in different ways over the years, including having Luis H., a 10-year old chorus member, be on the production tour with Cornerstone’s California: The Tempest tour in 2014-15.
I’m eternally grateful to the people* who made it happen and my heart always zings when I’m near Lost Hills.
*Coco Aguayo, Lonnie Alcaraz, Nephelie Andonyadis, Michael Archuleta, Christina Aronhalt, Juan & Rosalina Ballesteros & their daughter Rosalina, Jack Bentz, Agustin & Judith Bernardino, Arny Cano, Alison Carey, Cindy Castillo, Sam Chase, Anthony Chavez, Kate Collins, Dr. David Day, Beatrice Duran, Charity & Kacee Duran, Rebecca Edwards, Kerry English, Martha Escalante, Gerry Lee & Linda Evans, Cliff Faulkner, Harrison Favereaux, John Flynn, Luis Gamino, Oralia Garza, Susan Gassett, Elizabeth Gonzalez, José Cruz & Mary González, Jasmine Guevera, Scott Guseman, Blanca Noemi Gutierrez, Luis Gutierrez, Jennie Hahn, Estella & Karina Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Peter Howard, Jennifer Li Jackson, Tom Jacobson & Ramon Munoz, the James Irvine Foundation, Ann Jeffries, Lynn Jeffries, Amy Jensen, Nathaniel Justiniano, Molly Kimmerling, Geoff Korf, Lee Lawlor, Garry Lennon, Lucky Lynch, Shaunda Miles McDill, Sarah Milligan, Pat Mock, Mario Mora, Chris Moore, Ann-Sophie Morrisette, Christina Munich, Alejandra Navarro, John Nobori, Claudia & Christian Nolguen & Daniel Rodriguez, Gregory Pacificar, Paramount Farms, Maria Pasquarelli, Deb Piver, Paul James Prendergast, Bill Rauch, Omar Ricks, Sergio Rivera, Winston Rocha, Michael Rohd, Pesha Rudnick, Carmen Saldaño, Kelly & Yuliana Salgado, Chuy Sanchez, Veronica Sanchez, Maria Schriber, Sr. Marie Francis Schroepfer, Xavier Sibaja, Jerry Scott, Byrd Shuler, Ashley Sparks, Leslie Tamaribuchi, Rafaela Tijerina, Celeste Thompson, Joy Tucker, Mark Valdez, Shay Wafer, Harry Waters Jr, Jeffrey Wells, Shigeru Yaji, Toby Yoo, Michelle Zamora, A & J Zimmerman, & Diana Zung.
