“It is such a beautiful thing to be a student, be able to write something, have it produced and actually get to see your work on a grand scale,” said Abigail Opeyemi, one of the co-marketing coordinators and directors for UC Santa Cruz’s Rainbow Theater.
Rainbow Theater, established in 1993 by African American Theater Arts Troupe founder Don Williams, is the only multicultural theater arts troupe in the UC system. Each component of their performances — including directional work, costume design, makeup artistry, lighting, script-writing, sound and acting efforts — is student-directed.
Student actors apply makeup and grab their costumes backstage during Rainbow Theater’s dress rehearsals. Photos 1 and 2 by Apurva Krishnamurthy. Photos 3 and 4 by Priscilla Liu.
This month, the theatre is hosting its annual spring showcase, consisting of six shows held at the Stevenson Event Center. What is so powerful about Rainbow Theater is that it spotlights the lives and voices of marginalized individuals in a performance art form that has historically centered white narratives.
“Students should come to see not only my show, but all of the shows that are being thrown in the spring for Rainbow Theater, based on the simple fact that they’re lived experiences,” said Kathryn Adamaris Mora Martinez, the assistant director for Rainbow Theater’s Poet’s Corner and Latina program.
Aché Smith, Arianna Pereda Lopez, Christina Ponce, and Karia Houston-Escajeda performing in Latina. Photos by Priscilla Liu.
Rainbow Theater is running two different performances:
Program A, “R.A.W., Something Stupid, Stanford Indian, and Dance Piece,” debuted on May 8 and ran on May 14 and 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Program B, “Poet’s Corner and Latina,” began on May 9 and continued into May 15 and 17 at 3 p.m.
Photos by Apurva Krishnamurthy.
(From left to right) Nadia Martin (co-director), Hailee Ball (co-director), and Olivia Ervin performing in Poet’s Corner. Photo by Priscilla Liu.
“Everyone has a really big role, no matter if you’re technically a director or a backstage tech or an onstage dancer,” said third-year dancer and Cultural Arts and Diversity (CAD) board-member Jae Bemore. “We couldn’t do the show without all of these people.”
Students spend about six hours per week solidifying their roles, and rehearsals typically run overtime or require additional days. Even with extensive preparation, live productions can run into a number of challenges that the audience isn’t privy to.
“We did make some changes the night before the show,” Bemore said. “We were supposed to have a few props, but I don’t think they ever showed up. They didn’t get ordered in time, so we had to change part of our dance.”
Thinking fast and adapting quickly is a required skill for crew members of Rainbow Theater. In prop production, crew members unexpectedly ran into mailing issues, forcing them to make quick adjustments right up until the debut curtain was lifted.
Rainbow Theater crew members paint and build various props.
Many of Rainbow Theater’s other departments also experienced unforeseen events before opening night, which allowed crew members to learn new skills and rise to the challenge of live theater. Lighting director Talon Capasola ran lights professionally for the first time on opening night, expecting problems to arise at any time.
“If anything goes wrong, I know that I know how to fix it, but I also haven’t had to deal with that yet,” Capasola said. He relayed how in his experience with Rainbow Theater the team worked together and provided a safe space for him to practice lighting techniques.
“It’s really interesting to get a chance like this and have it be low pressure in terms of how perfect I need to be,” he continued.
While perfection is farfetched and difficult to achieve, the dedication put into Rainbow Theater’s annual spring showcase demonstrates the deep appreciation cast members have for theater arts and technical production. Many are firm in their belief that this is an important legacy to carry on.
Latina crew dressing the set for their opening night show. Photo by Priscilla Liu.
“It’s important to keep this tradition going because Rainbow Theater has such a rich history,” said Olivia Ervin, a first-year student at UCSC and actress in Poets Corner. “There’s so many different people and students that have poured into it over the years that to not keep it going, it would be such a waste of all their hard work.”
