In March of 2010, the Pacifica Spindrift Players opened their doors to theatrical journeys that keep pace with the very heartbeat of playwrights in the “now.” Created by Lennon Smith and David Acevedo (former PSP Board Presidents) — the idea of “Stage 2” was and is to show productions in front of the curtain that turn a spotlight on topics which walk a modern-day edge. Admission is free and “Stage 2” performances generally run one weekend only between the Spindrift’s mainstage season.
The first Stage 2 presentation was Elizabeth Fatum’s “Coping Through Pain.” The play is about self-injury. The Mayo Clinic defines self-injury as, “the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. It’s not meant as a suicide attempt. Rather, self-injury is an unhealthy way to cope with emotional pain, intense anger and frustration.”
Fatum’s play sheds light on this very real battle — a battle which knows no barriers in regards to “gender, race, sexual orientation, economic background, age, faith, or body type.”
Other Stage 2 productions have included “The Exonerated” — a readers’ theatre piece based on real stories of six innocent people convicted of murder and their respective journeys back to freedom as well as “Electricidad,” a modern-day East LA barrio version of the ancient Greek story “Electra.” “Electra” is the story of a young girl who avenges her father’s death after the Trojan War.
This coming weekend playwright Fatum — who received her BA in Technical Theater from Bates College (Maine), and whose résumé as a director, actor, theatre lighting designer and educator could fill a number of pages — is directing a Stage 2 presentation of “Scratch.”
Written by Capuchino High School senior Nichole Martinez, “Scratch” is a story about two teenage friends, Iris and Danny, who are each riding the emotional rollercoaster of living with alcoholic parents. The play grew from a short story by Martinez about a “girl battling with inner feelings and escaping those feelings with an imaginary person.” “Scratch,” which was recently staged at Skyline College, took six months for the author to write and several more months before its debut.
Involved in the theater since the summer of her 13th year, Martinez already has several plays under her belt. She plans to double major in acting and playwriting and hopes to attend New York University or the University of Southern California — or, “hopefully Julliard, please!”
Director Fatum has said that she takes “all the world’s a stage to heart” and that as a playwright, director, designer and actor she works with theater “as a vehicle to bring forward ideas and topics that would otherwise not be seen.” With the tagline of “Scratch” being “the biggest battle is within yourself,” both the author and director have every intention of knocking down the masks that keep us hidden from ourselves.
If you go:
What: “Scratch” by Nichole Martinez.
Presented by: Stage 2 under the direction of Elizabeth Fatum
Where: Pacifica Spindrift Theatre, 1050 Crespi Drive, Pacifica
When: Nov. 18-19 at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before show.
Note: The play contains strong language.
Admission: Free. Donations welcome. Seating limited. Call: 359-8002. (www.pacificaspindriftplayers.org.)