announcer: funding for the kcet "fine cut festival of films" is generously provided by the bridges larson foundation and by the national endowment for the arts, on the web at arts.gov.

[applause]

[insects chirping]

[men speaking native language]

[insects chirping]

[indistinct chatter]

[animals howling, insects chirping] [gunshot]

[gunshot] [gunshots] [gunshot] [gunshot] [gunshot] [gunshot]

[men coughing]

woman: there's nothing like hearing an audience of 50 people

or an audience of 10,000 people. that energy that those people create in the space, the vibration of just having humans living in that moment with you for the first time and the last time, because you will never see the same thing twice. man: we are a storytelling species. theater equals that, right. somebody is telling it and somebody is watching the telling of it. man 2: when you're performing, immediately the audience responds and you feel the response, you hear the response. woman: to see what theater does for people and what a live performance does for people, you don't get to experience that kind of raw emotion that somebody has on stage in a live performance that you do on tv or film. it's just not the same.

and then the pandemic just changed everything for everyone. [birds chirping] man: guys, thank you for doing this. we'll try to keep the show in us, and the less sort of rusty and weird we are when we come back, the better. ["dancing queen" playing] abba: ♪ ooh you can dance you can jive having the time of your life ooh, see the girl watch that scene

digging the dancing queen ♪ man: that's awesome. i mean, that was good. i feel like we were heard quite a bit. you know? we were just going into our week of just, like, running the show. we were actually ready to move into the theater. and then, like, i got the call and it was like, "we're shutting down." we spent a year and a half not exercising this thing that has been in our dna for a really long time. that's hard. yeah, it was a couple months of like, "i'm good," and then it was a couple months of like, "i'm going to have to figure out a place to put all of this." the fact that, like, this thing to which you have dedicated your life can literally be just taken away from you because of something that is wildly out of your control, i think we're still dealing with that. people have been decrying the death of theater since theater began. there are these sort of overarching, bigger than we are things that i think are causing

the l.a. theater community to constrict. and there's always going to be, like, an outlier. and we need to really hope for those outliers, because it's just getting harder. [beeping] man: we haven't had any live performances for 16 months. i didn't get paid at all for 10 months. they gave you unemployment, but it's not enough. and still, i have to take care of my boy. my name is ruben amavizca-murua. i'm the artistic director of grupo de teatro sinergia at the frida kahlo theater. we are the only theater in the los angeles county focused on theater in spanish. [woman singing in spanish]

amavizca-murua: the building belongs to the city of los angeles. we were asked by the city to be a site for vaccination. the next day i come in to open at 6:00 in the morning, the alarm didn't beep, and then i looked, and i saw the back door open. 7, $8,000 in equipment, it was stolen. it was very heartbreaking. very painful. because especially now we are not producing anything. so, we're short in funds and... [alarm beeping] every week i get like 5 to 10 calls, "when are you opening?" and i have to give him the same answer. i don't know. woman: isn't this exciting? you're gonna see people you haven't seen. woman 2: i know. i'm so excited. woman: it's been fixed. my name is talia krispel. i am an equity production stage

manager. since 2004, stage managing has been my livelihood. because of the pandemic, i lost 7 or 8 contracts and counting. [gasps] hi! oh, i missed you! and so we are unfortunately seeing a lot of theaters close. and it makes me sad that people didn't care...to save what we do. i don't know what i would do if i didn't have theater. even if i didn't do it as a profession, i wouldn't be fulfilled as a human to not have that. man: i'm so glad we're allowed to hug. krispel: our covid compliance officer isn't here yet. hi, i'm talia. lanser: michael lanser. oh. good to see you. woman: we're all here. man: oh, there he is! israel: i don't have anything massively of value to say except that it's just good to see

everybody. i want the show to be beautiful and amazing, and i want to honor the fact that we all have been through something. murray: i mean, all of you know we put on "mamma mia" and we paid everybody, and so we're going into "mamma mia" with a huge deficit, but it actually means the survival of the company, to be honest with you. this show--this show will show our path forward. israel: we are doing this in october. whatever has to happen to make it happen, we are doing it. if everybody has to be masked, if everybody has to be in an oxygen tent, if everybody has to be in a bubble, like, we're doing it. amavizca-murua: we have been trying to continue to do our work. woman: especially so close to achieving what we set out to do. [men speaking spanish] amavizca-murua: to do theater online is difficult. to do theater classes online is not

very productive. we have a theater class for adults in spanish. then we have another class for youth in english where we have disabled students. we used to have 20 to 30 students in the class. so virtual we had 8. silcock: we did zoom a couple of times, but they didn't do so well. hi, i'm jeffrey silcock, and i am 28 years old, and i live in a large adopted family. "oliver" is actually how she adopted us. our mom, she saw "oliver" and she told her parents that that's what she wanted to do was to adopt children. it would have been much different if she had watched "annie." i love that acting in general is you get to learn so much about yourself and other people. man: although you've worked with so many different people over the years, i'm sure. silcock: that's the fun of it.

it's actually really funny how when i first started frida, i was super quiet. well, you're pushed to be louder then. there's this imaginary line between the seats and the stage. once we pass that little strip, we are a completely different person. but last time we were at frida, wow, that was months ago. that was--that was definitely over a year ago. amavizca-murua: maybe in a week or two, we will finally get guidelines for reopening. krispel: we highly recommend that you stay masked just to add that extra barrier. yes, we're all 100% vaccinated. you do have the personal choice, if you so choose, while you are rehearsing to remove said mask. for those of you that don't know me, this is my face, i have one.

israel: oh! krispel: i know, right? so we've all been through this now for 18 months. it should be easy peasy rice and cheesy. with that being said, i don't want to take up too much more time. anthony and richard. yes. anthony: here we go. 1, 2. chorus: ♪ you are the dancing queen young and sweet, only 17 dancing queen feel the beat of the tambourine oh, yeah ♪ israel: good. vallanoweth: when we closed, that week, my boyfriend broke up with me. first person i've ever dated, been with ever. and so i was a mess. then we shut down, everything closed down. i was literally like everybody's isolated in quarantine, so it was, like, very difficult to, like, get through. kind of in

a weird way, it's good timing because now i'm with someone completely new and very happy. and, like, yay. and it's like celebrating love again. chorus: ♪ so when you're near me, darling, can't you hear me? s.o.s. ♪ anthony: 1, 2. 5, 6, 7. and. vallanoweth: i think everyone needs it. it's not just us. it's such a selfish way to look at it, where it's like the cast and crew, it's like we've been craving this and needing this, but to be honest, like, everybody--like, everyone needs this, like. and, like, my old theater teacher used to be like, "the elderly are keeping the theater alive." like, "they are?" and i feel like, i mean, they need it. they're lonely, you know. kids need this. like, so many people just need happiness and, like you said, an escape in a way. urko: they want to go to greek's. vallanoweth: they want to go to greek's. in thousand oaks. producer: what would you guys do if "mamma mia" doesn't open? vallanoweth: oh, my god. don't even talk about that. urko: don't put that into the universe. vallanoweth: exactly.

woman: i wouldn't even be surprised at that point. vallanoweth: i'm already upset thinking about that. yeah. it would get me really upset. chorus: ♪ under attack i'm being taken about to crack defenses breaking won't somebody please have a heart? come and rescue me now 'cause i'm falling apart under attack i'm taking cover... ♪ amavizca-murua: so, i'm writing an email for the department of cultural affairs, trying to get a precise date for reopening. yeah, we were told next week we'll have more precise information, and it's been almost 6 weeks. and wednesday is going to be 6 weeks. oh, i just received a reply from

cultural affairs department. "thanks, ruben. we are aiming for a january reopening pending further information from the personnel department." this is the same. i mean, i-- i just try not to get frustrated, but yes, i am, because these then--he's not saying, ok, you can open january 1st. we're aiming. and i've been hearing that for almost two months. but the same time, i'm grateful they are taking very careful steps, because we've seen it in other places when suddenly, ok, we're open and things go really wrong. urko: yeah, we have to get tested twice. vallanoweth: hopefully we don't have somebody with covid in this show. [chorus singing indistinctly] ♪ we've done it all before

and now we're back to dance some more you know what i mean ♪ krispel: what we just witnessed in rehearsal, that kind of laughter and that joy, that's what i--that's why i'm here. [indistinct singing] urko: honestly, we could open tonight. i think we're pretty much ready. krispel: a positive test or somebody with symptoms, it would, you know, shut us down. israel: i hope that doesn't happen. urko: i mean, we already, like, had that ripped away from us once. it would almost be like, of course that happened. vallanoweth: yeah, i definitely lost that purpose during the pandemic. i would despise singing or acting or doing anything because it was so, like, lonely and isolating feeling. like, you need to do something else or you find something else in the meantime or right now to, you know, just feel like you're, you know-- urko: yeah. vallanoweth: like, important and, like, have purpose on this planet. urko: yeah.

[piano playing] [singing in spanish] silcock: for the past 18 months, it's been very difficult. i mean, not being able to physically be on stage. the very first moment that i went to that class was--he told me walk from stage right to stage left, and i gave him the weirdest look because at the time i was--i had a very slim view of what that meant. and he

even told me twice. and then i'm like, "can you not see me?" and he said, "i'm sorry, i thought i was talking to an actor." and that really struck a chord with me, knowing that someone understood my struggles but was willing to help me push past them. it would be really tough to not have it with me. beep beep. amavizca-murua: for us, the arts are essential. i don't--i don't know if i mentioned that i--when--i changed my son's school because they didn't have arts education. for me it's essential that my son receives arts education. i don't expect him to be an artist, but i want him to know about it. and maybe because when

i was a kid, i went to a very poor grammar school, but we got some kind of arts education, for me it's very, very important. woman: [indistinct] vallanoweth: you're gonna help me, mom? woman: ♪ schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning... ♪ vallanoweth: the fact that we even made it to the designer run, because that's where we ended last year, or two years ago now. and that we're being able to do the designer run is just a blessing in itself, and then to do the tech on top of it, like...i'm sorry. sorry, i just... i miss theater so much. woman: ♪ slipping through my fingers all the time i try to capture every minute

the feeling in it reminding her all the time do i really see what's in her mind? each time i think i'm close to knowing she keeps on growing slipping through my fingers all the time ♪ amavizca-murua: i grew up without a father. [indistinct] anger, violence. it took me a long time to work through all that, and i'm working that my son doesn't see that. because of the family i was living with, by 11 i was working on the streets selling newspapers. and they don't--unfortunately... jobs that it was not good for 12, 13-year-olds. i don't want that for my son.

theater helped me understand with these other people and with myself. vallanoweth: with this opening, there's definitely a lot more butterflies. i'm about to go on stage. honestly, i close my eyes, like, right before, i look up, and i just say, "thank you." krispel: "mamma mia," this is

your places call. places, please. places for top of show. we're at places, please. woman: we're in places, people! [all cheering] [beeping] krispel: thank you. places. lights, 1.5. house to half. go. chorus: ♪ ooh, mamma mia, here i go again my, my, how can i resist you? mamma mia, does it show again my, my, just how much i've missed you? yes, i've been brokenhearted... ♪ krispel: even if it's "mamma

mia," a bubblegum pop, karaoke musical, if that makes a little girl, like, excited or a grandma miss her daughter, that's, like, the greatest gift. chorus: ♪ i should not have let you go ♪ [cheers and applause] man: we did it! happy opening! theater is back in l.a. krispel: yes! murray: and so many people came to the show and said, "i haven't felt this good in two and a half years." israel: i'm going to work to just not take it for granted. to get to do what we want to do is--we're the luckiest people in the world.

amavizca-murua: ok, let's start working. today i'll be working with him in one of the pieces that he might use for his audition for the high school for the performing arts. [boy speaking spanish] amavizca-murua: one more time. and the last one, you step forward. i don't know what's going to be the future for my son in theater, but if he loves it like i do, like i did, i'm sure that he will find a way to do it.

israel: i think it is always going to remain a vibrant art form and there's always going to be a new generation coming up where we will never want for 12-, 13-, 14-year-olds going, "i want to do that." you don't get that watching netflix. [birds chirping] [bird cooing]

[music playing over headphones] [music stops] [bird coos] [bird chirps] [boy grunting]

[ducks honking] [whistle blows] [duck burps] woman: i was a pretty good rule follower for a long, long time.

[choir singing] i went along with the thinking, the law, but it was always just too restrictive. i couldn't live with it anymore. i couldn't live with it anymore. the institutional structure with men being the only ones that's ordained doesn't work. every single human person has something to offer. i knew that i had a call to this, to be a roman catholic woman who's a priest, catholic priest. [choir singing] so now what do i do? i've been in the parish for 30 years. we raised our kids in the parish.

it was the place where we belonged. it was home. but i got pretty convinced pretty early on that the spirit was moving the institution to be more inclusive. i have never been one who could feel any integrity with the institution saying that lgbtq people were intrinsically disordered. that's the reason that i never took a job, a paid job, with the institutional church, even though i had lots of ministry preparation, because i could never say the things that--i couldn't--that i don't believe. i've just always been a questioner. the second largest group of religious people in the country,

at least several years ago, was former catholics. so there's something that is not quite right here. different people have been called at different times in the church's history to try something new. that's how i see my vocation. i have always been called in to a particular leadership role in the community. by the time i was in my twenties, i was clear that that was a call to priesthood, even though it was just completely impossible. gradually, as my own call to priesthood got stronger and i realized there were many, many other people who were also longing to have women ordained as catholic priests, then i just kept moving in that direction and found the organization, the movement, roman catholic women priests.

when i began the process of formation as a priest, i went through tremendous grief. it was very difficult emotionally to separate myself from the parish. and it felt like being torn out of a community. and yet i was doing the tearing. when i did talk with the parish,

a few people said, "you're doing a terrible thing. this is sinful, this is wrong." i'm pretty sure there are a couple of people who thought i would go to hell, and then they would turn their backs and just go away. and that was hard to hear because i loved everyone in that community. and a part of that is a couple of friends who are very close. i didn't know if we would still be friends. they were very traditional catholics. bill and i actually went to their house and had dinner with them. and at dessert time, i said to them, "i have something i need to tell you." and after they got through, "are you both healthy? are you ok? how's your marriage? is your

marriage ok?" and we said, "oh, yeah, yeah, it's fine." then the man said, "are you going to be a priest?" i mean, it was out of the blue. it was out of the blue. i had no--i couldn't even have imagined that he would say that. and i said yes. they recognized the call. i am not leaving the roman catholic church. even if the institution says i have by my actions, i'm saying, no, i haven't. i am choosing to stay, but at the outer edges. the reason that i choose to call

myself a roman catholic woman priest is because if i just said i am a priest or not calling myself a roman catholic woman priest, the institutional church would just say, good, be a good priest elsewhere, because you're saying that you're not part of us. i think it's really important to get the word out that there are women priests and that we're doing work. we're doing the work. the institution of the church is not serving all of god's people. and so we have the call, we have the careism, we have the energy, we have some people, and we're going to go out here and do something that reflects the real christ call of the church.

voice: systems online. nearby alien creatures in stable orbit. scanning. [video game sounds] woman: grr. girl: ohh! woman: that's why i don't leave anything to you. girl: huh? what does that mean? maybe if you actually let me do anything around here, i could be-- [siren sounds] [aliens screeching] voice: warning. evacuate immediately. woman: what? they shouldn't be here. they're out of orbit. [gasps] girl: give me the controls. i know how to shoot them down.

woman: stop. you'll mess it up. girl: there's too many. we can't make it through. let me do it. voice: access denied. girl: you disabled my... woman: you don't know what you're doing. just stay in your room. girl: ahh! uhh! voice: engine down. woman: uh, no! voice: back-up damaged. error. error. error. error. error. error. error. error. [alien screeches] girl: lev, give it to me. lev: uhh! girl: lev! [alien screeches]

girl: i can't shoot them forever. i need your help. lev: let's do it together.

man: ♪ don't need money don't need fame if things get tough i won't be looking to blame anyone don't need diamonds don't need gold i got everything i need when i got you to hold on to i take a chance on you

you take a chance on me we fit together so perfectly and we all shine on now every darkest night is getting brighter the sun comes out and the clouds are gone and we all shine on oh, baby, all shine on oh, shine shine on oh, thank you, shine on shine, shine ♪

announcer: funding for the kcet "fine cut festival of films" is generously provided by the bridges larson foundation and by the national endowment for the arts, on the web at

[phone ringing] [dongseop speaks in korean] - loves thiattention. he . [dongseop speaks in [laughing] when the phone rings, my stomach starts hurting. here we are again, dumb dumb against the world. my brain right now is actually scanning every single little thing that can go wrong beuse of thishow and it's everything i ever wanted, recognition for this decade of hard work. yes, here is korea, but give me this little 10 by 10 room. come on. they always call me the, the [speaks korean], the american misses. to really find out who i am,