“The Launchpad program provides us with structure, while serving as a consistent destination for our audiences,” says Qu. “The South End has long been a hub for theater, but it also used to be part of Chinatown and there is still a large Asian-American community here.” Anchored by the BCA, she says CHUANG “has the time and support to encourage the Asian-American community in this neighborhood and elsewhere to see their stories on stage and feel welcomed in the theater.”
CHUANG’s latest production, “The Sitayana, or How to Make an Exit” (Oct. 14-31, BCA Black Box) is a feminist reimagining of the epic Sanskrit poem, told through the eyes of Sita, and described as part coming-of-age story and part breakup play. Five members of an ensemble portray Sita at different ages, telling her story through movement as well as music. In April, CHUANG will stage “Laowang,” an Asian-American take on “King Lear.”
The award-winning Sleeping Weazel (“The Audacity: Women Speak” and “3/Fifths’ Trapped in a Minstrel Show”) pushes theatrical possibilities with collaborations that invite a wide array of artistic contributions.
“Our latest work, ‘Time & Times Again,’ is typical of the multimedia, theater-dance-video-performance art that Sleeping Weazel likes to develop,” says cofounder and artistic director Charlotte Meehan. “The immersive piece moves through attempts to connect, missed connections, stored memories, and moments of joy that return us to the deepest truths of our shared humanity, even in the worst of times.”
The company has been developing “Time & Times Again” for two years and will present another iteration at the Dance Complex Nov. 7 and 8. The complete work will be presented as part of the company’s two-show season at the BCA next year.
“We recently expanded to a staff of four,” Meehan says, with each of them balancing administrative responsibilities with artistic pursuits. That means that the Launchpad Residency “makes a world of difference to what we are able to accomplish.”
The BCA’s director of theater arts, Michaila Cowie, says the Launchpad Residency program invites a panel of industry experts to conduct a rigorous review of applicants when residencies expire after three years and they’re ready for new participants. In the last round, nearly 20 companies applied, and Cowie says she has conversations with every applicant each time. They have space for two companies at once.
“While we do reach out to companies that currently rent BCA theaters, we are open to everyone,” Cowie says. Residencies are open to artists in the fields of visual arts, choreography, playwriting, and theater. Those applications are reviewed based on “experimentation, responsiveness, community engagement, and potential impact.”
Both CHUANG and Sleeping Weazel invite community participation in educational programs as well as performances.
CHUANG activates the lobby space before every performance with events created with partner organizations within the community. For “The Sitayana,” the events draw on the festivals, foods, and art forms woven through Sita’s story, in an effort to draw audiences into the world of the play.
Sleeping Weazel offered a puppetry workshop open to the community during the summer, and in early December will offer a writing workshop and afternoon tea with story sharing called “Stuff My Mother Said to Me, the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
“These workshops,” says Meehan, “create an environment where audience members can realize and explore their artistic abilities.”
In March, the theater will host a celebration and reading from “The Struggle Continues,” a book recently released by a collaborator, the late Robbie McCauley. Meehan says they hope to host monthly conversations in their studio space at the BCA, as well as a full production in May of playwright Sam Noble’s “Medium Play,” about “how we move forward from the lives we expected to live and what lies ahead when we do.”
Cowie says the Launchpad is meant to provide both an anchor and a resource without restricting what each company might create. At the same time, she says the residency is time-limited to two three-year terms. “The residency is meant to support an organization as it becomes sustainable,” Cowie says. “We do expect each company to break down their goals and priorities year by year, providing them the marketing and fund-raising support to meet those goals.”
That commitment to engaging in partnerships and pursuing collaborations while pushing the boundaries of theater is important at the BCA, which is a home for so many artists, Cowie says.
“With our new artistic director, Shey Rivera Rios [who assumed the role last March], we hope to find ways to connect the visual, dance, and playwriting residents and create more opportunities for them to interact,” Cowie says.
“The residency is a physical reminder that we have a home in the world,” says Meehan. “It’s also an opportunity for us to grow our company and expand our collaborations with others.”
For Qu, who is already thinking about CHUANG Stage’s exit strategy, “there is no other program in Boston like this. We will leave the beautiful embrace of the BCA having had a significant amount of time to develop our community of audiences and creative partners.”
Pop-Up Shakespeare in the Boston Public Library
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company actors will perform selections from “Henry V,” “Hamlet,” “Twelfth Night,” and “Romeo and Juliet” at locations within the historic McKim Building of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, Oct. 13-14 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., as part of the BPL’s Shakespeare at the Library: Worlds of Imagination.
Made possible by the Boston Public Library Fund (BPLF), which works to elevate public programming in the historic McKim Building, the program begins at the Dartmouth Street entrance with the prologue from “Henry V”; moves into the Sargent Gallery for the battle of wits between Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as well as the “To be or not to be” soliloquy; and to the Abbey Room for the moment when Malvolio is tricked into a goofy display of his yellow stockings from “Twelfth Night” and the balcony scene from “Romeo and Juliet.”
Each performance runs approximately one hour. Audiences may choose to experience the performance in parts or follow the performers through the building, creating a flexible, immersive journey. For more information: https://bplfund.org/shakespeare-at-the-library-worlds-of-imagination/
