Altruistic theater company reimagines Peanuts

Urban Theatre Movement is a brand new company developed equally out of passion for the theatre and dedication to bettering the community.

Less than a year ago, co-founders Brenda Banda and Paul Tully met at Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif. Both were enrolled in the same acting class, and it wasn’t long before the pair became motivated by all the potential in the room.

“We started to notice how talented these young actors were,” Banda said. “It was one of those moments as an actor where I thought, ‘Wow, we could actually do something here.’”

Soon, Banda and Tully began putting on small shows with the help of their acting instructor and classmates, including a collection of scenes in Long Beach, Calif and a variety showcase in Redondo Beach, Calif. With guidance from Jeremy Aluma, the one-time director of a play Banda was in, and current marketing director of Urban Theatre Movement, the group then set its sights on doing a whole play in hopes of gathering a full company.

Both Banda and Tully grew up in inner city areas — Banda in Los Angeles and Tully in New York. The name Urban Theatre Movement reflects the company’s goal to inspire young people from similar backgrounds through the influence of theatre.

“What we want to do is introduce theatre to people who wouldn’t normally have the chance to share this passion we all have,” Tully said.

Choosing a play for the company’s first full production was a perfect example of this aspiration. Tully had been going through some plays with a friend from Compton, who knew nothing about theatre. She picked one randomly from the pile, started to read it and began laughing.

“She goes on for about 45 minutes, still cracking up,” Tully recalled. “I’m looking over at her thinking, ‘What the hell is this play?’”

The play was Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead by Burt V. Royal, a dark comedy about the Peanuts gang as teenagers.

After reading it himself, Tully was sold.

As the producing director of the company, it was Tully’s job to bring investors and secure a location for the production. Agreeing to push back the date of opening night by a month, he was able to book the Lounge 2, a newly built addition to the Lounge Theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Having an extra month to prepare for the production ended up working out well for the show’s director, Mike Dias.

“It gave me more time to work with the actors, layer character development and build a powerful ensemble,” Dias said.

Having previously directed shows by absurdist playwrights, Dias found this particular play to be an important piece of theatre because it deals with heavier themes including identity crisis, drug use and death. He believed that the message of the play wastrying to reach out to young people who felt isolated and helpless, a message that Urban Theatre Movement is also adamant on getting across.

“My dream for this company is to help kids in [inner-city] neighborhoods know that there are more positive options out there for them,” said Banda, artistic director of the company. “I want them to know that there’s this thing called theatre, and it’s cool and fun and badass.”

Something else Urban Theatre Movement finds to be fun is helping the community.

On Thanksgiving Day, members went to MacArthur Park and handed out clothes, shoes and turkey sandwiches to the homeless. A few days before Christmas, they distributed phone cards and hot cocoa to labor workers outside of a Home Depot. And on Christmas Day, the group visited the New Image Emergency Homeless Shelter for the Homeless to help pass out dinners.

“I’ve always wanted to do this kind of work, but, by myself, it never happened,” Banda said. “Having a company as a vehicle for that is very cool.”

Urban Theatre Movement’s goal is to do at least one big charity event every two months, focused on helping the local community.

“We want to make a name for ourselves not just as a theater company but as a company that cares about changing what’s happening in our neighborhoods,” Tully explained.

The group also prides itself on having a strong internal community. Urban Theatre Movement currently has about 40 members and counting, many of whom are Cerritos College students or alumni. The team’s loyal support and tenacity to spread the word allowed the company to sell out the opening weekend of its inaugural production within six hours.

Already off to a promising start, Urban Theatre Movement has more plans lined up for 2010. After the run of Dog Sees God, the company is looking to put on Bertolt Brecht’s “The Elephant Calf” and further develop unique improv team Ivy League. During the spring they will be hosting a festival of one-act plays and, later, Banda will direct Life and Death in South Gate Park by Israel Lopez.

Registered as a company only three months ago, the group jumped from doing scenes in class to a full production in less than a year, an admirable accomplishment for any organization. Since neither Banda nor Tully are professionally trained in production or management, Banda says what drives Urban Theatre Movement is pure will and passion.

“It has to be done 110 percent and by that, I mean with no fear,” she said. “My whole life I’ve kind of played it safe, but I think the key is that you have to just jump in and try things because sometimes those underdog stories really do come true.”