Latest / The BSB Podcast / Exclusive Interview: Joey Urreta of Ringwald Theatre's 'A Certain Kind of Light'

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Exclusive Interview: Joey Urreta of Ringwald Theatre's 'A Certain Kind of Light' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Thank you so much for joining me today, Joey.
• 0:01
  How are you doing?
• 0:03
  Good, good, doing great.
• 0:04
  We're so excited to talk to you and for the arrival of a certain kind of light at the Ringwald Theater.
• 0:09
  How has that process with the Ringwald been so far?
• 0:12
  um Amazing.
• 0:17
  I've done a few shows with them.
• 0:19
  I've acted in a few shows with them.
• 0:21
  And I've got to build some nice relationships up with these folks.
• 0:24
  I mean, no exaggeration when I say they are the nicest people to work with.
• 0:29
  So collaborative, so generous.
• 0:31
  um So yeah, it's been a bit of a personal and vulnerable process for me, but overall very, very positive and collaborative.
• 0:41
  I love the Ringwald Theatre for how, like they are just, like you said, they are the nicest people.
• 0:46
  I mean, all theaters are really great around here, but they are so warm and they're welcoming and the stories they're telling and the way that they're going about it, there's
• 0:54
  just, their process is so, like heartwarming, especially uh being an LGBTQ kind of focused, uh you know, the affiliation with that Affirmations So it's really good to have
• 1:06
  that kind of safe space.
• 1:07
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:08
  um So we're gonna just jump right into it.
• 1:10
  What's kind of the story of a certain kind of light?
• 1:14
  Yeah, so it basically tells the story of a group of folks, most of whom are in their 20s, um a lot of former college students who are in the first section kind of at a party,
• 1:27
  things are a little out of control, things are a little crazy.
• 1:30
  And then as the show goes on, I think it comes to deal with the consequences of those actions of a bit of a hedonistic lifestyle.
• 1:41
  of that constant partying, of that constant use of substances.
• 1:45
  And I think it kind of boils down to a point where several of those characters are kind of confronted with a bit of a crucible and forced to make a choice on how they're gonna live
• 1:54
  the rest of their lives.
• 1:56
  It sounds really heavy.
• 1:57
  That's like a heavy material.
• 2:00
  Yeah, I mean, you know, it is, it's, it's a lot to do with with addiction, right, given that description, mental health, stuff like that.
• 2:07
  um You know, and those are topics that are very close to my heart, and something that's on my mind a lot.
• 2:13
  And so heavy, sure, right.
• 2:15
  But I think, and I think that kind of comes with the territory to tackle something like this.
• 2:20
  um I like to think that we have found creative ways to portray that to deal with it.
• 2:26
  um
• 2:28
  And you know what I'll say about that is I think in terms of finding the truth in those difficult uh personal situations, a lot of uncovering that truth also means finding the
• 2:41
  humor in it, uh finding the absurdity in it, and not in any way to poke fun or satirize those things, more so to reveal, uh you know, I would say at the same time, maybe the
• 2:55
  darkness and the light of those situations.
• 2:58
  Um, so, you know, do I think the show is just kind of a bummer downer the whole time?
• 3:03
  I definitely don't, but, you know, yeah, it gets heavy for sure.
• 3:08
  I love that you said that because, you know, my day job is a psychologist.
• 3:11
  And so a lot of the times we're exploring really heavy topics.
• 3:15
  I, one of the things I use is I kind of use a little bit of humor with it of being like the, best medicine sometimes is to try to find a different approach because life can be
• 3:24
  very heavy.
• 3:24
  Like you, like you said, you're talking about mental health here.
• 3:26
  You're talking about, you know, drug use.
• 3:28
  uh That could, like you said, it could be easily a downer, but the way you're, sounds like you're approaching it is through finding the light, which is right in the title of it, you
• 3:36
  know?
• 3:36
  There you go.
• 3:37
  Well, you know, essentially, I was just going to say, you know, I think when it comes to addiction, right, it's something that is often misunderstood, um often um incorrectly
• 3:52
  identified and dealt with.
• 3:53
  um And I think there's a lot of stigma around it and you know, all that stuff.
• 3:58
  And so
• 4:00
  You know, it's just such a multifaceted thing to deal with, to live with, and to be around folks who are living with it.
• 4:07
  And so, you know, I'm really with writing the script and with the absolutely brilliant direction that Asia has given to the show.
• 4:14
  I think, you know, just trying to find those different ways into it.
• 4:18
  um It's not always, you know, I think when it gets brought up, it, know, it feels people, when I talk about this to people,
• 4:27
  Often the reaction is just very, oh, that's sad.
• 4:32
  But I think there's so much more to it than just it's such a tragic situation.
• 4:38
  I mean, I think that's kind what we're trying to get at here.
• 4:41
  So what was kind of like, what sparked this idea for you?
• 4:44
  Like, so where did this kind of come from?
• 4:46
  Yeah.
• 4:48
  So about seven years ago, I was about to graduate college and my college experience was very similar to what's portrayed here.
• 4:57
  know, lot of partying, a lot of just kind of, you know, that feeling of when you're 21, 22 and just, oh, I'm going to live forever kind of thing.
• 5:06
  And at the end, towards the end of college, I was in a long-term relationship and my girlfriend at the time,
• 5:14
  broke up with me because of all that stuff, right?
• 5:17
  And so I was in a very, I was in a very weird place.
• 5:21
  I was heartbroken.
• 5:22
  um I really didn't have many coping skills.
• 5:25
  um And I didn't know, especially as I was about to graduate and kind of enter adulthood, I didn't, I had no idea what that was going to look like.
• 5:33
  It was a very confusing and, and often frustrating time for me.
• 5:40
  And so I didn't really know how to process it.
• 5:43
  Um, and so I started writing about it, um, in this format and it's just been on and off for really the last seven years of, of writing this thing.
• 5:54
  Um, coming back to it when I have more to say or when I get inspiration or whatever.
• 6:00
  and yeah, it's just been kind of a culmination maybe of, um, I don't know, experiences and feelings I've had through, through most of my twenties that it's kind of led me to this.
• 6:10
  So it sounds like it's kind of like almost like a therapeutic process for you as you're kind of writing this down.
• 6:14
  100%.
• 6:15
  I mean, I think you might agree that uh certainly no substitution for some great therapy, which has been uh very helpful to me as I've navigated all these things.
• 6:27
  yeah, I mean, it is to deal with really bad mental health issues and to not have a real idea of how to tackle that.
• 6:41
  um
• 6:43
  I think it has been very therapeutic to try and put it on a page and make it make sense and see how I can play with it and find understanding.
• 6:56
  There are the folks in the show, the characters who are maybe a bit based on myself or others that I've known.
• 7:04
  um And that perspective is very easy to write.
• 7:07
  Whereas um I think attempting to write
• 7:11
  the characters who play opposite those folks.
• 7:14
  That has taught me a lot in terms of empathy and in terms of what other people might be going through.
• 7:19
  And so, yeah, I mean, yes, yes, as therapeutic, I think as such a process can be.
• 7:26
  I mean, even in like the course of like my own therapy, I tell people all the time, writing stuff down and getting out of your head is so beneficial.
• 7:33
  And like, this is an actual, like, I mean, this is a whole play.
• 7:37
  This is like a whole story.
• 7:38
  Like, and you said it took years.
• 7:40
  Like that, I would say that is like therapy, therapy at its best because you're exploring an, a facet of maybe your past, but also like just seeing how you've looked at it
• 7:51
  throughout seven years.
• 7:52
  I ha you're,
• 7:54
  your view has to change almost, you know?
• 7:56
  Yeah, you know, it was one thing for a while.
• 8:00
  Maybe about three years ago, I saw the movie Babylon.
• 8:06
  Did you see that the Damien Chazelle, Margot Robbie movie, um which I was just I loved it.
• 8:12
  And ah I watched a little bit of it this morning kind of to get in the mindset that I knew we having this conversation.
• 8:18
  And that something about that movie, which is so hedonistic, so just out there.
• 8:26
  party, know, cocaine manic energy.
• 8:29
  Something about that really kind of inspired me to maybe take a new lens with this and kind of take what I had written and maybe put it in a bit of a new format.
• 8:39
  And so really, I think the modern iteration of the script has existed for about three years, two and a half years.
• 8:45
  And yeah, I mean, as I've grown up through this writing process, it's a hundred percent it's changed.
• 8:53
  You know, I've gained more perspective on things.
• 8:55
  I've had new experiences and that's absolutely informed ah what this play has become up until, mean, you know, especially as you're putting on a new play that's never been
• 9:06
  produced before, you know, it calls for perhaps rewrites throughout the process.
• 9:11
  So even up until maybe a few weeks ago, I think, you know, it's definitely made it evolve and inform things in a big way.
• 9:19
  What is it like to pass off this project you've been working on for so long to have it be in a production, but you're handing it off to somebody else to say, look at this through
• 9:29
  your lens, and you're giving it to Asia, and you're working together.
• 9:33
  What is that like?
• 9:34
  um So going into it, I think I was very nervous about it.
• 9:38
  think these are characters, these are stories that have been very like here, you know?
• 9:44
  um And the idea that now it's up to the cast, to our director, Asia, to our stage manager, Kat, Brandy Jo, who's doing lights for us, um to take that run with it was a little bit
• 9:57
  like, you know, I don't know, maybe I'll play all the parts myself, maybe I'll do everything.
• 10:02
  um
• 10:03
  but it's been nothing but an amazing experience.
• 10:08
  And I don't say that as any sort of sound bite at all.
• 10:12
  mean, it's been, the collaborative aspect of it has made it so much better.
• 10:17
  I think as a writer, I see it through one lens and I can only take it so far.
• 10:22
  uh Getting Asia in there to add all of their crazy, brilliant ideas to it has elevated it.
• 10:33
  I mean, tenfold at least.
• 10:36
  I think at the beginning of the process, I thought perhaps I was going to be more involved with the directorial aspect of it.
• 10:43
  um And then we got in the room and I saw Asia just run with it and just come up with these incredible ideas just that would never have occurred to me.
• 10:54
  And I said, you know what, I think let me just sit back because what's happening here just with their mind.
• 11:01
  um
• 11:03
  has elevated this to a degree that I could never have imagined.
• 11:06
  um Asia has been one of my best friends for, next month I would say 11 years.
• 11:14
  I we met freshman year of college.
• 11:16
  And um so I really trust them with this.
• 11:19
  They've seen all the different versions of this.
• 11:22
  They know what I'm getting at.
• 11:24
  And uh I mean, they can do it all in terms of theatrically.
• 11:31
  The collaborative nature of the process has been probably the most rewarding part.
• 11:36
  It seems like if there was ever going to be a hands that kind of pass off to it was going to be their hands.
• 11:41
  Like if they've known you for so long and they've been kind of part of that process, getting to kind of see like that's a very trusted person to hand it off to to say, okay,
• 11:49
  let's see this next iteration of what a certain kind of light is.
• 11:53
  I don't know who else I would have asked had they said, I remember calling them and saying, Hey, you know, this might happen.
• 11:59
  Would you want to direct it?
• 12:00
  And I was so nervous.
• 12:02
  was, I was so nervous.
• 12:04
  were going to say, you know, sorry, I don't have time.
• 12:06
  Um, because I didn't, I didn't have a second choice.
• 12:09
  mean, it was.
• 12:10
  They're so we're, so close and I have such a trust in them.
• 12:16
  And they're also such a brilliant and versatile artist that I, you know, had they said, no, I, I,
• 12:22
  I don't know what I would have done.
• 12:26
  We probably would have waited, right?
• 12:27
  No, I'm just kidding.
• 12:29
  But it sounds like that they know, not only do they know you, and so they kind of, in a way, that gives them a lens of like, this is how you, the writer, would maybe want to see
• 12:38
  things, but this is my spin on that.
• 12:40
  so together, that makes such an uh elevated project, hopefully.
• 12:46
  I hope, yeah.
• 12:47
  I think there are folks um who do this kind of thing, whether it be theater, film, what have you, who can come into it from like an auteuristic perspective and say, I know how
• 12:59
  this light's gonna be.
• 13:00
  I know where this person's gonna stand.
• 13:02
  I know what this scene dressing is gonna look like.
• 13:06
  um Personally, for me, for my project, that felt very ill-advised.
• 13:13
  thought um the more...
• 13:16
  collaborative this can be, the more other people can contribute their ideas to it.
• 13:20
  I think the better it will be.
• 13:22
  And I'm glad I had that foresight because that's exactly how it turned out.
• 13:28
  on top of that, the actors that we've cast.
• 13:30
  um I mean, I don't know karmically what I really did to get this lucky as to get this group.
• 13:37
  But it's another thing where these actors have elevated the material so much.
• 13:42
  say lines in a way that I never would have thought of or play scenes in a way that never would have occurred to me.
• 13:48
  And so, um yeah, I mean, that's been the coolest part of it, easily, I would have to say.
• 13:54
  You you ask kind of what did you do?
• 13:56
  I think it's the love that you've put into this project and like the passion and like that attracts people who also have love and passion for the arts, you know, and when you see a
• 14:04
  story that is, you know, both real and raw, but also just beautiful, people are going to be drawn to that.
• 14:09
  And so you get the talent, you know, coming in because of the work that you've put into this.
• 14:16
  Thank you.
• 14:17
  Thank you.
• 14:18
  Yeah.
• 14:19
  I think it's a story and a narrative that I think
• 14:25
  It gets different reactions out of people.
• 14:28
  It's, it's, you know, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not holding anything back with this.
• 14:32
  I have a lot to say about these topics and I think I kind of say it in some pretty out there bizarre ways.
• 14:40
  And I think I, hopefully it's not really up for me to say, but hopefully, you know, some audience members will walk away with a bit of a different perspective on some of these
• 14:53
  things.
• 14:54
  Maybe having seen
• 14:55
  some of these issues portrayed in ways that they had not, that had not occurred to them before.
• 15:01
  And so, um yeah, I mean, it's, uh script, which I'm immensely proud of, I think it's the thing I'm proudest of in my entire life.
• 15:12
  That being said, it is what it is.
• 15:13
  Take it or leave it.
• 15:14
  And I think if you respond to it, if it works for you, I think, you know, people can form a nice connection with the story and...
• 15:23
  um
• 15:25
  I've seen that happen throughout this process.
• 15:26
  think it's been bit of an intimate thing for me in Asia in terms of they've seen the things I've gone through.
• 15:34
  They've seen the experiences I've lived in.
• 15:37
  So yeah, they know how to tackle it.
• 15:41
  I think hopefully it's the kind of story that people can pull something from.
• 15:47
  You had mentioned that some scenes had to be reworked or rewritten.
• 15:52
  You set the script up until a few weeks ago.
• 15:55
  As you're kind of watching this happen, what is it that you feel like you're reworking?
• 16:00
  Is it like the, it doesn't fit well when it's acting out?
• 16:03
  What is that process, kind of reworking it to fit to the stage?
• 16:08
  So real quick backstory, um I turned in initially, once it was determined that we were gonna do this, I turned into Asia a three act, three hour plus script.
• 16:18
  And I wish they were here to give their comment on it because they were like, no, try again.
• 16:24
  I was like, okay, fair enough.
• 16:26
  So I really had to make, I really had to condense it.
• 16:28
  I had this big grand vision, years of writing that I compiled into this.
• 16:33
  they kind of were like, hey, this isn't, we can't, this isn't as producible perhaps as-
• 16:37
  you would want.
• 16:38
  So some of it had to be condensed and consolidated.
• 16:42
  When we got in the room, there was one storyline um in particular, and that's a storyline that my character, you my act in the show as well, um that my character has, um you know,
• 16:55
  and I was doing um the scenes with the actress that I play opposite of her name is Jayshana, and she's incredible.
• 17:02
  um And we did it, we kind of did it the first night.
• 17:05
  And I sat down with Asia Jashon after, and I was like, I need you guys to be honest with me.
• 17:09
  Our stuff is not working, right?
• 17:11
  And we kind of had a discussion about it.
• 17:15
  it was just, it wasn't until I heard it out loud that it was just kind of a realization of what this needs to be altered.
• 17:24
  And I went home that night after that rehearsal, stay up until 2 a.m.
• 17:28
  I rewrote all of our scenes together, um came in the next day with new pages.
• 17:34
  and we read them and as vulnerable of an experience as that was with that quick turnaround, I think we all agree that we've arrived on something that works nicely.
• 17:44
  it's been, I mean, it's been crazy and you know, the turnaround has to be quick on stuff like that.
• 17:52
  It's been hectic and chaotic, but it's been so cool and fulfilling because it's a way to like, you know, kind of hone in on this writing.
• 18:02
  and really make it as good as I possibly can.
• 18:06
  I mean, what a beautiful process though, too, of being like that you're getting to act in it, getting to feel that scene.
• 18:11
  And then, you know, you as the writer, as an actor, and then coming back and being like, does it all work together?
• 18:16
  And then being able to change that and kind of see it grow a little bit and feel maybe a little more natural to the scene, to the characters.
• 18:22
  That's so beautiful.
• 18:24
  yeah, it's been, I mean, it's been, it's been very special to me.
• 18:27
  um I want this to be as good as it can be.
• 18:30
  And I think, you know, with this kind of thing, I could have, I don't know, I could have worked on it for 27 years and it still wouldn't feel finished.
• 18:37
  But I think we found a really nice spot for it.
• 18:42
  um And yeah, I mean, it's been the craziest ride, but the most rewarding and fulfilling one I could.
• 18:51
  I think I could have, you know.
• 18:54
  Absolutely.
• 18:54
  uh So just one final question for you.
• 18:57
  It's just, are you hoping audiences take away from a certain kind of light?
• 19:00
  What do want them to go home with?
• 19:02
  Good question.
• 19:02
  um I think it would be silly to say that the main theme of the show isn't addiction.
• 19:10
  think that really is kind of what we're circling around.
• 19:13
  And I think that, as I said earlier, that is a topic that people find very difficult to engage with.
• 19:22
  I've had countless conversations about it with friends, um family, strangers, whatever, over the years.
• 19:30
  And it's not something that people always have a great understanding of or ability to connect with or, I don't know, an ability to really critically engage with that.
• 19:45
  And I hope that people walk away from this.
• 19:51
  whatever they came into it with, I hope people walk away from this with somewhat of a different idea perhaps of what that is, what that experience is like, what that means for
• 20:01
  people.
• 20:02
  And I would say that and then at the end of the day, I think this is a kind of show that's gonna hit different people differently.
• 20:08
  And so it's really important to me that people draw from it, whatever they want.
• 20:14
  I wrote it.
• 20:15
  And you know, now it's out there and you do it, you do with it what you will.
• 20:19
  That's important to me.
• 20:20
  Um, you know, what, whatever the reaction may be, it's important to me that, that people are able to engage with it and take from it, whatever they feel, uh, is right.
• 20:32
  So hopefully I think, um, kind of to, to sum up my answer, I hope people have a range of reactions.
• 20:41
  I hope we get a, I hope we get a lot of different ones.
• 20:44
  And with a show like this, you will.
• 20:47
  You'll have people that connect to different characters, different storylines, different aspects.
• 20:51
  hopefully they have a conversation about it after too.
• 20:56
  It makes them think about, like you said, addiction is a big theme and that's something that there's not always lot of compassion for in our society.
• 21:05
  And so to have a deeper understanding and to maybe appreciate it differently.
• 21:14
  That's beautiful, you know.
• 21:15
  Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's, you know, that's all, that's what I'm trying to do here.
• 21:19
  I'm trying to tell this story and see how it hits people.
• 21:23
  And I think, I have a feeling this is one that's gonna hit people in a real big range.
• 21:29
  And I'm really excited to hear people's reactions to it.
• 21:33
  Well, we're really excited to see it.
• 21:35
  So thank you again for joining us today.
• 21:37
  We really appreciate it.
• 21:38
  We're super excited.
• 21:40
  This is gonna be a fantastic show um at the Ringwald Theatre So we're excited.
• 21:44
  Brian, thank you so much for having me today.
• 21:46
  This was so cool and so exciting.
• 21:48
  I'm, yeah, I'm really thrilled for people to see it.
• 21:50
  you.
• 21:51
  so welcome.
• 21:51
  A Certain Kind of Light arrives at the Ringwald Theatre on August 22nd and closes on August 30th.
• 21:56
  So get your tickets now and we'll see you there.
• 21:59
  All right.