December 29, 2024 • 36 mins
Patricia Zamorano, a first-generation Mexican-American queer lesbian Chicana playwright, joins us to share her compelling journey from the Aliso Village housing projects in Boyle Heights to becoming a celebrated voice in the arts. Her experiences with violence and homophobia have deeply influenced her storytelling, bringing to life characters and themes that resonate with audiences on a profound level. Patricia's unexpected foray into playwriting at Casa 0101 paved the way for her to craft numerous plays and short films, showcasing the power of representation for underrepresented communities.
Explore the vibrant cultural renaissance flourishing in the brown and queer spaces of Los Angeles, where initiatives like Casa 0101, Queer Mercado, and Queer 360 are redefining community storytelling. We'll discuss the integral role of a dramaturg in shaping authentic narratives, ensuring that each story told is a genuine reflection of its community. Patricia's work on the Arena House Musical exemplifies this dedication to authenticity, as she collaborates to create narratives that resonate deeply with diverse audiences.
Patricia reflects on her transition to screenwriting, revealing the unique challenges and joys each medium presents. As we touch upon the parallels between storytelling and blue-collar professions, you'll hear how strong foundations and discipline are crucial in both fields. Recognized by the City of Los Angeles, Patricia's and her fellow artists' contributions underscore a steadfast commitment to community and creativity, even amidst the persistent challenges of funding and production delays in the theater world.
Welcome to the RADIO QGLLU podcast, the show that TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO WHAT THE QUEER, GAY, AND LESBIAN LATINE COMMUNITY IS TALKING ABOUT.
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Episode Transcript
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Rita Gonzales (00:05):
Welcome to the Out Agenda.
Coming to an archivekpfkorg,I'm Rita Gonzalez.
Well, we have another segmentof Radio Q, glue podcast.
Mario J. Novoa (00:25):
Welcome to Radio QGlu Podcast, the show that
takes a deep dive into what thequeer, gay and lesbian Latin
community is talking about.
I'm Mario Navoa.
In today's episode we'retalking with Patricia Zamorano.
I'm Lydia Otero.
Eduardo Archuleta (00:44):
And I'm Eduardo Archuleta.
Lydia Otero (00:48):
Patricia Zamorano is a first-generation
Mexican-American queer lesbian,chicana, playwright, producer
and heavy equipment journeymanoperator from Boyle Heights, los
Angeles.
Her storytelling journey beganin 2007 at Casa 0101, where she
(01:09):
wrote her first full-length play, you Don't Know Me, which
premiered to sold-out audiences.
Since then, she's crafted overa dozen short plays, monologues
and two acclaimed short films,matriarchy, released in 2019,
and Puta in 2021, both directedby Rosa Navarrete.
Her work has been featured inBrown and Out and Chicanas,
(01:33):
cholas and Chisme play festivals, and she serves as a dramaturg
for Arena, a house musical whichis played to sold-out crowds at
Casa 101 and the LGBT Center.
Recognized for hercontributions to the Boyle
Heights art community, patriciareceived an Artistic Achievement
(01:54):
Award from the City of LosAngeles.
Currently, she is developingtwo new full-length plays and
working on her first screenplay,continuing her mission to tell
powerful intersectional storiescentered on Chicana, queer and
working class experiences.
(02:14):
Lucia, welcome.
I'm going to start with thisquestion about.
I feel a certain kinship to you.
We've shared our past in morepublic events, like the Mall
Flora event.
Was it two months ago at Plazade la Raza?
And here's the question to youyou grew up in Boyle Heights.
(02:36):
As a first generationMexican-American queer lesbiana,
chicana.
Has your life experienceinfluenced the themes and
characters in your plays andscreenplays?
Patricia Zamorano (02:49):
Yes, absolutely.
Living in Boyle Heights in theAliso Village housing projects.
There was a lot of violenceduring that time and we were
able to.
We ended up moving out of theprojects but it left a big, a
big influence on how I happenedto walk this earth.
(03:10):
I was, you know, there was alot of gangs, there was a lot of
, there was queer, a lot ofqueer people when there was a
lot of homophobia back in theprojects and I got to witness a
lot of that stuff and eventhrough all the dysfunctions of
living in the projects, I wasable to steer my way around
(03:31):
everybody right.
So that kind of like growing upand coming into teatro.
Really, when I went into theplaywriting class in an
unconscious level, writing classin an unconscious level, at
first I didn't know that I wasgoing to end up writing my first
full length play about a gay, alesbian woman in the closet and
(03:55):
and that's how, that's how thisjourney began, with meshing the
two together, my life of what Isaw growing up in the projects
and and even in and even in allthe at the bars, at the clubs
you know I got to go to.
You know, robbie's, I got to goto Peanuts.
I got to go to, you know, toall the old clubs and so a lot
(04:18):
of that.
I ended up just picking partsthat were going to help this
narrative of a play that I wasgoing to tell the story about
this young lesbian, chicana, whowas in the closet and what did
that look like?
Because it would sit in theprojects to a drug addicted
mother.
So, yes, the question to theanswer to your question is that
(04:43):
I was influenced by lesbianupbringing.
Asà lo voy a dejar.
Eduardo Archuleta (04:50):
This is Eduardo.
You've written over a dozenplays and monologues, as well as
two short films.
Can you walk us through yourcreative process from idea to
finished script?
Patricia Zamorano (05:02):
The creative process comes in many forms.
There's a lot of people thatwill be in their own home, in
their own office, quietlywriting away, and then there's
classes where you could eitherit's writing a book, writing
plays and I just happened to getlucky and ended up walking into
Little Casa 0101 before the bigone was constructed and
(05:26):
Josefina Lopez was the one thatwalked up on stage and invited
people just the audiences tocome in and show up to her
playwriting class, and that'show I ended up writing this, my
first play.
I didn't even know I was goingto write a play.
I just needed an outlet becauseat the time I was caretaking
for my mother and I needed alittle break of something to to
(05:47):
break just that, the routine ofwhat I was doing, and so that
helped me.
So my creative process wasright, right and right.
Just keep writing, that's allit is and being inspired by
everybody around you in thetables because we're all sharing
work, so that kind of like getsyour creative juices flowing.
Mario J. Novoa (06:10):
Hi Patricia.
This is Mario.
I wanted to touch on just therepresentation, visibility, and
I know you've talked about thisa little bit sort of in in a
more creative process, but yourwork has been featured in
festivals like Brown and Out andChicanas Cholas y Chisme, which
celebrate underrepresentedvoices.
(06:30):
What do you think is the mosturgent story that still needs to
be told in theater today andI'm going to add, in film as
well, or television?
Patricia Zamorano (06:41):
As a lesbian Chicana woman, I see that we're
getting lost in the alphabetsoup as, in terms of LGBTQIA+,
it just continues growing.
For me, I think, as a lesbianChicana, I feel that there's an
urgency to the stories that me,as a lesbian woman, tell.
(07:05):
I would like to see more ofthat, and so I've been my own
crutch to tell those stories.
When I write for Brown and Out,which is LGBTQ festival, I make
it it's very important for meto write a lesbian story, a dyke
story, a butch story, because II feel like I don't see those
(07:30):
stories out there, and so I wantto be one of, I'm hoping, many
lesbianas, butch, masculinewomen that that are telling
these stories, women that aretelling these stories Lisa this
is Lydia.
Lydia Otero (07:44):
again.
You talked about Josefina Lopezand about Brown and Out.
I was at the Brown and Out, Ithink, last year at the center.
Every seat was taken.
It was just such a great event.
I could feel the vibe in theair and I was so impressed by it
(08:06):
.
I also appreciated all thevignettes, all the plays, but
before the plays there was anintroduction about the
playwright, and so we got toknow something about the
playwright.
So it was very different inmany ways and I commend you for
that.
I felt like there was some sortof renaissance cultural
(08:29):
renaissance, brown and queerrenaissance going on in Los
Angeles, and it's not, it'scoming from and I see it in
different places.
I see it like, certainly,through what you all are doing
in Casa 101, but I'm also seeingit like maybe the Queer Mercado
(08:49):
, the Queer 360.
I mean, I'm seeing it likethey're all interconnected in
many ways, and can you talkabout those kinds of?
Do you feel that too?
Do you feel like comingtogether in terms of?
Are these breakthrough momentsin many ways?
Do you see it like I do us?
Patricia Zamorano (09:11):
going from Casa 0101 to the LGBT Center
down on McCadden was a big,amazing transferring of Jonathan
(09:33):
Munoz.
I'm going to give it up toJonathan Munoz, who's the
director over at the centerinvited us to come in and have
these playwriting classes overat the center, and so for us I
felt that that was a big step,as in terms of coming into white
spaces and being able to tellthese narratives in a bigger
(09:57):
forum that will showcase not toto Raza but to all the other,
you know, ethnicities, as interms of the queer mercado,
queer 360.
I love it.
I just love community.
I mean, it reminds me of, like,if I'm going to take it back to
(10:18):
my time when I was going to thetea parties and Paramount
parties and you know we werehitting up again, I'll go back
to peanuts, the meat market.
It feels like that, but on awhole nother level, because
everybody's trying to to.
You know they're vending,they're, they're showing their
artistic creations on theirstages over at the queer mercado
(10:39):
.
Queer 360 is doing this.
So I feel that there's a asymbiotic uh, uh, intertwining
of of all these, um, becauseeverybody's different,
everybody's, everybody's ontheir own journey, bringing uh
all this stuff and we'rebecoming it's inevitable.
We're all interconnected.
(11:00):
We all know each other, so it'sa beautiful thing.
I love it.
Lydia Otero (11:06):
I must say that when I was there, I was sitting
near the front and I could seepeople I knew coming in, people
I didn't know but I had I knewfrom social media coming in and
I turned around and I just feltsuch pride because it's like
Raza taking ownership of theirstories.
I do think too, when it wasintroduced I don't remember the
(11:28):
young man, but he was white whointroduced from the center, who
introduced the program, not theprogram, but introduced the
event he expressed that he was alittle amazed that there was so
many people there and it was asold out event.
And I just think, you know,being a queer, a brown queer
(11:49):
activist for so long, likeseeing different generations
taking ownership of theirstories and not waiting for
others to tell their stories forthem.
Taking ownership and takingpride in telling all of the.
All of the plays were differentand they were about different
generations and it was just wehave so much to say, so much to
(12:12):
offer so really impressed andproud of what you're doing,
thank you it's eduardo.
Eduardo Archuleta (12:18):
again, you're part of a house musical and you
played and I'm going toprobably mispronounce this
dramaturge yes, first off, whatis that?
Patricia Zamorano (12:32):
You know it's just a fancy bougie word.
I think, oh my God, you knowit's a fancy word.
You know dramaturge is really.
It's like a story whisperer.
I want to say, if you're justgoing to break it down, it's
like a dramaturg helps thewriter to help bring their story
(12:56):
out of the core of theiressence and what they see
brought out into the pages.
And you know, when Evo Alvarado,who wrote Arena House Musical,
hit me up and he said, patricia,homegirl, I want you to be my
dramaturg.
I said I've never dramaturg foranybody.
If anything, I've been my owndramaturg for my own work.
(13:18):
And he said but, homegirl,you've already written two
full-length plays, you'vewritten so many stories and I
think that you could help me getthere.
And I was very honored andgrateful for the opportunity and
the chance to evolve for myselfin my journey with this writing
(13:40):
process.
And I took it very, veryseriously because it was such a
great responsibility to help afellow colleague and my homeboy
to take Arena House Musical towhere it belongs.
And when I told them, if I dothis like you cannot marry your
words, you cannot marry yourwords.
(14:01):
And we're going to cut, cut,cut, we're going to edit, edit
and we're going to keeprewriting until we get the story
Because, if I know my peoplefrom arena back in the days,
we're all going to see rightthrough what isn't real, what
isn't authentic, what we know.
Growing up, like back in the 90s, when DJ Irene was DJing at
(14:22):
arena and circus and he's likeI'm down homegirl, so we went
for it.
When DJ Irene was DJing atArena and Circus and he's like
I'm down home girl, so we wentfor it.
And so we started in 2018 andhe already had a book.
He had a close to 300 pages ofa of a book and and it took us
(14:43):
that long to cut it we went from300 to set 275 to 265.
And we just kept paring it down.
But while we were doing that,we were getting readings over at
the Shakespeare Theater.
We were going to this Catholicschool over there by Chinatown I
forgot the name of it.
We were, you know, developingthis, this musical.
(15:04):
So my role in shaping theproduction was I was knee deep
in the book and it was a lovelyand has been a lovely experience
.
Lydia Otero (15:14):
This is Lydia.
Can I ask a follow-up question,patricia?
Yes, obviously you have somelife experiences at Arena, but
is it like evolving?
Because?
Is it going to play again?
Because I see it coming upevery so often.
So it's like a play that you'veshown it, but you keep showing
(15:38):
newer, evolved versions of ityes, so what happened was in, uh
, I believe in uh, 2020.
Patricia Zamorano (15:45):
I mean had my date a year off or plus or
minus, but it was first stagedat um, at casa 0101, to sold out
shows, but then it was a COVIDtime, and so COVID happened and
we had to cancel the followingweekends and then so we went
back to the drawing board.
We had such great and back thenit was a three hour show.
(16:10):
That's how long this musicalwas.
Pero fue asÃ, ahà la llevamos.
You know, here's the thing weweren't getting paid, like
Broadway, you know, people getpaid to write a book, to compose
a music, to dramaturg the work,and there was no money.
This was like an act of love.
(16:31):
And so 2020, we did it, we wentback.
We did it again in 2021.
And so what we've did it?
We went back, we did it againin 2021.
And so what we've been doingthrough the process is, we went
from three hours to two and ahalf hours, to two hours, and so
we've been cutting it.
We got invited again at theRenberg Center, and so that was,
I believe, last year or theyear before, and so are we
(16:56):
bringing it back.
We are trying to have a fullproduction of Arena House
Musical coming into 2025.
It takes money, it takes grants, it takes fundraising.
So that's the plan right now.
Our wish list is to bring backArena House Music Go in 2025.
Lydia Otero (17:18):
I get to see it because I've missed it the last
couple years.
But I'm going to take theliberty of asking you one more
question regarding Arena,because I went to Arena a couple
times.
I felt old there, but Iremember the dancers, dancers it
was just so fancy.
I'm so modern, but you werethere more often and you're
(17:39):
young, much younger than me.
So, uh, I I think of arenabeing, uh, a gay men's place.
What about the lesbians inarena?
What can you tell me about thelesbians in arena?
Patricia Zamorano (17:51):
oh man, beautiful.
I mean, what can I say?
Yeah, you know the the theratio was higher, right, 75% gay
men and 25% lesbianas, butchtomboys, everything like that.
But but you know, there werepoints where it was like 60, 40,
(18:14):
70, 30, you know, you know wewere all out there, but we were
not, you know, with all the gayboys either.
But we had a lot of.
You know, I had a lot of gayboyfriends, but it was good.
It was a lot of lesbianas, alot of feminine butch dyke,
tomboy women out there and we'rejust having a good old time
party.
Lydia Otero (18:33):
Yeah, it was all about that scene.
Patricia Zamorano (18:35):
It was about dancing and having a good time.
Yes, thank you.
Mario J. Novoa (18:41):
So, patricia, this is Mario, again Having been
a playwright for I think it wasa second or third Brown and Out
, and that's where you and I met.
Or I wrote the Baby Cries and Iactually was so inspired by the
experience, the creativeexperience of similar, similarly
(19:02):
to what Lydia was just talkingabout, where you experience not
just the play itself but you,you experience the environment
and the people that are comingin.
And so, to me, I started intheater in high school, so that
was like 15 years later that Iwas back in the theater, as a
writer this time, seeing thework playing out on the stage,
(19:26):
the interaction with theaudience.
Because of my filmmakingbackground, I wanted to shoot
the film version of it.
So going from the theater sideto film was completely a
different experience because youno longer had the audience
reacting to the drama and thecomedy, and I know that you have
(19:49):
mentioned in our previousconversations about what the
differences are.
So can you talk about thattransition for you from stage
playwright to screenwriter andthen being in those two
environments?
Patricia Zamorano (20:06):
Exactly what you said.
I'm going to piggyback offeverything you said.
You don't get the sounds right,the gasps, the surprises of
hearing the audience besurprised by what they're seeing
on stage.
It's a whole differentenvironment.
(20:27):
But the beautiful thing aboutwhat happened to me was just, I
don't know, it just happened.
Mario to me was just, um, Idon't know it, just it just
happened.
Mario este, I had written uh,matriarchy was the first, it was
a dialogue.
Matriarchy was a dialogue that,um, I ended up writing and it
got produced.
That little casa and and Idirected that piece with lauren
(20:50):
ballesteros, it was just a onelike one woman on stage sharing
this monologue, and LaurenBallesteros beautifully acted it
out.
And during that time, rosaNavarrete was one of the persons
that was in the audience and atthe end of the show she hit me
up and she said, oh my God,patricia, I saw this as a movie.
(21:13):
As I was listening to it and Isaid Thank you.
And she said I would love tofilm it.
And I said, oh, thank you, andI said Go for it.
And so Rosa followed through,and so she ended up calling me
and asking for a meeting, andthen she asked me what do you
want to see?
During me filming Maytruck, andI said, oh my God, you're
(21:36):
really going to do it.
And she said, yeah, it's a 10minute short.
I gave her everything that Ifelt should be a part of what it
looks like, and so I gave herall the notes.
She went away and then, like amonth later, she's like Patricia
, I'm done.
I said what do you mean?
You're done, done with what shegoes.
(21:56):
I made the film Seeing the filmMatriarchy, and it's about me
and my mother.
It was a very personal storySeeing this short film.
Oh my heart, it was just sopersonal for me that, uh, she
gave me the thing and the Idon't know.
(22:18):
She gave me something and I'mlike what do you, what do you
want me to do with this?
And she's like, oh, it's foryou.
And I said, how?
No, let's submit it.
I said we got nothing to lose,let's submit it.
We ended up submitting it tofilm festivals and we there was
a few festivals around town and,um, we, we submitted to
Sundance.
We got a beautiful rejectionletter, but, um, it was a lot of
(22:43):
a lot of things.
Um, yes, it's different, but me,being able to be at these film
festivals, I was still able tohear how the audience was
reacting to the matriarchy shortfilm, but again, it's not the
same.
I know that it's two differentmethods.
One is el teatro is live andand the film is on screen.
(23:08):
Pero I don't know how to, howto really describe the
audience's reactions becausethey're all different and you
don't really get to hear a lotafter the the play's over and
people come up to you to tellyou what they thought, they
didn't think.
Or people have come up to meand be like and you know, tell
me like, oh, I could havewritten that that was my story.
(23:30):
And I'm like good, you know, um, write it.
You write your story, but, um,you know I write it.
You write your story, but youknow I've gotten a lot of
different types of reactions.
Mario J. Novoa (23:41):
Did you get any type of audience comments for
you after the film screenings?
Patricia Zamorano (23:48):
I did.
They loved it.
Thankfully, they loved bothMatriarchy and Puta, and Puta
was more abstract.
It was very ambiguous with timebecause it was about Frida
Kahlo.
Lydia Otero (24:03):
Patricia, this is Lidia again, and you know you're
a storyteller.
At the core you're astoryteller.
I think at the core I'm astoryteller.
That's why I mentioned earlierthat I have a kinship with you,
because, you know, as an authorI feel like a storyteller, but I
was also an electrician, inconstruction so, and you're a
(24:25):
heavy equipment operator, and Ifeel like there's similarities
between in construction andstorytelling.
Because I think we know, andsee if you agree with me, we
know that everything needs astrong foundation and everything
is a step and everything iswork, and that you have to build
(24:46):
on and keep building on, and ithas to be strong, and if it's
not strong, then it's not goingto stand up, and so let's have a
blue collar conversation.
Do you think I'm right in thatassessment?
Patricia Zamorano (25:03):
I do, and the reason is that what you said is
building a foundation.
You know, before I became aheavy equipment operator, I went
through the apprenticeship as acarpenter first, and so going
through through that it was veryphysical work hammering all day
long, carrying plywood, and andthrough the apprenticeship, the
(25:24):
fundamentals and the basics, isgoing through these
apprenticeship levels, gothrough your first step, your
second step, third step, andthey teach you the basics.
You know, you got to read atape measure, know how to hammer
, just a lot of things.
And so when I left thecarpenters, I went to another
apprenticeship with theoperators and again I started
(25:46):
from step one and building myway up to becoming a journeyman.
That, for me, is discipline,because you know, just as going
to college is discipline, yourfirst year of college, our first
year in through ourapprenticeship, what does that
look like?
Well, in college you have tokeep going to school until you
(26:09):
get that degree to go to work,while the difference with
apprenticeships is you'reworking while you're going to
school through yourapprenticeship, and so just a
little bit different.
But what I loved was you learnhow to have discipline, you
learn the basics of discipline.
(26:31):
You learn the basics of whatyou said.
Livia is starting thefoundations.
It's like building a house,it's like building a bridge.
I think that has helped me bedisciplined in what I like to do
, as, in terms of writing, I'vealways loved to read and so
reading, and then you know,being through these
apprenticeships in a macho worldand then coming from the
(26:51):
projects, like my skin wasalready thick, I was already
like I already knew how tonavigate through all these
places.
So again going back to our bluecollar careers I'm thankful for
it, lydia careers.
I'm thankful for it, lydia.
(27:12):
It's given me so much.
It's given me a way out of myown neighborhood and yet I'm
back right smack in myneighborhood.
I've been able to come back andbe a part of this
revitalization, of thisgentrification that is happening
, and I am part.
I was able to come back andcome back to my beloved Boyle
Heights and be a part of this.
But through the apprenticeshipsthat I went through, the career
(27:34):
that I've had, that has helpedme to have the discipline to
write.
Eduardo Archuleta (27:39):
This is Eduardo.
You've been honored by the Cityof LA for your artistic
contributions to Boyle Heights.
What did that recognition meanto you, and has it influenced
your commitment to the arts?
Patricia Zamorano (27:52):
Yes, it was so unexpected.
That was for my first play,josefina, I ended up writing
this full-length play and sheloved it and she said I want
this on my stage.
And I'm like, oh my God, andshe's like.
And so it happened.
And so, for my very first fulllength, she surprised me with
(28:15):
the city awarding me with anaward, a beautiful city of Los
Angeles.
Again, if somebody would havetold me back in the day, when,
in my parting days, that I wasgoing to be awarded, you know,
be a recipient of an award bythe city of Los Angeles, I
wouldn't have believed it.
Again, back to having that,that pride, the gratitude of
(28:36):
being something bigger for thecommunity, was mind blowing.
And so, yeah, I feel that I amstill committed to my roots, to
my upbringing, to my community,everything that I am because of
where my mother decided to layroots, here in Boyle.
Mario J. Novoa (28:59):
Heights resiliency theater often faces
challenges like funding andproduction delays and creative
burnout.
How do you stay motivated andmaintain your creative energy,
especially when working onmultiple projects at once?
Patricia Zamorano (29:18):
well, you know, funding is really hard.
It's really hard to raise.
If we don't get a grant,there's so many things that come
into play.
The resiliency that I've hadwith my own experience being a
part of this theater world isthat there's no rule book, at
least not for me, because I Ididn't go to school to write
(29:40):
teatro.
For me I've been.
My resiliency has been in if Iam not inspired to be a part of
something and if I am notinspired to write anything, I
will not.
I will not write, and I'm OKwith that because I feel that
what works for me is what I feelall inside of me to be able to
(30:02):
do something that inspires me toreally take up the pen or get
on the on the laptop, to towrite.
And again, I'll go back to mygratitude and being thankful
that I've been a part ofwonderful festivals, which has
been Brown and Ounce.
Come on, I get to be around allmy joteria and share stories
(30:25):
and then go home all excited towrite something.
Yes, that has been such a greatlike propeller and a jumpstart
to like oh, I want to writesomething too.
And with my beautifulchicanacholas and chisme that
are also another part of Casa0101 is all these beautiful
intergenerational mujeres thatare from in their 20s to their
(30:48):
70s and be able to tell theseamazing stories that I was able
to be a part of too.
So, again, these, I think,where I try to find connection
is with things that resonatewith who I am as a person, and
so if I can, if I feel it, Ijoin it, and if I don't feel it,
(31:11):
I step aside.
And I'm not, you know, I'm not,I'm just not a part of this.
But getting burnout is isactual fact for a lot of people,
not only in theater but in inthe Hollywood industry and and
all that that everybody's tryingto, to write their next big
story, their, their next bigmovie, their next big book,
(31:32):
their next big play.
I just I don't, I don't want totake part of like, I don't want
to go into the madness.
I like to be methodical, I liketo take my time and I've got
full length plays that are justdormiditos, but I'm fine with it
Because I just love the act ofwriting.
So I, how do I?
(31:53):
How do I survive in this world?
Well, it doesn't.
Let's put it this way.
That doesn't pay my bills, it'sjust my passion.
You know, my bread and butteris construction, so that pays my
bills.
But everything else is a loveaffair.
Lydia Otero (32:12):
That's what it is, for me, your projects that
you're working on.
What should we wait for, likewhat's happening?
(32:33):
What should we look for interms of how you write?
What are we waiting for?
What should we look out for?
Patricia Zamorano (32:37):
I've been working on a full length play.
Last year I started writing on.
I wanted to come outside of mybox and tell a story of a
straight man, and that was forme to challenge myself.
It's called a different kind ofa man and it's only six
characters and I started writingit.
(32:58):
I submitted it to la joyaplayhouse for the new four
latinx playwriting submissions,and so that was coming out of my
box.
Um, because I've been in mycomfort zone for too long, I
needed a jump, right, I needed ajump, and so I submitted to
that.
I so I'm working on a differentkind of a man and I'm trying to
(33:21):
develop it more and and get areading sometime in 2025 here in
Boyle Heights.
So that's one of my maindevelopments that I'll be
working on, and I do have ascreenplay that I'm still trying
to.
Oh my God, just rewrite,rewrite, rewrite.
(33:41):
That's another one that cameout of my box was because I've
been writing plays and going toa whole nother like format of
writing screenplays.
It's so different.
So, again, I jumped out of mybox again and I am trying my
hand at writing a screenplay.
So that's like two things thatI will be working on besides
(34:04):
working alongside Evo Alvaradoand Arena, a house musical,
because we are still.
We went from 300 pages we'redown to 98 pages and it's taken
us since we started in 2018 to2024 to get from 300 pages down
to a beautiful book of 98 pageswith original music scored and
(34:28):
composed by Ben Larson andGabriela Maldonado and Evo
Alvarado.
So that's what I'll be workingon, lydia.
Mario J. Novoa (34:38):
Well, thank you, Patricia Zamorano, for joining
us today on Radio Q Glue.
It's been an honor to have you.
How can people find you?
Either through social media orthrough a website.
How can people connect with you?
Patricia Zamorano (34:53):
Yeah, let's see.
My IG handle is BP Zamorano andthen Facebook is Patricia
Zamorano and I am part of TNHProductions, so it could be
wwwtnhproductionsorg.
I am one of the producers,alongside Evo Alvarado and Rigo
(35:17):
Tejeda, and we are Teatro NuevosHorizonte Productions.
Mario J. Novoa (35:24):
Thank you for joining us today, Patricia.
Patricia Zamorano (35:26):
Thank you.
Eduardo Archuleta (35:28):
This has been .
Lydia Otero (35:29):
Eduardo Archuleta Lidia Otero and Mario Novoa.
Eduardo Archuleta (35:32):
Thank you for listening this evening.
Rita Gonzales (35:34):
This month's segment of Radio Q Glue.
Playwright Patricia Zamorano.
I'm Rita Gonzalez and we wantto hear from you.
Like us on our Facebook page oremail us at theoutagenda at
gmailcom.
You can find Radio Q Glue onall podcast platforms.
Thanks for listening.
(35:55):
Have a wonderful week andremember that being out is the
first step to being equal.
Now stay tuned for this Way Out.
Welcome to the Out Agenda.
Coming to an archivekpfkorg,I'm Rita Gonzalez.
Well, we have another segmentof Radio Q, glue podcast.
Mario J. Novoa (00:25):
Welcome to Radio QGlu Podcast, the show that
takes a deep dive into what thequeer, gay and lesbian Latin
community is talking about.
I'm Mario Navoa.
In today's episode we'retalking with Patricia Zamorano.
I'm Lydia Otero.
Eduardo Archuleta (00:44):
And I'm Eduardo Archuleta.
Lydia Otero (00:48):
Patricia Zamorano is a first-generation
Mexican-American queer lesbian,chicana, playwright, producer
and heavy equipment journeymanoperator from Boyle Heights, los
Angeles.
Her storytelling journey beganin 2007 at Casa 0101, where she
(01:09):
wrote her first full-length play, you Don't Know Me, which
premiered to sold-out audiences.
Since then, she's crafted overa dozen short plays, monologues
and two acclaimed short films,matriarchy, released in 2019,
and Puta in 2021, both directedby Rosa Navarrete.
Her work has been featured inBrown and Out and Chicanas,
(01:33):
cholas and Chisme play festivals, and she serves as a dramaturg
for Arena, a house musical whichis played to sold-out crowds at
Casa 101 and the LGBT Center.
Recognized for hercontributions to the Boyle
Heights art community, patriciareceived an Artistic Achievement
(01:54):
Award from the City of LosAngeles.
Currently, she is developingtwo new full-length plays and
working on her first screenplay,continuing her mission to tell
powerful intersectional storiescentered on Chicana, queer and
working class experiences.
(02:14):
Lucia, welcome.
I'm going to start with thisquestion about.
I feel a certain kinship to you.
We've shared our past in morepublic events, like the Mall
Flora event.
Was it two months ago at Plazade la Raza?
And here's the question to youyou grew up in Boyle Heights.
(02:36):
As a first generationMexican-American queer lesbiana,
chicana.
Has your life experienceinfluenced the themes and
characters in your plays andscreenplays?
Patricia Zamorano (02:49):
Yes, absolutely.
Living in Boyle Heights in theAliso Village housing projects.
There was a lot of violenceduring that time and we were
able to.
We ended up moving out of theprojects but it left a big, a
big influence on how I happenedto walk this earth.
(03:10):
I was, you know, there was alot of gangs, there was a lot of
, there was queer, a lot ofqueer people when there was a
lot of homophobia back in theprojects and I got to witness a
lot of that stuff and eventhrough all the dysfunctions of
living in the projects, I wasable to steer my way around
(03:31):
everybody right.
So that kind of like growing upand coming into teatro.
Really, when I went into theplaywriting class in an
unconscious level, writing classin an unconscious level, at
first I didn't know that I wasgoing to end up writing my first
full length play about a gay, alesbian woman in the closet and
(03:55):
and that's how, that's how thisjourney began, with meshing the
two together, my life of what Isaw growing up in the projects
and and even in and even in allthe at the bars, at the clubs
you know I got to go to.
You know, robbie's, I got to goto Peanuts.
I got to go to, you know, toall the old clubs and so a lot
(04:18):
of that.
I ended up just picking partsthat were going to help this
narrative of a play that I wasgoing to tell the story about
this young lesbian, chicana, whowas in the closet and what did
that look like?
Because it would sit in theprojects to a drug addicted
mother.
So, yes, the question to theanswer to your question is that
(04:43):
I was influenced by lesbianupbringing.
Asà lo voy a dejar.
Eduardo Archuleta (04:50):
This is Eduardo.
You've written over a dozenplays and monologues, as well as
two short films.
Can you walk us through yourcreative process from idea to
finished script?
Patricia Zamorano (05:02):
The creative process comes in many forms.
There's a lot of people thatwill be in their own home, in
their own office, quietlywriting away, and then there's
classes where you could eitherit's writing a book, writing
plays and I just happened to getlucky and ended up walking into
Little Casa 0101 before the bigone was constructed and
(05:26):
Josefina Lopez was the one thatwalked up on stage and invited
people just the audiences tocome in and show up to her
playwriting class, and that'show I ended up writing this, my
first play.
I didn't even know I was goingto write a play.
I just needed an outlet becauseat the time I was caretaking
for my mother and I needed alittle break of something to to
(05:47):
break just that, the routine ofwhat I was doing, and so that
helped me.
So my creative process wasright, right and right.
Just keep writing, that's allit is and being inspired by
everybody around you in thetables because we're all sharing
work, so that kind of like getsyour creative juices flowing.
Mario J. Novoa (06:10):
Hi Patricia.
This is Mario.
I wanted to touch on just therepresentation, visibility, and
I know you've talked about thisa little bit sort of in in a
more creative process, but yourwork has been featured in
festivals like Brown and Out andChicanas Cholas y Chisme, which
celebrate underrepresentedvoices.
(06:30):
What do you think is the mosturgent story that still needs to
be told in theater today andI'm going to add, in film as
well, or television?
Patricia Zamorano (06:41):
As a lesbian Chicana woman, I see that we're
getting lost in the alphabetsoup as, in terms of LGBTQIA+,
it just continues growing.
For me, I think, as a lesbianChicana, I feel that there's an
urgency to the stories that me,as a lesbian woman, tell.
(07:05):
I would like to see more ofthat, and so I've been my own
crutch to tell those stories.
When I write for Brown and Out,which is LGBTQ festival, I make
it it's very important for meto write a lesbian story, a dyke
story, a butch story, because II feel like I don't see those
(07:30):
stories out there, and so I wantto be one of, I'm hoping, many
lesbianas, butch, masculinewomen that that are telling
these stories, women that aretelling these stories Lisa this
is Lydia.
Lydia Otero (07:44):
again.
You talked about Josefina Lopezand about Brown and Out.
I was at the Brown and Out, Ithink, last year at the center.
Every seat was taken.
It was just such a great event.
I could feel the vibe in theair and I was so impressed by it
(08:06):
.
I also appreciated all thevignettes, all the plays, but
before the plays there was anintroduction about the
playwright, and so we got toknow something about the
playwright.
So it was very different inmany ways and I commend you for
that.
I felt like there was some sortof renaissance cultural
(08:29):
renaissance, brown and queerrenaissance going on in Los
Angeles, and it's not, it'scoming from and I see it in
different places.
I see it like, certainly,through what you all are doing
in Casa 101, but I'm also seeingit like maybe the Queer Mercado
(08:49):
, the Queer 360.
I mean, I'm seeing it likethey're all interconnected in
many ways, and can you talkabout those kinds of?
Do you feel that too?
Do you feel like comingtogether in terms of?
Are these breakthrough momentsin many ways?
Do you see it like I do us?
Patricia Zamorano (09:11):
going from Casa 0101 to the LGBT Center
down on McCadden was a big,amazing transferring of Jonathan
(09:33):
Munoz.
I'm going to give it up toJonathan Munoz, who's the
director over at the centerinvited us to come in and have
these playwriting classes overat the center, and so for us I
felt that that was a big step,as in terms of coming into white
spaces and being able to tellthese narratives in a bigger
(09:57):
forum that will showcase not toto Raza but to all the other,
you know, ethnicities, as interms of the queer mercado,
queer 360.
I love it.
I just love community.
I mean, it reminds me of, like,if I'm going to take it back to
(10:18):
my time when I was going to thetea parties and Paramount
parties and you know we werehitting up again, I'll go back
to peanuts, the meat market.
It feels like that, but on awhole nother level, because
everybody's trying to to.
You know they're vending,they're, they're showing their
artistic creations on theirstages over at the queer mercado
(10:39):
.
Queer 360 is doing this.
So I feel that there's a asymbiotic uh, uh, intertwining
of of all these, um, becauseeverybody's different,
everybody's, everybody's ontheir own journey, bringing uh
all this stuff and we'rebecoming it's inevitable.
We're all interconnected.
(11:00):
We all know each other, so it'sa beautiful thing.
I love it.
Lydia Otero (11:06):
I must say that when I was there, I was sitting
near the front and I could seepeople I knew coming in, people
I didn't know but I had I knewfrom social media coming in and
I turned around and I just feltsuch pride because it's like
Raza taking ownership of theirstories.
I do think too, when it wasintroduced I don't remember the
(11:28):
young man, but he was white whointroduced from the center, who
introduced the program, not theprogram, but introduced the
event he expressed that he was alittle amazed that there was so
many people there and it was asold out event.
And I just think, you know,being a queer, a brown queer
(11:49):
activist for so long, likeseeing different generations
taking ownership of theirstories and not waiting for
others to tell their stories forthem.
Taking ownership and takingpride in telling all of the.
All of the plays were differentand they were about different
generations and it was just wehave so much to say, so much to
(12:12):
offer so really impressed andproud of what you're doing,
thank you it's eduardo.
Eduardo Archuleta (12:18):
again, you're part of a house musical and you
played and I'm going toprobably mispronounce this
dramaturge yes, first off, whatis that?
Patricia Zamorano (12:32):
You know it's just a fancy bougie word.
I think, oh my God, you knowit's a fancy word.
You know dramaturge is really.
It's like a story whisperer.
I want to say, if you're justgoing to break it down, it's
like a dramaturg helps thewriter to help bring their story
(12:56):
out of the core of theiressence and what they see
brought out into the pages.
And you know, when Evo Alvarado,who wrote Arena House Musical,
hit me up and he said, patricia,homegirl, I want you to be my
dramaturg.
I said I've never dramaturg foranybody.
If anything, I've been my owndramaturg for my own work.
(13:18):
And he said but, homegirl,you've already written two
full-length plays, you'vewritten so many stories and I
think that you could help me getthere.
And I was very honored andgrateful for the opportunity and
the chance to evolve for myselfin my journey with this writing
(13:40):
process.
And I took it very, veryseriously because it was such a
great responsibility to help afellow colleague and my homeboy
to take Arena House Musical towhere it belongs.
And when I told them, if I dothis like you cannot marry your
words, you cannot marry yourwords.
(14:01):
And we're going to cut, cut,cut, we're going to edit, edit
and we're going to keeprewriting until we get the story
Because, if I know my peoplefrom arena back in the days,
we're all going to see rightthrough what isn't real, what
isn't authentic, what we know.
Growing up, like back in the 90s, when DJ Irene was DJing at
(14:22):
arena and circus and he's likeI'm down homegirl, so we went
for it.
When DJ Irene was DJing atArena and Circus and he's like
I'm down home girl, so we wentfor it.
And so we started in 2018 andhe already had a book.
He had a close to 300 pages ofa of a book and and it took us
(14:43):
that long to cut it we went from300 to set 275 to 265.
And we just kept paring it down.
But while we were doing that,we were getting readings over at
the Shakespeare Theater.
We were going to this Catholicschool over there by Chinatown I
forgot the name of it.
We were, you know, developingthis, this musical.
(15:04):
So my role in shaping theproduction was I was knee deep
in the book and it was a lovelyand has been a lovely experience
.
Lydia Otero (15:14):
This is Lydia.
Can I ask a follow-up question,patricia?
Yes, obviously you have somelife experiences at Arena, but
is it like evolving?
Because?
Is it going to play again?
Because I see it coming upevery so often.
So it's like a play that you'veshown it, but you keep showing
(15:38):
newer, evolved versions of ityes, so what happened was in, uh
, I believe in uh, 2020.
Patricia Zamorano (15:45):
I mean had my date a year off or plus or
minus, but it was first stagedat um, at casa 0101, to sold out
shows, but then it was a COVIDtime, and so COVID happened and
we had to cancel the followingweekends and then so we went
back to the drawing board.
We had such great and back thenit was a three hour show.
(16:10):
That's how long this musicalwas.
Pero fue asÃ, ahà la llevamos.
You know, here's the thing weweren't getting paid, like
Broadway, you know, people getpaid to write a book, to compose
a music, to dramaturg the work,and there was no money.
This was like an act of love.
(16:31):
And so 2020, we did it, we wentback.
We did it again in 2021.
And so what we've did it?
We went back, we did it againin 2021.
And so what we've been doingthrough the process is, we went
from three hours to two and ahalf hours, to two hours, and so
we've been cutting it.
We got invited again at theRenberg Center, and so that was,
I believe, last year or theyear before, and so are we
(16:56):
bringing it back.
We are trying to have a fullproduction of Arena House
Musical coming into 2025.
It takes money, it takes grants, it takes fundraising.
So that's the plan right now.
Our wish list is to bring backArena House Music Go in 2025.
Lydia Otero (17:18):
I get to see it because I've missed it the last
couple years.
But I'm going to take theliberty of asking you one more
question regarding Arena,because I went to Arena a couple
times.
I felt old there, but Iremember the dancers, dancers it
was just so fancy.
I'm so modern, but you werethere more often and you're
(17:39):
young, much younger than me.
So, uh, I I think of arenabeing, uh, a gay men's place.
What about the lesbians inarena?
What can you tell me about thelesbians in arena?
Patricia Zamorano (17:51):
oh man, beautiful.
I mean, what can I say?
Yeah, you know the the theratio was higher, right, 75% gay
men and 25% lesbianas, butchtomboys, everything like that.
But but you know, there werepoints where it was like 60, 40,
(18:14):
70, 30, you know, you know wewere all out there, but we were
not, you know, with all the gayboys either.
But we had a lot of.
You know, I had a lot of gayboyfriends, but it was good.
It was a lot of lesbianas, alot of feminine butch dyke,
tomboy women out there and we'rejust having a good old time
party.
Lydia Otero (18:33):
Yeah, it was all about that scene.
Patricia Zamorano (18:35):
It was about dancing and having a good time.
Yes, thank you.
Mario J. Novoa (18:41):
So, patricia, this is Mario, again Having been
a playwright for I think it wasa second or third Brown and Out
, and that's where you and I met.
Or I wrote the Baby Cries and Iactually was so inspired by the
experience, the creativeexperience of similar, similarly
(19:02):
to what Lydia was just talkingabout, where you experience not
just the play itself but you,you experience the environment
and the people that are comingin.
And so, to me, I started intheater in high school, so that
was like 15 years later that Iwas back in the theater, as a
writer this time, seeing thework playing out on the stage,
(19:26):
the interaction with theaudience.
Because of my filmmakingbackground, I wanted to shoot
the film version of it.
So going from the theater sideto film was completely a
different experience because youno longer had the audience
reacting to the drama and thecomedy, and I know that you have
(19:49):
mentioned in our previousconversations about what the
differences are.
So can you talk about thattransition for you from stage
playwright to screenwriter andthen being in those two
environments?
Patricia Zamorano (20:06):
Exactly what you said.
I'm going to piggyback offeverything you said.
You don't get the sounds right,the gasps, the surprises of
hearing the audience besurprised by what they're seeing
on stage.
It's a whole differentenvironment.
(20:27):
But the beautiful thing aboutwhat happened to me was just, I
don't know, it just happened.
Mario to me was just, um, Idon't know it, just it just
happened.
Mario este, I had written uh,matriarchy was the first, it was
a dialogue.
Matriarchy was a dialogue that,um, I ended up writing and it
got produced.
That little casa and and Idirected that piece with lauren
(20:50):
ballesteros, it was just a onelike one woman on stage sharing
this monologue, and LaurenBallesteros beautifully acted it
out.
And during that time, rosaNavarrete was one of the persons
that was in the audience and atthe end of the show she hit me
up and she said, oh my God,patricia, I saw this as a movie.
(21:13):
As I was listening to it and Isaid Thank you.
And she said I would love tofilm it.
And I said, oh, thank you, andI said Go for it.
And so Rosa followed through,and so she ended up calling me
and asking for a meeting, andthen she asked me what do you
want to see?
During me filming Maytruck, andI said, oh my God, you're
(21:36):
really going to do it.
And she said, yeah, it's a 10minute short.
I gave her everything that Ifelt should be a part of what it
looks like, and so I gave herall the notes.
She went away and then, like amonth later, she's like Patricia
, I'm done.
I said what do you mean?
You're done, done with what shegoes.
(21:56):
I made the film Seeing the filmMatriarchy, and it's about me
and my mother.
It was a very personal storySeeing this short film.
Oh my heart, it was just sopersonal for me that, uh, she
gave me the thing and the Idon't know.
(22:18):
She gave me something and I'mlike what do you, what do you
want me to do with this?
And she's like, oh, it's foryou.
And I said, how?
No, let's submit it.
I said we got nothing to lose,let's submit it.
We ended up submitting it tofilm festivals and we there was
a few festivals around town and,um, we, we submitted to
Sundance.
We got a beautiful rejectionletter, but, um, it was a lot of
(22:43):
a lot of things.
Um, yes, it's different, but me,being able to be at these film
festivals, I was still able tohear how the audience was
reacting to the matriarchy shortfilm, but again, it's not the
same.
I know that it's two differentmethods.
One is el teatro is live andand the film is on screen.
(23:08):
Pero I don't know how to, howto really describe the
audience's reactions becausethey're all different and you
don't really get to hear a lotafter the the play's over and
people come up to you to tellyou what they thought, they
didn't think.
Or people have come up to meand be like and you know, tell
me like, oh, I could havewritten that that was my story.
(23:30):
And I'm like good, you know, um, write it.
You write your story, but, um,you know I write it.
You write your story, but youknow I've gotten a lot of
different types of reactions.
Mario J. Novoa (23:41):
Did you get any type of audience comments for
you after the film screenings?
Patricia Zamorano (23:48):
I did.
They loved it.
Thankfully, they loved bothMatriarchy and Puta, and Puta
was more abstract.
It was very ambiguous with timebecause it was about Frida
Kahlo.
Lydia Otero (24:03):
Patricia, this is Lidia again, and you know you're
a storyteller.
At the core you're astoryteller.
I think at the core I'm astoryteller.
That's why I mentioned earlierthat I have a kinship with you,
because, you know, as an authorI feel like a storyteller, but I
was also an electrician, inconstruction so, and you're a
(24:25):
heavy equipment operator, and Ifeel like there's similarities
between in construction andstorytelling.
Because I think we know, andsee if you agree with me, we
know that everything needs astrong foundation and everything
is a step and everything iswork, and that you have to build
(24:46):
on and keep building on, and ithas to be strong, and if it's
not strong, then it's not goingto stand up, and so let's have a
blue collar conversation.
Do you think I'm right in thatassessment?
Patricia Zamorano (25:03):
I do, and the reason is that what you said is
building a foundation.
You know, before I became aheavy equipment operator, I went
through the apprenticeship as acarpenter first, and so going
through through that it was veryphysical work hammering all day
long, carrying plywood, and andthrough the apprenticeship, the
(25:24):
fundamentals and the basics, isgoing through these
apprenticeship levels, gothrough your first step, your
second step, third step, andthey teach you the basics.
You know, you got to read atape measure, know how to hammer
, just a lot of things.
And so when I left thecarpenters, I went to another
apprenticeship with theoperators and again I started
(25:46):
from step one and building myway up to becoming a journeyman.
That, for me, is discipline,because you know, just as going
to college is discipline, yourfirst year of college, our first
year in through ourapprenticeship, what does that
look like?
Well, in college you have tokeep going to school until you
(26:09):
get that degree to go to work,while the difference with
apprenticeships is you'reworking while you're going to
school through yourapprenticeship, and so just a
little bit different.
But what I loved was you learnhow to have discipline, you
learn the basics of discipline.
(26:31):
You learn the basics of whatyou said.
Livia is starting thefoundations.
It's like building a house,it's like building a bridge.
I think that has helped me bedisciplined in what I like to do
, as, in terms of writing, I'vealways loved to read and so
reading, and then you know,being through these
apprenticeships in a macho worldand then coming from the
(26:51):
projects, like my skin wasalready thick, I was already
like I already knew how tonavigate through all these
places.
So again going back to our bluecollar careers I'm thankful for
it, lydia careers.
I'm thankful for it, lydia.
(27:12):
It's given me so much.
It's given me a way out of myown neighborhood and yet I'm
back right smack in myneighborhood.
I've been able to come back andbe a part of this
revitalization, of thisgentrification that is happening
, and I am part.
I was able to come back andcome back to my beloved Boyle
Heights and be a part of this.
But through the apprenticeshipsthat I went through, the career
(27:34):
that I've had, that has helpedme to have the discipline to
write.
Eduardo Archuleta (27:39):
This is Eduardo.
You've been honored by the Cityof LA for your artistic
contributions to Boyle Heights.
What did that recognition meanto you, and has it influenced
your commitment to the arts?
Patricia Zamorano (27:52):
Yes, it was so unexpected.
That was for my first play,josefina, I ended up writing
this full-length play and sheloved it and she said I want
this on my stage.
And I'm like, oh my God, andshe's like.
And so it happened.
And so, for my very first fulllength, she surprised me with
(28:15):
the city awarding me with anaward, a beautiful city of Los
Angeles.
Again, if somebody would havetold me back in the day, when,
in my parting days, that I wasgoing to be awarded, you know,
be a recipient of an award bythe city of Los Angeles, I
wouldn't have believed it.
Again, back to having that,that pride, the gratitude of
(28:36):
being something bigger for thecommunity, was mind blowing.
And so, yeah, I feel that I amstill committed to my roots, to
my upbringing, to my community,everything that I am because of
where my mother decided to layroots, here in Boyle.
Mario J. Novoa (28:59):
Heights resiliency theater often faces
challenges like funding andproduction delays and creative
burnout.
How do you stay motivated andmaintain your creative energy,
especially when working onmultiple projects at once?
Patricia Zamorano (29:18):
well, you know, funding is really hard.
It's really hard to raise.
If we don't get a grant,there's so many things that come
into play.
The resiliency that I've hadwith my own experience being a
part of this theater world isthat there's no rule book, at
least not for me, because I Ididn't go to school to write
(29:40):
teatro.
For me I've been.
My resiliency has been in if Iam not inspired to be a part of
something and if I am notinspired to write anything, I
will not.
I will not write, and I'm OKwith that because I feel that
what works for me is what I feelall inside of me to be able to
(30:02):
do something that inspires me toreally take up the pen or get
on the on the laptop, to towrite.
And again, I'll go back to mygratitude and being thankful
that I've been a part ofwonderful festivals, which has
been Brown and Ounce.
Come on, I get to be around allmy joteria and share stories
(30:25):
and then go home all excited towrite something.
Yes, that has been such a greatlike propeller and a jumpstart
to like oh, I want to writesomething too.
And with my beautifulchicanacholas and chisme that
are also another part of Casa0101 is all these beautiful
intergenerational mujeres thatare from in their 20s to their
(30:48):
70s and be able to tell theseamazing stories that I was able
to be a part of too.
So, again, these, I think,where I try to find connection
is with things that resonatewith who I am as a person, and
so if I can, if I feel it, Ijoin it, and if I don't feel it,
(31:11):
I step aside.
And I'm not, you know, I'm not,I'm just not a part of this.
But getting burnout is isactual fact for a lot of people,
not only in theater but in inthe Hollywood industry and and
all that that everybody's tryingto, to write their next big
story, their, their next bigmovie, their next big book,
(31:32):
their next big play.
I just I don't, I don't want totake part of like, I don't want
to go into the madness.
I like to be methodical, I liketo take my time and I've got
full length plays that are justdormiditos, but I'm fine with it
Because I just love the act ofwriting.
So I, how do I?
(31:53):
How do I survive in this world?
Well, it doesn't.
Let's put it this way.
That doesn't pay my bills, it'sjust my passion.
You know, my bread and butteris construction, so that pays my
bills.
But everything else is a loveaffair.
Lydia Otero (32:12):
That's what it is, for me, your projects that
you're working on.
What should we wait for, likewhat's happening?
(32:33):
What should we look for interms of how you write?
What are we waiting for?
What should we look out for?
Patricia Zamorano (32:37):
I've been working on a full length play.
Last year I started writing on.
I wanted to come outside of mybox and tell a story of a
straight man, and that was forme to challenge myself.
It's called a different kind ofa man and it's only six
characters and I started writingit.
(32:58):
I submitted it to la joyaplayhouse for the new four
latinx playwriting submissions,and so that was coming out of my
box.
Um, because I've been in mycomfort zone for too long, I
needed a jump, right, I needed ajump, and so I submitted to
that.
I so I'm working on a differentkind of a man and I'm trying to
(33:21):
develop it more and and get areading sometime in 2025 here in
Boyle Heights.
So that's one of my maindevelopments that I'll be
working on, and I do have ascreenplay that I'm still trying
to.
Oh my God, just rewrite,rewrite, rewrite.
(33:41):
That's another one that cameout of my box was because I've
been writing plays and going toa whole nother like format of
writing screenplays.
It's so different.
So, again, I jumped out of mybox again and I am trying my
hand at writing a screenplay.
So that's like two things thatI will be working on besides
(34:04):
working alongside Evo Alvaradoand Arena, a house musical,
because we are still.
We went from 300 pages we'redown to 98 pages and it's taken
us since we started in 2018 to2024 to get from 300 pages down
to a beautiful book of 98 pageswith original music scored and
(34:28):
composed by Ben Larson andGabriela Maldonado and Evo
Alvarado.
So that's what I'll be workingon, lydia.
Mario J. Novoa (34:38):
Well, thank you, Patricia Zamorano, for joining
us today on Radio Q Glue.
It's been an honor to have you.
How can people find you?
Either through social media orthrough a website.
How can people connect with you?
Patricia Zamorano (34:53):
Yeah, let's see.
My IG handle is BP Zamorano andthen Facebook is Patricia
Zamorano and I am part of TNHProductions, so it could be
wwwtnhproductionsorg.
I am one of the producers,alongside Evo Alvarado and Rigo
(35:17):
Tejeda, and we are Teatro NuevosHorizonte Productions.
Mario J. Novoa (35:24):
Thank you for joining us today, Patricia.
Patricia Zamorano (35:26):
Thank you.
Eduardo Archuleta (35:28):
This has been .
Lydia Otero (35:29):
Eduardo Archuleta Lidia Otero and Mario Novoa.
Eduardo Archuleta (35:32):
Thank you for listening this evening.
Rita Gonzales (35:34):
This month's segment of Radio Q Glue.
Playwright Patricia Zamorano.
I'm Rita Gonzalez and we wantto hear from you.
Like us on our Facebook page oremail us at theoutagenda at
gmailcom.
You can find Radio Q Glue onall podcast platforms.
Thanks for listening.
(35:55):
Have a wonderful week andremember that being out is the
first step to being equal.
Now stay tuned for this Way Out.
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