Mujeres On The Verge 

Years ago, Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN) composition teacher Vilma Villela volunteered at a small struggling East Los Angeles playhouse, which in turn helped bring out her inner director. Now, after being at the helm of plays across California, Villela has come full circle to Casa 0101 Theater to bring “Pleito” (Fight), a hilarious comedy that celebrates Latinas during Women’s History Month and kicks off the 25th season of the little theater that could.

“Casa was definitely my beginning as a director,” said Villela, who lives in Panorama City.

“Pleito” is part of “Mujeres on the Verge,” a four one-act production about women navigating a diverse range of feelings, from profound despair that explores the depths of human struggle, lighthearted humor that offers moments of joy and laughter and gripping drama that captures the complexity of relationships and personal growth. 

Written by Lindsey Haley, “Pleito” tells the story of two elderly women fighting over a love of yore at an assisted living home. Mobility devices like canes and walkers are comically branded as weapons, as two fiery women try to settle an old score involving a popular saxophonist who broke more than one heart 50 years ago. 

The other acts are “The Fan Club,” which deals with women’s hormonal changes and couple relationships; “La Noche de Anoche” (Last Night), addressing the challenges of caregiving for senile loved ones in the family; and “La Mano de Dios” (The Hand of God), addressing alcoholism and self-worth. “Mujeres” opened Feb. 28 and runs through March 23. 

Standout Play 

All four “Mujeres” stories are compelling, but “Pleito” stands out thanks to an ensemble cast in which each and all members do a good job of making this slapstick comedy work, as when gray-haired ladies check out the backside of a recently arrived debonair gentleman. The cast features Carmelita Maldonaldo, Myrna Velasco, Jasia Topete, Saul Rodriguez, Alejandra Flores, Tricia Cruz, Tina D’Marco and Alejandro Bravo.

On premiere night, though, all acts seemed to lack one thing: voice projection by the actors. This made it a little difficult for people in the back of the theater to fully connect with the characters and enjoy the performances. The only exception was Topete – who plays Jasmine, the nurse administrator in “Pleito” – whose powerful voice filled the theater every time she spoke. Reportedly, sound concerns have been addressed and subsequent performances have markedly improved.

Projects like “Mujeres” epitomize what Casa 0101 is about and what drew Villelas, the CSUN teacher, to this theater in the first place.  

History of Casa 0101

Founded in 2000 by Josefina Lopez, the writer of the play and film “Real Women Have Curves,” Casa aims to bring art and live theater programs to Boyle Heights, the neighborhood she grew up in. Lopez transformed a former bridal shop into a small independent theater near the corner of First and Cummings streets with a capacity of just a few dozen seats. 

Eleven years later, she moved it to its current location across First Street, near the corner of St. Louis Street. Besides plays, the venues have offered training for all types of stage talent. 

From Volunteer to Director 

Villela decided to volunteer, helping in the box office and ushering at the old location, later known as “Little Casa.” She then enrolled in directing workshops. 

“I heard that Josefina was giving out workshops at that theater,” recalls Villela. With her new skills, she went on to direct plays at other locations, including Teatro Frida Kahlo in Los Angeles, Santa Clarita Main Street Theater and El Teatro Campesino in the Central Valley.

Villela laments the lack of venues in the San Fernando Valley where Latino plays could be staged, the reason she works with theaters outside this region. “This is missing here,” she said, adding that mainstream and independent theatres in the valley are not receptive to stories coming out of the barrios.

There are other talents with Valley connections working in “Mujeres.”

A Matador in a One-Woman Show 

Raquel Salinas, a CSUN graduate, wrote and stars in “La Mano de Dios,” the play about the struggles with drinking. 

Like Villela, she also trained with Casa 0101. 

Salinas originally studied to become a teacher, but after graduating from college, rather than working in a classroom, she used theater to educate about social and mental health issues, including child abuse prevention, AIDS and women’s health.

The acting bug bit her in her youth but Salinas lacked family support to pursue it openly. So she took acting classes secretly when she first attended Cal State University Los Angeles, where she trained there with Teatro Primavera, part of the Chicano theater movement. She also studied solo performances at Highway Performance Space in Santa Monica. 

“I started writing my own works,” she said. Her credits include “Heat Your Own” about stopping the violence against women and “Madres de Juarez” dealing with the raping and killing of women in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. 

“I just want to continue to do my work as an artist, presenting voices that are seldom heard,” she said.

Some of Salinas’s work has taken place in the valley. While attending CSUN, she joined the Chicano group Teatro Aztlan, under the guidance of the late professor Lorenzo “Toppy” Flores, for a production of a play about the United States intervention in El Salvador. “The Teatro’s plays always had some kind of a political message,” she recalled. 

Training Valley Women

Salinas has also taught workshops to train women in how to tell their stories, one titled “The Indigenous in Us: An Ancestral Knowledge Workshop” at Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore in Sylmar, and another Spanish workshop at Panorama City’s Casa Esperanza. She hopes her former students go to Casa 0101 to see her one-woman show.

Now, Salinas also teaches classes for children ages 7 through 18 at Casa 0101. 

“My classes are full,” she said with pride. “I want my community to have a voice.”

Salinas tried Hollywood but most Latina roles were stereotypical, from gangbangers to maids to suffering mothers. She would rather focus on issues now impacting Latinos, like immigration raids affecting undocumented workers in agriculture.

Also from the valley are lighting designer Alejandro Parra of Burbank and stage manager and sound designer Angelica Ornelas of North Hollywood.

Casa 0101 Theater is located at 2102 East First St., in the Boyle Heights area of LA. For tickets, call (323) 263-7684, e-mail tickets@casa0101.org or visit www.casa0101.org.

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