The Theater Arts and Dance Department set up a webinar with playwright and screenwriter José Rivera, whose play ‘Sonnets For an Old Century’ is being produced this semester by the department.

According to director of the play, Paul Draper, Rivera agreed to the webinar to provide students a chance to speak with him and ask questions after being approached via Facebook by faculty member Marie Ramirez Downing for permission to produce his play at the school.

“Sonoma State University is a Hispanic Serving Institution. I felt it would be a very important step to bring the work of a Puerto Rican playwright to tell stories that Spanish speaking and Hispanic identifying students can relate to,” Downing said. 

“We wanted to make sure that our students would have the chance to have that conversation with the writer. But we also wanted people who were not directly connected with the production to be able to witness it and ask questions,” Draper explained.

In the hour-long webinar, students and faculty asked Rivera questions about the theater and film industries, insight to his plays, advice on being a successful writer, among several other topics including his own work and experiences in the industry.

When asked if he prefers writing for theater or film, he responded, “I love writing plays, and… it’s because they’re personal. They’re an impulse… I’ve said this in interviews before, I write plays for love and films for money.”

 He explained that much of his work comes out of topics and ideas he’s focused on exploring, and said “a play is a kind of distillation of an obsession”, where he can deal with serious topics in an organized and creative way.

Rivera offered students in the theater program important career advice, and explained that for aspiring playwrights and screenwriters, that networking, graduate school, persevering through the industry, and diversification of work are among the most important aspects to success as a writer. 

“You have to learn how to be a playwright in rehearsal. You have to know how to have conversations with directors and designers… how to cast…  how to work within an institution…. for the young writers, amass as much writing as you can, and diversify your voice,” he said.  

Both students and faculty members felt the webinar was really beneficial for everyone in the department. 

Christine Cali, the department chair, wrote in an email,“Our faculty and staff are able to continue building community with artists for future collaborations at SSU and across the country… Mr. Rivera’s conversation was incredibly inspiring, poetic, compassionate and hopeful,” she said. 

Theater student and actor in the play, Maya Pratt-Bauman, said “The most beneficial aspect [of speaking with a guest speaker] in my opinion is getting to hear from someone in the position you want to achieve…It was… eye opening to talk with the person who wrote the material and to hear how the character I portray was created.”

Downing wrote in an email, “Jose was so hopeful for the future of the theatre. He was so human, and authentic in all of his answers. I believe what he said about continuing to stay curious about new plays, new movies, and what is going on in the world is so important for our students to keep in mind…. There is now more equity and authentic representation of the Hispanic/Lantinx communities and we see it in the writing from playwrights like Rivera.”

For students wishing to attend events similar to this webinar, the schedule of upcoming guest speaker webinars provided by the theater department for the rest of Spring semester is as follows:

JAMIE NAKAMA and CONTRA MESTRE ESPAÇO – Wed., April 7, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

REENA DUTT – Mon., April 12, 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Liz Lerman, Kinetech Arts, Matt Langlois and Christine Cali – Thurs., April 15, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

*partnership with GMC

UZOAMAKA NWANKPA – April 21, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

RUBY MORALES – April 26 and April 28, 12 p.m. to 12:50 p.m.

*partnership with GMC

JOTI SINGH – April 28, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

CARLOS CARRASCO – May 11, 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

To attend please contact Theatre Arts & Dance Chair, Christine Cali: [email protected]