Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or sign up for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.
When Long Beach native Charles Tentindo decided to open a theater, he purchased 65 theater seats online and had no place to put them. But when he finally found a suitable space eight months later, the Aurora Theater came into being — named after his Argentinian mother who, with her husband, exposed their children to music, opera and plays.
“Why this exists is the generosity of my parents, their interest in the arts,” Tentindo said of the theater. “And it’s been a flourishing, wonderful place.”
Tentindo offers acting, improv and standup classes at the theater with three other teachers. He also produces one-man and one-woman shows and rents the theater out to other show producers and for film screenings.
“I created the studio based on what I wish I would have had growing up as an actor, with everything under one roof — improv, comedy, acting for stage, acting for film, demo reels, headshots,” Tentindo said.
Acting classes allowed him to grow immensely as a 17-year-old at St. Anthony High School, he said, helping him boost his grades and overcome insecurities and a stutter. When acting teacher Gail Brower took him to see Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” at Long Beach City College, he was hooked.
“I walked into the theater and the smell of it, the look of it — what I experienced that night changed the direction of my life,” he said. Three years later at the same college, his first audition led to a stint on soap opera “Days of Our Lives” and the beginning of a career in acting and teaching.
Tentindo likens teaching to “planting seeds” in helping people express themselves, a phrase he got from his actor friend Paul Williams.
“You know, acting in such a cathartic process,” Tentindo said. “It really is just good for life, to practice scratching at your humanity by diving into the shoes of other human beings.”
But seeing the unusual and provocative “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” in Los Angeles recently made him want to do something new at the theater — license the play from Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour for a four-week run.
“When I heard that there was no rehearsal, that the actors have never seen the script and there’s no director, I’m like, ‘I have to see this,’” Tentindo said. “I even got to be a part of the production because there’s audience interaction. It was very moving. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The play calls for an actor to perform a script handed to them in a sealed envelope that they have never seen before, with no preparation and not knowing what to expect.
“Basically, they go in cold,” Tentindo said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”
A mix of newer and more experienced actors — Garrett Brown, Jeff Ruben, Mariana Williams and Paul Williams — will switch off performing the play each Saturday of its run in August.
Soleimanpour had been barred from leaving Iran when he wrote the play for refusing mandatory military service, only getting his passport eight years later, Tentindo said. Using an allegory of white and red rabbits the playwright learned from his father, the play explores the implications of following government mandates or not, whether you stand by or take action, he added.
“What are you willing to turn your head away from? What are you willing to accept?” Tentindo says the play asks. “So, there’s that kind of social justice to the piece, along with humor.”
He likened the play to the Italian improvised comedy form Commedia dell’arte that began in the 1500s in which performers and clowns wore masks so they wouldn’t get killed for poking fun at the government.
“This plugs into one of the purposes of theater — to reflect back on society, but in a way that opens new doors,” he said. “Why you go to a play, or why you go to an opera, a movie or a concert, is to be reminded of what it is to be human.”
Souleimanpour’s play heightens that feeling because of its unpredictability, Tentindo added.
“Film is so predictable because it’s already set,” he said. “With theater, you don’t know. It’s like walking a tightrope — you don’t know what’s gonna happen. And if the actors never see the piece, there’s some nervousness by all these people.”
Tentindo said he’d wish to stage “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” regularly because of its uniqueness.
“Once you’ve seen it, you’re kind of in a special group of people because it’s not a common thing,” he said. “I love curating these experiences for people, you know?”
“White Rabbit Red Rabbit” will perform at the Aurora Theater, 4412 E. Village Rd., Long Beach, Saturdays at 8 p.m. on Aug. 2, 9, 16 and 23. Tickets are $25. For tickets and information, call 562-400-1355 or visit MyActingStudio.com. Run time is 90 minutes.