I believe that we are in an age where technology is allowing a wider range of ideas and viewpoints to pierce the mainstream and break down barriers. I also believe that for many artists, the status quo —even when it is clearly on its last legs— is preferable to the unknown. This is human nature, yet it also possible to overcome, after all, the status quo was once upon a time a revolutionary idea.
LCG Media is my effort to combat the status quo by using books as a basis for tv, music, and film content. We see books as a starting point for multiple creative endeavors. Our first big test, will be Puerto Rican Nocturne.
A reimagining of the infamous Cerro Maravilla murders as told through the eyes of the cop who organized the killings of independence activists, and the mother of one of the victims, Puerto Rican Nocturne investigates the nature of power, the limits of ideology, and the search for autonomy and peace in a colonized society.
https://youtu.be/ifEjVutw7R8
In March 2020, this play will be produced by a small theater company in Colorado Springs, an hour south of Denver. A strange place to tell a story like this, as the Springs is home to multiple military bases, Focus on the Family, and whose own highway is named after Reagan. It is also a city of tremendous growth, and even in conservative enclaves, there is a thirst for alternative content. In fact, there might be more of a thirst since blacks, Latinos, and other minority groups find themselves having to travel to Denver for entertainment made by them, and for them.
Why use a small theater company? Because the biggest hurdle for new playwrights, especially those of color, is that when they present their work to theater companies in New York, Chicago, or LA, is the perception that their quirky, unconventional stories are unproducible, with no natural audience large enough to make back their investment. By putting on Puerto Rican Nocturne in a small city, we are saying that the play is affordable to make, and that there is a sizable audience. By filming the play, and doing a making-of documentary, we will also be able to market the work to film festivals and streaming platforms. If we are successful, we can use our model as a blueprint for other works that don’t fit neatly into a business model, stories that takes risk in their styles and point of view. We can also show that plays can have a global reach, even when they originate outside of major metropolitan areas.
https://youtu.be/-9J-l244Hb4
This story of police brutality and state corruption could not be timelier for both Puerto Rico and the United States. By filming the play, it will allow us to bring this story to a much wider audience, educating Puerto Ricans in the diaspora and the island about our history and the urgency with which we must direct our future, using a story that is at once specific and touches on universal themes.
We are taking donations here, but you can also support us by sharing the story of our play with friends and family. If you are living in Colorado and want to audition for the play or see it, follow us on Instagram or Twitter for updates.
Whether or not you are Puerto Rican, the story of Cerro Maravilla resonates with all people who have been targeted and oppressed for their political beliefs.
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Jonathan Marcantoni is the Chief Editor of LCG Media.
