LAPP’s BRIDGE THE GAPS_NEST initiative, in partnership with the city of Santa Monica, provided wildfire-impacted artists with residencies of approximately one week at the Miles Memorial Playhouse. Each BtG_NEST residency was tailored to the needs of artists rebuilding their practice after wildfire impact, offering a space that prioritized recovery over outcomes and allowed each participant to define the scope of their own residency.
Carolyn Dunn appreciated the fact that the residency was local, within the county of Los Angeles. “What also interested me,” Carolyn expressed, “was the idea that it was sponsored for individuals who had lost work or who had lost income due to the fires.”
Carolyn’s family was directly affected by the Eaton fire and when asked what fire-impacted artists need most right now, she responded, “I feel as though fire-impacted artists definitely need the space to create and need the funds to create. We’ve lost so much and are still so much in our feelings and still in the emotions in the PTSD of being fire survivors, that just to have a quiet space to create and the funding to be able to do so…” She goes on to elaborate, “For me to be able to bring my director and frequent collaborator here to Southern California was a wonderful experience… the funding was so amazing and much needed, and the space was amazing and much needed.”
Carolyn was grateful to spend time writing during her NEST residency. She is currently developing a one-woman show about her matriarchal ancestors: Indigenous women rooted in social justice practices, who “fought for their families and their freedoms.” Carolyn expounds, “Not much is known outside of Louisiana about the Indigenous people that inhabit that space, so I am interested in telling the story of the Indigenous in Louisiana. When people think of Creole cultures, they tend to forget about the Indigenous side of Creole culture an and also with Acadian culture they tend to forget about the Indigenous side, whether it goes back to Canada with the Metis, and Abenaki and Sassaskia and Miqmaq tribes mixing with the Indigenous tribes in Louisiana such as the Choctaw, the Attakapas (Ishak), the Tunica Biloxi, the Chitimacha, etc.”
When asked about their experience working at the Miles Memorial Plahouse–any revelations or remarkable moments?–Carolyn remarked on some of the realities of art-making that no doubt many artists can relate to.“It was a crazy time at work. I went back to work and it was the first semester so we were a little frazzled and a little disjointed… But the ability to just sit in the space, that beautiful space, and just breathe and be able to create and be in the peace and quiet was wonderful.”
Her director also got sick, which rendered them unable to get the show on its feet, but they were able to do a lot of dramaturgical research and writing. “I’m very excited about the possibility of moving forward with this show and continuing the writing of it. The specificity of place in this show… the fact that it takes place in Louisiana is also very exciting for me and creating those connections between Louisiana Creole indigent and the Louisiana Creole indigenous community that is here in Southern California is also very exciting.”Carolyn is excited to get the show on its feet and her next goal is to share a public reading of the piece. “I so much enjoyed my time at the Miles Memorial Playhouse. I would love to be able to share the work that we did as we further develop and come back and do a reading.”
Carolyn M. Dunn, MFA, PhD, is a playwright, dramaturg, actor and director whose plays, including The Frybread Queen and Soledad, have been Equity produced on stages in Los Angeles and New York. Her academic work engages across disciplines including theatre, literature, ethnohistory, ethnomusicology, landscape, language, and cultural studies. She is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance and is the Director of Playwriting and Dramaturgy at California State University, Los Angeles.
Photo of Carolyn Dunn courtesy of the artist.
BRIDGE THE GAPS: Wildfire Relief for L.A. Artists is an initiative of Los Angeles Performance Practice. BTG_FUND provides micro-grants to fire-impacted artists and is made possible through the generosity of an anonymous donor with additional support from individual contributors. Donate here. BtG_NEST is a residency program made possible in part with support from Art of Recovery, an initiative of the city of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs. This residency offers subsidized creative space, mentorship, and technical support at the Miles Memorial Playhouse.
