'if you listened': An Exclusive Interview with Director Kaci Palomino

By Danielle Wirsansky on September 17, 2014

While FSU’s School of Theatre productions are renowned, what is often understated is student created work, of which there is much of on campus. Soon, if you listened, a theatre performance created, directed, and performed by students will be brought to life.  Below is the exclusive interview with Director and Writer, Kaci Palomino.

Photography by: Stephanie La Peruta

Q: When and where is your production being held?

KP: ‘if you listened:’ will be held at 621 Annex in Railroad Square Art Park on Friday, September 19th at 5:00 pm, Saturday, September 20th at 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm, Friday, September 26th at 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm and Saturday, September 27th at 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

Q: What was the inspiration behind it?

KP: I am very passionate about my faith and personal relationship with God, and I am interested in how this passion is in communication with my work in the theatre. I wanted to discover how other people’s passions and work interact with their faith or lack thereof. Many believe that the topic of faith is untouchable because of the controversy that often surrounds it, but this piece shows that people who offer mutual respect and genuine listening can lead conversations into beautiful and important directions. While I began the interviews with this jumping off point of “faith in relation to passion/work/everyday life,” most of them veered into conversations about other topics of interest to the interviewees. It became clear that people are both able and willing to say many personal and exciting things when they know they will not be responded to, but simply heard.

Photography by: Stephanie La Peruta
Performers from Left to Right: George DeSalvia, Jordee Kopanski, Candice Singleton, Yankiel Camaraza, Shelby Gilberto, and Caitlyn Cameron.

Q: When did you decide to put the show together? Why now?

KP: I decided at during last fall semester to begin working on this piece. I have never written or directed a theatre piece before, so this has been an enlightening and rewarding experience. I feel that this conversation is important, so why not now?

Q: What is unique about the perspectives you will be sharing? Or what makes a perspective unique or interesting?

KP: There are 31 perspectives, which is really exciting in itself. I know that there are many perspectives that are not represented by the piece, but I hope that this will cause our guests with those perspectives to speak up and share afterward. This is a provocative and conversation-starting piece of theatre. The story-givers are all really remarkable and brave for sharing their ideas with me, and in return I promised to keep their identities anonymous.

Q: Where did you find the people you interviewed to create this piece and why were these stories chosen?

KP: These are all college-aged students from different backgrounds, majors, ages, experiences and interests. I knew some of the interviewees beforehand, and got to know some of them as a result of the interview process. It is my hope that by sharing the depth of thought and honest vulnerability of young people in our community, our cast/family can provoke our guests to ask deeper questions of themselves and others.

Photography by: Stephanie La Peruta
From Left to Right: Director Kaci Palomino, Performers George DeSalvia, Jordee Kopanski, Candace Singleton, Yankiel Camaraza, Caitlyn Cameron, Shelby Gilberto, and Assistant Director Luz Stella Perez de Corcho.

Q: Do you think that sharing a story verbatim as shared with you makes more of an impact on the audience than if you had edited them?

KP: While I obviously make every effort to create an objective piece of work, I know that my own experiences, beliefs and the like frequently intervene and create a bias I must constantly fight. For example, although I interview people I agree and disagree with, I ultimately choose which pieces of the interviews are shared. Luz Stella Perez de Corcho, who is Assistant Director of this piece, also co-edited the script with me to help address this issue. Thirty-one interviews is a lot of text to trim, but we made every effort to retain the main points and overall essence of each one. Verbatim speech is more raw and natural, and it makes a significant difference in the delivery and reception of the stories.

Q: Are there any disclaimers?

KP: The subjects of faith, suicide, religion, trauma, rape, relationships, discrimination and adversity will appear in this show. If any of these subjects are uncomfortable or offensive to you, please consider this when reserving a seat.

Q: Will there be food/beverages served at the performances? If so, why?

KP: We will be serving hot tea at the entrance of the space. Refreshments, as well as admission, are free of charge. We want everyone to feel like a welcome and participatory member of our performance.

Q: How can a reservation be made?

KP: We have created a Facebook event called ‘if you listened:’ and there are specific directions about reservations listed on the webpage.

https://www.facebook.com/events/710375399011971/

Q: Is there anything you would like to add that I have not thought to ask?

KP: We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to those who have directly or indirectly influenced this project through each step of the process. We have worked very hard to give life to these beautiful ideas and we look forward to sharing that gift with all of you.

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