You Win Some and You Lose Some (And we need 'em both!)

Last summer I had the privilege of traveling to Mexico City where I attended my first Lucha Libre fight. Ticket in hand, excited for a show I had always been curious about, I walked down a green hallway into a massive, open-air stadium, with a wrestling ring in the center. The first thing I noticed when settling into my seat was an ad on the jumbotron. It kept asking (in Spanish), “Are you a técnico or ruido?” It wasn’t until the fight began that I started to understand: every wrestler was on one of two teams, the técnicos, the good guys, or the ruidos, the bad guys. Little did I know, that fateful night would serve as inspiration, nine months later, when deciding the theme for the Provocation Theatre + Berkeley Improv Community Jam…

The crowd screamed through three epic rounds of tag-team fights. The wrestlers always worked in pairs, with matching costumes, greased up from head to toe. The técnicos were proud and haughty; the ruidos were crude and sometimes mischievous. When people booed they laughed and sneered. In reality, all of the wrestlers were acrobats, and all of the fights were thoughtfully scripted, down to the last cape flourish. The luchadores flung themselves into the air, flipping, twisting, and crashing into their opponents. 

The highest drama occurred when a wrestler would pin down their enemy. This is where I noticed a clear pattern in the fighting. When a man was pinned down, the referee started counting to 10, slamming his palm on the floor. If it was early in the match, the pinned man would break free in just a few seconds and the fight would resume. If it was late in the match, the pinned man would wait until the eighth or ninth count before wriggling out of his opponent’s grip. It became clear that the players were telling a story, a tale as old as time, of the struggle between good and evil. Though I knew the técnicos would win the championship by the end of the show, the silly composed drama of it all endeared me to each of the luchadores. As the night went on, all I could do was smile and laugh. 

Such was the inspiration for our second ever Community Jam at Provocation Theatre + Berkeley Improv this March. In designing the jam, I wanted to play with the idea of winning and losing. In life, losing can be so painful. At least for me, I avoid competition, winning, and losing as much as I can. But acting out winning and losing in theater play can make us more open to the reality that life is full of ups and downs. It can help us take some of the weight off of challenging experiences. Not every scene needs to be about winning and losing, in fact most scenes do very well without it, but it’s a fun game that improvisers can play, to underscore the silliness of an otherwise serious topic. Plus, audiences love a hero story, and they adore complex villains. This is the style of play that I wanted to toy with for our Community Night. 

On Monday, while getting ready for the jam, I shuffled through my costume box to put together something resembling a referee outfit. I called Tiffany and told her she’d be the captain of the ruidos team, encouraging her to get mischievous and contest my scorekeeping. Then I packed the single trophy I own, to use as a fake reward, and headed to Sacred Stream. That night we split the whole room into 2 teams, técnicos and ruidos. The técnicos played the perfect noble heroes. The ruidos played the disgruntled villain with such gusto, it had me busting up several times. The scenes and games themselves were exquisite, with each player giving generous offers to one another and sharing in the fun. By the end of the night the score was close. So close you wouldn’t believe it! But, in a massive surprise to everyone, the técnicos won the day! Then, just like the luchadores, everyone took off their mask and cape, set the drama aside, and walked to the bar together.

It is such a thrill to see our big beautiful community taking shape this year. New faces and new connections are made each time we get together, whether at the Jam, in class, or at our shows. I can’t wait to see some of our Community Jam stars take the stage on April 27 at Monkey House Theatre. And if you missed our Jam this time, you can always join us for the next one! I’ve already got a plan in mind. The theme? Musicals.