Tim Lounibos ([email protected]) is Co-Founder and Emeritus Artistic Director of Lodestone Theatre Ensemble.

Ten years ago, four theatre artists gathered weekly in a dark clandestine apartment to brainstorm the type of theatre company they’d want to run.  They happened to be Asian American and, though the traditional tried-and-true tales of internment camps, generational repression and cultural conflict were great and all that, they wanted to create something completely different, something that was lacking in their community; so being of like mind in their need for twisted and edge-of-the-seat dark-humored causing-their-elders-to-blush fare, they did exactly that… by creating Lodestone Theatre Ensemble.

I was one of those four, and as we get ready to raise the curtain on our final show Grace Kim & The Spiders From Mars (Nov. 14 - Dec. 20 at GTC Burbank), I can’t help harking back to those times-memories melding seamlessly with needs of the present, not to mention the logistics of closing out a non-profit.

We didn’t set out to create something that would fill a void, mind you, or become an edgy alternative to East West Players.  It’s just that if we were going to put in the time and effort it takes to start and run a theatre company, we wanted to do so on our own terms; and it just so happened that our vision, our aesthetic filled a niche.

When we put out a call to artists back in June of 1999, we were fairly shocked to have a packed standing-room-only audience of actors, writers, directors and supporters, eager to hear our vision for a new Asian American theatre company:  One that would produce completely untraditional, unconventional and uncompromising twisted kick-ass shows;  that would be an artistic free-of-charge home base where one would have an equal voice and opportunity; that would be a training ground for new artists in all aspects of theatrical production and that would make sure to include and encourage underserved communities; and one that would rely predominantly on private donations and grants - not box office revenue - to survive (remember, we were in the middle of the dot.com boom and money was still ripe for the picking-so we thought!).

Such a vision sounded great to everybody in the room and there was a real buzz and excitement in the air… but also a skepticism.

No one questioned our ability to raise funds, navigate the incorporation process or successfully pull off any and all other practical aspects of starting a non-profit theatre company.  Instead, the issues of contention focused on our pan-Asian American integrity, specifically in the areas of content and casting.

In particular, they questioned the fact that all four of us - Alexandra Bokyun Chun, Philip Chung, Chil Kong and Tim Lounibos - were Korean American and, more to the point, that Phil and I had been the chosen ones of Soon Tek Oh’s well-publicized and well-received group, Society of Heritage Performers, whose goal it was to create and foster a Korean American performing arts tradition in the United States.  Since Phil was the main writer and I was the young male lead, what was to stop us from continuing that tradition at the expense of all the non-Koreans in the group?

Doesn’t that sound like Asians calling out other Asians for being racist towards other Asians…or nationalistic-even though we’re all Americans…okay, now none of this makes any sense whatsoever, so let’s move on…

Suffice it to say, we were definitely put on the hot seat; but we made it crystal clear to them that I would not corner the acting market and Phil would not be writing all the plays - in fact, we’d be put out a call to playwrights, regardless of race and ethnicity - and no limitations whatsoever would be placed on content, other than that it be cool, edgy and twisted.  When it was all said and done, though, they’d just have to trust us and see us walk the walk.

Well, almost everyone who came to that initial meeting (including those skeptics ;-), ended up volunteering to be a part of what would come to be called a ground-breaking ensemble.  By the end of August, Judy Soo Hoo’s Texas was chosen as the inaugural production.  A few days later, the Secret Rose Theatre was found to be the perfect claustrophobic venue, but with one caveat:  There was only one slot open for the foreseeable future, starting on Sept. 30-giving us less than one month to produce!  Chil, Phil, Alexandra and I looked at each other for a nanosecond, and then casually stated, “Let’s do it.”

Lodestone was born, hitting the ground running and never looking back…until now.

I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished:  never compromising our artistic integrity, providing a platform for writers who weren’t mainstream enough for others, supporting the theatrical and cultural communities whenever possible, as well as remaining relevant and ahead of the curve… and we’ve done so comfortably “in the black” from inception, allowing us now to go out on our own terms.

Which brings me to our final production Grace Kim & The Spiders From Mars.  Ironically, Phil is the writer of this play which is inspired by classic screwball comedies and accessible to a much broader audience while remaining true to our core aesthetic.  Whether you’ve been coming to our plays for years or this is your very first time, you should walk away from this show with a sense of what Lodestone has meant to all of us who have volunteered our blood, sweat and tears for the love of Lodestone from that very first meeting until now.

As our first and final director Jeff Liu states, “It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years.  It’s been quite a journey and Philip has brought it all together beautifully in this comedy about a smart, quirky heroine with a very active imagination searching for a new path in life, a reminder that every ending is really just a new beginning.”

Indeed it is.  The final curtain is drawing near-somewhat bittersweet, but timely…

I look forward to the new beginning.

The production will run November 14-December 20, 2009 at the GTC Burbank (1111-B West Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91506, located inside George Izay Park).  Performances are Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 pm (no show on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26), Sundays at 2 pm, November 14-December 20, with low-priced previews on November 12 and 13 at 8 pm. Tickets have been lowered to the same price as our first show in 1999: $12 for general admission and $10 each for reserved groups of ten or more. Tickets for the November 14 Opening Night Gala including a post-show reception are $25. All Sunday matinees (except December 20) will be pay-what-you-can admission with a $1 minimum. For more information, call the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble hotline at (323) 993-7245 or visit www.lodestonetheatre.org or www.facebook.com/lodestonetheatre. Lodestone’s community partners for this production include Asians For Miracle Marrow Matches, East West Players, The K.W. Lee Center For Leadership and Visual Communications.