We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aleta Barthell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aleta below.
Alright, Aleta thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.
As a theater artist, I am drawn to projects that serve the community where I live — working with youth-at-risk while living in Portland, Oregon, with The Haven Project; developing my own youth theater education program, Kids Act, in North County San Diego; creating an acting program and writing featured plays for neurodiverse performers in Theatre for All at New Village Arts Theatre; and writing an original play called THE DOWAGERS for seniors that featured a role for a performer who uses a wheelchair. The production was at Ocean Hills Country Club in Oceanside this past summer. The woman who played the character who uses a wheelchair has MS (Multiple sclerosis), and shared with me after the production that she was feeling so desperate in her life before this opportunity came up for her. She said that one-by-one, things were falling away that she could physically do anymore…and then a friend told her about the play and how there was a part for someone who uses a wheelchair in it. She was so grateful to find something that she could still do.
This past year, I joined Father Joe’s Villages as a grant writer and secured a grant from California Humanities to offer two playwriting residencies to individuals who have experienced homelessness in partnership with Playwrights Project and Father Joe’s Villages. This project is called Stories of CREED in Action and will culminate with public performances of the plays created in these residencies in the summer of 2024. The goal of the event will be to bridge gaps of understanding about homelessness in San Diego.
For me, the biggest lift is seeing people gathered together for a positive project through theater, and giving voice to those who often times don’t feel like they have one.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My background had mostly been in theater. I went to Northwestern University and studied theater there. I had an acting teacher who told us that the best way to become a good actor is to volunteer and find out about worlds outside of the one that you normally live in. I think that this is what led me to community-based work. In order to do the projects that I was interested in, I learned how to writer grants to produce the work. All of these aspects have made me a stronger writer—whether it’s a grants writer, a playwright or a screenwriter—telling a compelling story that people can connect to is paramount to success.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish that I had been taught more about production and how to raise money in college. The chair of the theater program encouraged us to learn about all aspects of the creative end of theater, but there really wasn’t any course work about the money side. There was an idea that if you were talented enough, you would get work. That can happen, but many times, you have to make your own work.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
As a creative person, each project is a new endeavor. It is basically building something from scratch. Absolutely, there are systems that I’ve learned over time that help me to navigate a project; however, there needs to be space to figure out how something is going to happen. For me, the most pressing need is for space with a budget and a timeline. The ability to set aside a certain amount of money for unexpected needs (or ideas), along with time to experiment, can make all the difference in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aletabarthell.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aleta.barthell
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleta-barthell-66081013/
Image Credits
Jason Sullivan Anthony Golden Jr.