Jesse Bliss, the founder and artistic director of the nonprofit The Roots and Wings Project, has spent a lot of time sitting and praying by the American River in Sacramento. It is her favorite place on the planet, and it inspired her to write her new play, “Realm of the River,” opening at The Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts, running from Sept. 18-27.
“It took me nine years to develop because it wasn’t for a commission, it came from my heart,” Bliss shared. “I kept getting commissioned pieces that I would set it down for and then finally last year, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was not convenient. I’m a single parent. I run a company, and we’re constantly in production. I said, I don’t care. I’m going to do what it takes.”
Bliss woke at 4 a.m. and found herself writing in weird places at weird times. She completed it, and when she finally heard a run through as part of her organization’s Women at Work new works reading series, she realized just how much she believed in the piece.
Bliss’s mother lives across the street from the American River, and it has become the place she returns to for quiet, clarity and renewal since moving to Los Angeles in January 2004.
“It wasn’t something I purposely set out to do,” Bliss explained, “but it came through me from this strong fascination and connection I have with the river.”
“Though these characters face extreme adversity, they do not allow it to steal their light,” said Jesse Bliss about her play, “Realm of the River.”
(Brianna Rose Photography/Submitted)
“Realm of the River” explores female friendship, collective healing and the divine. The action moves between a nightclub and a sacred river, guided by the projection art of Hessed Porras, who has done live-performance visual work for M.I.A. and Will Smith.
“The story will be told through projections that have been handcrafted for this play,” relayed Bliss. “The play switches environments, and there’s an interesting connection between the river and the nightclub because they’re both sacred. They both have sparkle. They’re both immersive. The play brings to light what those environments do for us and how there’s certain places that we’re drawn to as human beings that can be uplifting and transformative.”
Ricardo “Boogie Frantick” Rodriguez Jr., a local dancer known worldwide for his mastery of the street dance style popping, is responsible for the choreography for the production. Bliss had directed Frantick over the years as an actor, and they “have a shorthand that really paid off for this production,” Bliss said.
“He came in that room, we spoke for four minutes while the actors warmed up and he lit that movement on fire,” said Bliss. “When Frantick came to The Roots and Wings Project, he was a dancer acting. In this case, I told him, you’re not laying choreography on dancers, you’re laying choreography on actors. He has an extraordinary sensitivity for what it means as an artist to stretch into a place that’s unfamiliar.”
In addition to its theatrical run at Inner-City Arts, “Realm of the River” will be performed at the California Institution for Women (CIW). The Roots and Wings Project has conducted writing programs in women’s prisons for the past eight years. Bliss views the CIW presentation as part of a larger conversation about women, violence and the ways society responds to abuse.
“This work is important to me,” Bliss stated. “When I go into the prisons, that work to me is deeply healing. I’m learning from them, and it’s a constant reminder of the depth of the work that exists that we don’t always access in our professional work. It reminds me why it’s so important to keep creating because there’s so many women that don’t have their basic needs met, and they definitely don’t have opportunities to tell their story.”
Bliss has a direct connection to prison. At the age of 16, her boyfriend ended up in federal prison. She would visit him and talk on the phone and write him letters daily.
“That was what planted the seed,” she said. “I didn’t know how that would impact my life as an artist until 2003. There was an opportunity to facilitate a playwriting program at a youth prison in Hillcrest Juvenile Hall. I became unraveled because the girl I was mentoring had survived sexual abuse. We didn’t say a word about it to each other, and it all came out in her play. It was healing for her to write about what she had endured and have actors perform her script. It awakened in me how that experience with prison had really shaped my life in such a big way.”
Lucky for Bliss, a girl from Phoenix who created and acted out scenes in her bedroom starting at age 6 and wrote and directed her first play at age 11, the performing arts is now her playground, office and spiritual center. Organizations such as LA County Department of Arts and Culture, California Arts Council and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have seen the value and provide funding for her work.
“It’s been life-saving for me,” said Bliss. “I’m driven by the work. It’s a fire that has burned in me since my earliest memories. I’ve always had this feeling that life is really short. I always have this feeling that there’s not a lot of time.”
“My daughter motivates me,” she continued. “She’s a better version of me. She’s also compelled by the theater and to me that’s indicative that it must be something in the blood.”
Opening night of “Realm of the River” will begin with a special pre-show vinyl DJ set presented in collaboration with The Artform Studio. Sherry Younge and Patchouli Nomad — both members of The Artform Studio — will begin their set when doors open at 7 p.m.