Paul Rodriguez’ new play is a personal journey for him.

Nobody could ever accuse actor and comedian Paul Rodriguez of pulling punches or holding back on his opinions.

He is known for his uncompromising standup comedy and has appeared in over 60 film, TV and theater productions, including the sitcom, a.k.a Pablo, and The Odd Couple at the Lyceum Theatre with TV and film star Mike Gomez.

Comedy Central named Rodriguez one of the top 100 comedians of all time.

His new play, The Pitch or How to Pitch a Latino Sitcom that Will Never Air, tackles the issue of why Latinos are now the majority yet still not represented on television.

Rodriguez wrote and stars in this dark comedy that opens at the Lyceum Theatre on Sept. 2. Renowned Mexican actor Armando Silvestre was cast to co-star but fell ill and will sit out the production. Teatro Máscara Mágica’s (TMM) William Virchis directs. TMM is currently in discussions to fill Silvestre’s spot.

Longtime friends Virchis and Rodriguez share a common belief about the play’s central idea. There has been an ongoing struggle for decades for Latino writers and performers to sell their work to studio execs.

For Rodriguez, it is a personal story of pitching ideas for 38 years both successfully and unsuccessfully.

“This play is about what I have learned,” he said. “Hispanics today represent less than 1% of the content of American movies and television.”

Rodriguez said that Latinos onscreen were more numerous back in the ‘70s. “You had Chico and the Man. You had Ricardo Montalban. You had Eric Estrada. There was a presence,” he recounted.

“Now it has been over 30 years and we have less of a presence, and that’s a concern to me. This play is the amalgamation of years of frustration,” Rodriguez said.

Most roles for Hispanic actors appear to be cartel bosses, gangbangers and maids. “Yes, these people exist in society,” he said, “but there are also lawyers, police chiefs, people that are in a charge. We are good enough to portray the characters that Hollywood wants to have, but for some reason it’s never us,” he added.

Both writer and director said part of the problem is that there are no studio execs of Hispanic heritage in the decision-making process, so the executives rely on their own preconceptions.

“It is a serious issue, the racism, the prejudice, the bias that is in the media especially for Latinos,” Virchis said. “Look at what is happening with Donald trump. Racism and prejudice is at its highest. It’s the most popular thing. How can a guy run for president who says the things he continues to say about Latinos?”

Virchis called the problem a “pop culture of sound bites” that have no depth and pit people against each other.

Rodriguez took it further, suggesting, “There must be a concerted effort to exclude us,” and adding, “I can’t think of any other logical reason. There certainly isn’t a good reason for advertisers. There’s no logical reason other than a concerted effort to keep us out.”

He said that two weeks prior to this interview for La Prensa, he read for an upcoming FX television series and was “really conflicted.” He read for the role of a cartel boss. The series is called Snowfall, directed by John Singleton. He didn’t get the job.

“They actually said I didn’t sound Mexican enough,” Rodriguez said. “That’s disgusting to me.”

He joked, “Maybe I’ve been Ecuadorian all my life. I don’t know. And the main cartel bosses are Mexican! I’m from Culiacan. I was born there. I know what an accent is.”

Virchis and Rodriguez expressed hope that the play and its unflinching discussion of the issues will go beyond San Diego. “I think this play can have legs,” Virchis said. “Other people can do this play in other theaters. This is a question about pop culture and the media, the most powerful voice in the history of man.”

The Pitch also finds a possible future in its origins. “Edward James Olmos and I and my son have a deal that we are closing for the actual series that inspired this play,” Rodriguez said. Olmos’ star power and P-Rod (Rodriguez’s son, a skateboarding savant) could also give the series legs.

“Edward was going to do the Lyceum play, but Edward is out saving the world,” he said. “It’s hard to glue him down for a week or so, and my kid is preparing for the X Games, so those guys are unavailable for the next two months.”

Rodriguez and Virchis also agreed that a better future for Latino creators is possible through education and outreach. One of the purposes of the play is to teach, and one scene includes the numbers, the statistics Rodriguez uses to prove his point.

Virchis is a professor at Southwestern College and plans to continue building theater community beyond the play — nurturing young actors, writers, and directors — by bringing mentors like Rodriguez to the classroom for inspiration.

Eventually Rodriguez plans to teach acting to kids, he said, and believes that he cannot do that if he doesn’t act himself. He owns the Laugh Factory franchise in Arizona and plans to teach kids through there.

Rodriguez’s outspoken fearlessness and tenacity could be a factor in the play’s future. Most recently he stirred up controversy by speaking out against illegal immigration with Don Lemon on CNN. The response spread like wildfire and ranged from support to outrage.

“My job is to stir the pot, to start a revolution, to make a noise,” he explained. “I don’t care what they say about me now … that he is this … that he is that. Even my own people, they are the worst detractors.”

Rodriguez said that he “used to play big theaters.” This weekend he’ll be at the Hotel del Coronado “in some basement, and if I keep opening my mouth,” he joked, “I will probably end up in a phone booth, but so be it.”

He said he will go to the grave or retire or whatever comes first happy knowing his conscience is clear. “I did my best,” he said. “I didn’t double talk. I didn’t betray my country, America, and I spoke as I saw the light.”

He said the bigger questions about accessibility and commonality are more important. “Do you see us on television? Are we there? Do we have a right to be there?” And he contends that Latinos “deserve an answer, and we should demand an answer.”
Virchis wants everyone to come to see The Pitch, but especially Latinos, in part, to send a message. “Producers and theater companies say that Latinos don’t go to theater, and that really upsets me because we were born as artists; we come from that tradition,” he said. “We’ve got to show these people that we come into this institution, and we can sit and enjoy live theater and we are not just couch potatoes.”

Tickets are $10, $15 and $25, but if for any reason you can’t afford the ticket, Virchis said to call and you will get in. “We won’t turn you down because you can’t afford the price of the ticket,” he said.

Rodriguez is even more direct and wears his emotions on his sleeve. “I’m asking Latinos to come out to be informed, to be on the inside about why we are on the outside,” he said.

“If they don’t come in,” he added, “then my soul is crushed and I am defeated. I’ve wasted my time. I’m just a fool. I will take this harder than any cancellation that I have ever had. It’s personal.”

He said that if The Pitch does not inspire Latinos to come and take on the issues, at least he wrote it, and it is there for the record.

“I’m confident that in the future, someone somewhere, at some college, will pick up the struggle and say, ‘This dude was talking truth here, but we just didn’t give a shit then.’ That’s the only consolation I’m going to have,” he said.

For tickets and info: http://www.lyceumevents.org/

Tag: paul rodriguez