S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show , a preview of this weekend's KPBS book festival , plus improv con and your weekend preview. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. In many Latinx households , the meaning of La la or the Flip-Flop is well known. It's that iconic cultural symbol of parental punishment. But as adults , many of those who grew up under the threat of La la now see it as something to laugh about. Here's comedian Marcelo Hernandez with Colin Jost on SNL's Weekend Update.
S2: All I know is , if I am the president , every mother gonna get one translator.
S3: And what is the translator? Jose?
S2: And what is the chant? Jose. It's the sound of calling.
S3: And what is the mother going to do with one sandal?
S2: You never know. That's the scary part. Sometimes they don't even have to use it. They just show it , send a message , and they put it away. What do you say to me? That's what I thought.
S1: It is indeed a warning system for sure. But while laughing about la , la certainly brings people together. My next guest questions whether la la , whether chunk la culture rather is something we should really take more seriously. Leslie Priscila is the founder of Latinx Parenting , a bilingual organization organization that promotes trauma informed parenting. Her new book is called LA Healing Our Families , Ourselves and Our Culture Through Nonviolent Parenting , and Leslie will be a featured author at the KPBS San Diego Book Festival this Saturday. She joins me now to talk about her book , Welcome to Midday Edition.
S4: Thank you so much for having me.
S1: Really glad to have you here. Um , listen , this book , it builds on your work as a parent educator through Latinx parenting. Um , which I do. I follow a lot of good information there. It's a great resource. So I want to commend you on that. Um , what patterns were you noticing that really made you want to write this book?
S4: Thank you for this question. So I've been a parenting coach and educator for the last about 17 years now , and the majority of my work has been with Latino parents. Spanish speaking groups of parents , mostly mothers , are the ones that attended. And so what I noticed was that every time that I would have a group of Spanish speaking parents that looked like my family , I grew up in a Mexican family. And so we very much joked about la la , just like we heard. and but what was consistent was that we would always see this as the go to when I would ask about discipline. So I would ask a group of parents what is discipline in our families? And they would always say Le Chant Clan. So I found it very interesting because it was seen as this emblem of discipline or correcting children that I didn't find in the other demographics that I was working in , and it definitely resonated with me. But I started to kind of , you know , just think about the ways that it was important to us. And at the same time , I would notice that when I would watch videos of of Le Chant or memes online , the adults were laughing , but the children weren't laughing. And so I wanted to explore that further , really get into where LA came from , the needs that it needs for parents , and the effects of Lacan and other similar means on children. That's.
S1: That's. Yeah , that that is the big question. How does that impact children? Um , before we dig into that , I mean , how did your own upbringing help shape your perspective here when writing this book.
S4: So , so much of the book is actually a personal narrative of the relationship that I've had with my mom in particular. So I'm a child of two Mexican immigrants. My mom came here very early when she was 14 years old. She didn't really have much of an adolescence , and so a lot of her parenting was survival based. She didn't have a lot of tools in the way of emotional intelligence and things like that. So I resented it for a long time. I really didn't really know , you know , what to do with that , especially when I became a parent. And so what I started learning was about context and about really understanding the ways that parents , like my mom , have had to use whatever tools were at their disposal to survive. And so she was very afraid of the ways that I would be perceived , because it was representative of the way that she would be perceived. In Spanish we have this term that is Margarita. And so Margarita or Machado literally translates to poorly raised. And so we have this very close connection to a child's behavior and the perception of that behavior by others to the way that the parent is raising that child. So it's a direct reflection of the dynamics in that home. And so if you have a child who is not or a well-behaved child , then that reflects well on the parent. And I certainly felt that with my mom now , my mom didn't use lasagna on me , but she definitely used other mean means of discipline. And so in the book , I write about the ways that there are other kinds of classes or those that exist , just the way that all violence is seen in different ways. So we have verbal junk potatoes , we have emotional junk videos , we have internalized junk that vessels as well , in the ways that we kind of continue to shame ourselves or just diminish our value in certain ways. And so I think that so much of the book , yes , is very much rooted in my own story and what I witnessed in my family and in what I witnessed in other families that are so similar to mine.
S1: And you write about how parenting behaviors can be inherited , inherited in a in a world really fueled by colonization and displacement. Help us understand that context. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. Thank you so much for mentioning that. So as I dug deeper in the research , I really started to understand the ways that these means of discipline have been adaptations from very stressful situations that our families have been put through for the last 500 years. And so chapter two really kind of digs into the ways that a lot of the systems that were adapted into our families , not just the power over discipline systems over children , but things like white supremacy , patriarchy , individualism , and harmful religious dogmas have kind of become a part of our families. But the main word here is adaptation. So the ways that we've had to survive , I think about , you know , like the caste system in Mexico that really prioritized lighter skinned people. That's still very much if affects darker skinned people to this day. Those are the kinds of things that we start seeing parents channel to their children , but it's always done in order to ensure that the child gets a chance at the best outcome. Right. And so we have parents that tell their children not to be in the sun too much. We have parents that tell their child to marry into lighter skinned family. So they have lighter skinned children , and I certainly was not exempt from that. And so I want to expand the conversation to not just , you know , understanding the ways that the discipline is impacting our children , but also the the messaging and the the values and the ways that those adaptations have kind of come into our families and continue.
S1: Everything you're saying echoes through so many cultures. Um , right. Yeah. How do emotions like , uh , like guilt and shame work in tandem with this sort of intergenerational Trauma.
S4: Thank you. I. I see a lot of guilt and shame in our in our parents. I , you know , I try to , in my work , move us away from feeling like we are bad in general. I think so much of the shame that we've carried begins in our childhood , either feeling like we are not enough or feeling like we are bad. If we engage in certain behaviors that are really normal childhood behaviors. And so what I find in my work when I'm working with a group of Spanish speaking parents is that it doesn't serve us really , to add on that shame , to say , oh , you use la la , and therefore you're a bad parent or you're harming your children. And so I want to approach these conversations with all of the compassion , the understanding , the invitation to think about our context , to recognize that as one of my teachers , Ruth Biegel , who always taught me , she would say behavior as a strategy to meet a need. And so I see it in that way. And we don't necessarily need to attach guilt , shame to that guilt. I think as a parent , I'm a mother of four. Um. It's natural. Right? We do something that we said we wouldn't do , or we call our children a name , or we maybe use a harsher tone of voice than we had planned when we saw this little angel first born. But it also doesn't serve our children. So I think the more that we can recognize that , yes , we're going to feel that guilt , and there's going to be times where we mess up and that's okay. That's all a part of the process. And it really just depends on how we repair that and how we how do we recover from that and how do we reconnect to our children.
S1: Earlier we sort of we we mentioned , you know , humor in this conversation. Is that one of the things you think that sort of helps get folks to that place where they can lift the guilt of this intergenerational trauma up off their shoulders? Definitely.
S4: Definitely. I think humor has been used for so long for us to cope with those things. There's a saying in Spanish that says , I'd rather laugh about it than cry about it. And so I think that even as you were playing the Marcelo clip , I'm laughing along and I think that it really has been something for me that I connected with from very early on. You know , I would watch full House and these kinds of dynamics that I would see in other kinds of families , and I would say I don't relate to that. So when I would start to watch these comedians like Marcello , like George Lopez , and they would talk about Latino parenting and I would just feel seen , I would feel the relatability of that. And so in the book , I talk about the needs that that meets for us as a people. Right? We we see ourselves in these stories. And also it can't be the only thing that connects us , and it also can't stay there. The conversation must get deeper , right? We have to understand the ways that that has been an adaptation. Um , humor is always welcome , but it can't be at the expense of our children. And so I want us to really walk through the store to think about the ways that we can still be connected without laughing. You know , at La la , to the point where it becomes the normalization of this power over behavior , I think we can still make fun of ourselves. We can still have that sense of humor , but we really need to start thinking about our children and preserve their safety. Absolutely.
S1: Absolutely. And to zoom in on this a bit more , how are the themes you explore in this book heightened by the current political moment?
S4: I think right now what we're seeing is that people are feeling a fear that I don't think is unfamiliar. I think that many people in our families , Latino families specifically , have been afraid of , um , you know , much of the the rhetoric and the consequences of that rhetoric on our families. And so it's causing a lot of people , at least in my community , to feel like we are not safe enough to go out. And that stress , I think , especially for parents , that the stress of not being able to go out , the stress of not being able to just be and exist in this country in a way where we know that we will definitely be able to come home and be safe. I think that that stress will trickle. And I argue in the book as well that when we are not feeling safe in ourselves as parents , it's going to be very difficult for us to help our children feel safe. And so , so much of my work in the last year , especially since we've seen these attacks on my community , have been about really reassuring the the people that I'm working with and families like mine that we are still valuable , that these , you know , this rhetoric and these attacks on our community are based on a lie that we are not worthy. And so I think that that's one of the main things is that I'm not seeing this , this book or this conversation as an individual parent to child , you know , redoing or reframing of this dynamic at that individual level or interpersonal level between parent and child. But I do see it as this larger call and invitation for us to preserve our value and to ensure that we we know that we , um , you know , are becoming the majority or one of the majority demographics. And and I want to celebrate that. And so the book very much is also a celebration. It's a little bit of a critique about our parenting practices , but it is a celebration of who we are and our resilience and the resistance that I think a lot of us are embodying right now.
S1: So much of that , um , you know , disciplinary culture is , um , from colonization and survival , uh , from , from that. How can people begin to decolonize behaviors with within the household?
S4: I think one of the most important things is to really question the narratives that we hold about ourselves. And so I had mentioned earlier that my my framework is really around needs. Um , and so I want to ensure that people are challenging within ourselves these needs , that we are not valuable. Um , one of the things that I recommend to people is to begin a parenting practice and process. And again , this is a collectivist framework. This is not an individualist framework where it's just you and you. Um , but really , I think that as we start to investigate what some of these narratives are , if I believe in myself that I am unworthy , if I believe in myself , that I am , you know , ugly or stupid or whatever that belief is , that is not ultimately going to be what our children need to hear , right? That's not ultimately going to be what is going to heal our lineage , as I say. So I really want us to be able to center that child version of ourselves and to correct that messaging within ourselves. So if I grew up being told I was lazy or stupid , I need to replace that with reminding myself that I'm actually beautiful , that I'm brilliant , that I that I might have had challenges. Right? I grew up with ADHD. I didn't know I had ADHD until I was 35 years old. Um , but for that entire time I was told that I was I was a procrastinator , right? I was lazy and all of these things. And so it wasn't until I really started reconnecting with that child version of myself that I saw that she was really just trying to meet her needs. She was trying to be understood , she was trying to be seen. And so in engaging with that child version of myself , I've been able to extend that compassion back to her that she always needed and not depend necessarily so much on adults that are not to this day able to give me that. So I really want people to start reconnecting to that version of themselves , to honor it , to also reframe their idea of discipline with this , because so much of discipline is conflated with punishment , and discipline doesn't have to be punishment , right? We have to really start thinking about discipline as a way to to be aligned with our values , to be aligned with the things that we want for ourselves and our children.
S1: Very necessary. I look forward to your conversation this weekend. I've been speaking with Leslie Priscilla. She's the author of Chocola Healing Our Families , Ourselves and Our Culture Through Nonviolent Parenting. She'll be a featured author at the KPBS San Diego Book Festival this Saturday. It's free and open to the public at the University of San Diego. Details can be found on our website at KPBS. Leslie , thank you so much.
S4: Thank you.
S1: Still to come. A preview of Improv Con KPBS midday edition returns after the break. Welcome back to Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman in prov con is a new convention devoted entirely to improvisational theater in all its forms. It's a four day event bringing together performers , educators and theater lovers from across the country. You can take workshops now on improv and music , Shakespeare or role playing games. And there's also panels on turning improv into a business or using it to improve brain health. KPBS Arts reporter Beth Accomando sits down with the founder and a pair of improvisers to talk about what improv is and what you can expect from the convention.
S5: Improv con starts today , and we are going to be speaking with the founder and executive director , Chris Colthurst , and also some local improv people , Jackie Bergstein from Mockingbird Improv and Brandon Henson's from Final City Improv. But to start. Chris , what can people expect from Improv Con?
S6: They could expect to have a great time. We're going to have some wonderful performances from some of the world's best improvisers. Plus , if they want to , they can take an additional step and do some free workshops and learn more from panels. But overall , they're going to have a joyous time with other people who are celebrating this wonderful art form of improvisational theater. So a lot of great comedy , a lot of great dramatic performances , and just some of the world's best performers are going to be here in San Diego for the next four days.
S5: So this is as long as Comic-Con. Where is this taking place and what kind of a schedule is there going to be? Yeah.
S6: Yeah. So this is happening at the Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley. Most days we're going to they'll have workshops that start at 8 a.m. and we'll have a mixture of workshops , panels and performances so you can choose your own adventure just like you do at Comic-Con. You can choose to watch some shows , you can listen to some panels , and you can step in and take some workshops and do some beginning improv workshops. Or if you've done improv before , there's advanced workshops that have specific things with music or dramatic or clowning that all you can do it. We also have workshops that talk about applied improv. So if you're an educator , we have some workshops about how to use improv in your classroom to help your students be better writers or to make you a better teacher.
S5: So I think there is sometimes confusion as to the difference between improv and standup. But how do you define improv? Yeah.
S6: Yeah. So this is the convention for improvisational theater , and the idea that improv is being in the moment and being spontaneous with your decisions versus it being pre-written or pre-planned. You're making things up in the moment , and you're working with other people most of the time to collaborate and create something that's never been done before and probably will never be done before or afterwards. Sometimes people do use it as a basis for sketch , so Saturday Night Live , a lot of improv will happen before sketches are written. But really , this is all about that spontaneity and that joy in the moment.
S5: Part of what improv is about is this sense of collaborating with the people that you are working with on an improv , which is one reason why sometimes there's corporate development programs for improv. So talk about some of the things beyond just like being a performer , how can improv be applied , like outside of that kind of performance realm. Right.
S6: Right. So , you know , the fundamentals of improv are kind of being in agreement. Trying to make your scene partners look better , and those types of listening skills and being present in the moment skills really help with corporates. And they help with family dynamics as well. So you have people who take those skills and use it in a corporate environment or a therapeutic environment and really focus and listen for people to gain these skills of active listening and being present and making sure that they are in agreement with people. And it's not just this , you know , blanket just , yes , ending thing , which is kind of the stereotypical perception of improv , but it's really how can we work together to create something beautiful , more so than doing it on your own in isolation and being in a mindset of joy and collaboration , which takes listening , understanding , empathy , and kind of this just overall mindset of that we are going to be better because we're doing it in collaboration versus in isolation.
S5: And what was it about improv that first attracted you? What made you want to go into this?
S6: I saw a show up in Los Angeles. There were a group of people who were just having fun on stage. It was a comedy sports show , and they were just being silly and they weren't taking themselves seriously. And I want to be a part of a group like that. That's just they seemed like they were friends. They loved what they were doing. So when I came back to San Diego , I signed up for multiple improv classes with multiple groups , and that was back in 2001.
S5: And Jackie , you're with Mockingbird Improv here in San Diego. What was it that attracted you to improv? Well , I grew up.
S7: A theater kid , so it was a natural segue to try it , but I instantly fell in love because it's just such an incredibly connecting activity , just truly being in the moment with people creating things. They turned into some of my best friends in high school and college and then after. And it just became my entire community.
S5: And , Brandon , you were within a city improv. And what attracted you to this?
S8: Well , like most people , yeah , I just saw a show live in , uh , Bankers Hill. And yeah , I went to see and support some friends who were doing it. And then similar to , you know , Chris , just these people just meet up , have fun together and completely support each other. And I was like , cool. I want to try that because I was a theater kid , but I felt like a theater kid outcast because I just couldn't like seeing or dance or I wasn't like a good. I wasn't good at theater. So I always like , loved it and loved the arts , but never felt connected. And as soon as I , you know , started taking classes and trying this thing out and being part of this community , I felt like , okay , this is a , I don't know , an art form where I can be myself while being someone else , weirdly enough.
S5: And Chris , what made you want to launch an improv con here in San Diego.
S6: Gosh , it was about six years ago. I worked at Comic-Con international. Understanding that as a nonprofit that's existed for over 50 years , and it took what I believe , you know , was this community of people kind of on the outside , people who enjoyed this art form that was kind of thought of as less than it was necessarily true literature or true art. It was this kind of this outsider , and people were enjoying it in isolation. And while improv isn't necessarily at that extreme , there are people out there who make fun of improv. They kind of think of it as not as worthy as other types of theater. I mean , there's popular cultural references , there's progressive TV commercials that poke fun at it , and I wanted to showcase to the world that improv is a foundational theatrical skill , and it has a transformational power associated with it , with people who go through it akin to like Toastmasters or personal growth and development. Improv really allows people to be themselves and find themselves in a community , and I wanted to showcase that power of the art form and the transformational power that it does for individuals. So not everyone who does improv wants to be on Saturday Night Live. Um , there are people who do it just because they want to have more adult friends and they want a community associated with it. So giving it's due within the artistic world , as well as showcasing it to people who do it as kind of this third space where they're doing it for the community and social aspects of it , and showcasing that to that world that. So it's not like thought of as this secondary art form , that it is a very powerful movement that's happening in our society today.
S5: And Jackie and Brennan for you guys. How does it feel to have an improv con here in San Diego and being invited to partake in it?
S7: It's super exciting to have such a big event right here in our little hometown. The San Diego improv scene has been growing quickly , but is still pretty new. I would say it's been like exponentially growing just in the last maybe ten years or so. Um , so we are newer on the scene. So having improv con here , I just think is a great way to put us on the map. Um , we've been getting more and more people coming down from LA in from Chicago , even teaching masterclasses here , and they all come away with a similar reaction of like , wow , the community here is just so friendly and warm and welcoming. So I'm just really excited to have people come experience what we've got going on here.
S8: And it's really nice not to travel , to see some of these people or to take these workshops , because I love San Diego so much. And it's I'm really excited to see some way people I've met on the road or in different cities and kind of show them what I love about San Diego and just the culture and all my San Diego friends as well. So I'm super excited for it. And our San Diego community is as a whole.
S6: And I would say that , like , there are groups like Brandon's part of this group called Jackie , and they do improvisational.
S8: Meets Jackie. Different.
S6: Different. Jackie's a group called Jackie based on Jackie Chan , but he's part of this group and Brandon and his partner Joel in the group. They travel to other cities and they perform , and we have a lot of groups that are doing that now and have kind of credentials across the United States of being top headliners in these festivals that happen. And while this is Improv Con is a convention , um , it's also showcasing San Diego's superpower of great groups. So groups like Jackie and Bell Rev and Radio 47 that are just phenomenal in terms of the artistic value to it. Another one telenovela , which is that mockingbird. They do a Spanish style soap opera in English and it's so fun. The melodramatic ness of it , the stories that they tell. And because it's all improv , these mistakes become these wonderful woven stories together. But I would say that San Diego has earned a spot in the improv community , and this is part of it , is to showcase how great our San Diego improvisers are.
S5: And what would you say for people who go through improv con and decide they enjoy it? What can Finest City and Mockingbird offer people kind of year round that they might be able to engage with?
S8: Well , number one , I think awesome community of people who just support you and yeah , people who support you and want you to get better and want to have fun , like , and hang out and yeah , just like Chris was saying , like improv theaters are their own third space for a lot of people , even if they don't want to see a show or perform. A lot of people come to our theater just to be there to relieve the day from themselves , you know , to have fun with other people , want to have fun. And yeah , I think , uh , you can , you know , throughout Fantasy and Mockingbird , you can , you know , see a bunch of shows throughout the week or take a class outside of Improv Con and , you know , it won't be as busy. So.
S7: Um , but yeah , both theaters have lots of points of entry. I believe we both have intro workshops. That's just like a one time come try it out and then if you like it , you can try the multi-week level one.
S8: It's completely free , by the way , to just to entice you even more.
S7: We really try to lower barriers because we want improv to be an accessible thing for everyone. A lot of people who come into those intro workshops are nervous , and we ask them off the top , who here's a little scared right now , and every hand will go up. And that's one of the amazing things about improv , is that we're all stepping out of our comfort zone together , which is inherently a very bonding activity. So you get a bunch of nervous people together. We've tried to make it as welcoming for them as possible. It's free. It's very friendly. And then by the end of the two ish hours workshop , you have a group of strangers who are now all good friends , and they're talking. And the energy in the room is just amazing. And and that's what draws people in a lot of the time , is just the feeling that they get from doing improv and how good it feels.
S8: It's a feeling of being welcomed and accepted almost immediately , not based on skill or backgrounds , because those , I mean , Jackie can attest , there's so many people from so many different backgrounds like , and everyone's there for probably different reason , you know , whether it's you want to get better at public speaking , get better at their jobs , they're come out of their comfort zones. They really love. And , you know , all whatever reason , it is like improv helps all those reasons , you know , magically through just having a little bit more empathy and learning to be a little bit more humorous in your life. I think that's just a beautiful thing to watch. Like unravel in those two hour courses.
S5: Okay , so I have a group of improvisers here with me , and I'm going to put you on the spot to see what you can do. I don't want to make this too difficult , but I heard that there are some like party games or like kind of exercises. So maybe we start with the horrible gift.
S6: Yeah , let's do it.
S7: We can do that. Brandon , you want to do this exercise with me?
S8: Yeah , we'd love to. Remind me how it goes again. Sure.
S7: Sure. No problem. Um , so I'm going to give Brandon a gift. I'm going to be handing it to him. But I'll also describe it to you since you're listening. And it is just a horrible thing that no one would ever want. And because in improv , we always say yes , we accept gifts and we make the best of whatever's going on. Brandon is going to respond , telling me how much he loves the gift and exactly why. Uh , let's start out with this soggy newspaper from 1992. I got you this , Brandon.
S8: Oh , my gosh , I love it so much. You know how much I love avant garde art from the early 90s. This was a year before I was born. After I was born. This is so treasured. Thank you.
S7: You're welcome. Do you have anything for me?
S8: Oh , of course I have you. I have a gift for you. It is a box of stale beef jerky that tastes like a shoe.
S7: Oh , my gosh , this is amazing. I've been trying to be vegetarian , and I feel like if I eat this , there was no way I will ever eat meat again. Thank you so much.
S8: Any time. Now.
S5: Now. Because improv con and what you guys do too , is about also teaching people what is this exercise kind of working on , or what kind of a skill set are people learning if they engage in this?
S7: So one of the important things here is that neither of us planned that at all. So it keeps you very in the moment. As soon as Brandon is done speaking and telling me what he's handing me. My mouth kind of starts moving as my brain is catching up with it , and that feeling is something that we utilize a lot in. Improv is being really present in the moment , and just kind of letting your imagination and your creativity run wild without judgment. Thought. And that's a really wonderful part of improv , is turning down the judgment part of your brain so that you're not critically thinking like , is this a correct thing? Is this a good thing? You're just letting yourself say something ridiculous and silly.
S8: And also seeing what Jackie gives me and looking at it as a gift. It's not a bad thing. It is a gift. And one of my teachers , Jamie Moyer , she calls a gift. Listening. Don't just always be looking to give a gift. Listen for one as well. And so if I listen to whatever Jackie says as a gift , then it will become that as well. Uh , Beth , would you like a gift , too? Oh. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. Beth , I have something for you here.
S9: Hey , Chris. Yeah.
S6: Yeah. These are , um. These are future charger tickets for 2028 at Jack Murphy Stadium.
S5: 2028 at Jack Murphy. Oh , my. Well , you know , I enjoy football. I enjoy full contact sports. Maybe they will be reanimated corpses coming to play. Because I do love zombies. And I feel like I don't know where the Chargers will be at that time , but.
S9: Yeah , yeah.
S6: That's it.
S9: Improviser and improviser.
S8: See , what Saturday.
S9: Do I do? I get to give you a gift back.
S6: You do.
S9: All right.
S5: In this box you have to be very careful. But if you open it , there is a dead tarantula.
S6: Oh , good. I love dead tarantulas because live tarantulas scare me. But knowing that this one is dead puts me in a better state of mind , because I have certainty that it will not bite and kill me. Plus , I could probably embalm it and make it a nice ring , and I could just wear it around all these KPBS studios and show it off to everybody that I got a gift from Beth , which would just make my day.
S8: Oh , lucky.
S9: I want a gift from Beth.
S6: Sorry we don't have time to play this game anymore.
S5: And , Chris , you mentioned another game , which has to do with movie lines and direction. Can you give us an example or explain what this game is? Yeah.
S6: Yeah. So I'll come up with a line and then the person will need to deliver it. We will just give direction of how we can change that to invoke different reactions from the person. So I'll start with you , jacki , with the initial line , we just need this as a , um , at 50%. Deliver this line. Okay.
S9: Okay.
S6: I am going to buy an apple tomorrow.
S7: I'm going to buy an apple tomorrow in Brandon.
S6: Can you give me that with a little bit more determination?
S8: I am gonna buy an apple tomorrow.
S6: Jackie , can you do that? As someone who might have spoken a pack of cigarettes today?
S10: I'm gonna buy an apple tomorrow.
S6: Brandon , can you give me that as a marvel superhero?
S8: I am gonna buy a apple tomorrow.
S6: And finally , Jackie , can you give me that as a future female president of the United States?
S9: I sure can , Chris. I will buy.
S7: An apple. Tomorrow.
S9: Tomorrow.
S6: And that's the game. Yeah.
S8: She's got my vote.
S5: And , Brandon , I understand that you do kind of improv rap. So here's a favorite phrase of mine. Adapt. Adopt and improve.
S8: Adapt Adopt , improve. Okay. Cool. Cool. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. You know , Beth , there's a bomb right here hanging for improv con. Yeah. You know , she is the best. Yeah , she works at the KPBS. Yeah , she loves to freaking adopt. Yeah. And , you know , I yearn , uh , chicken schooling. You best learn. Oh , yeah. That's a wrap. Now we're gonna freaking adapt , because that's what we do in the improv world. Yeah , I hope this route wasn't too absurd. Woo!
S9: Woo! All right.
S5: And to go. Out.
S9: Out.
S5: Let's try one more of these exercises. This is called the one word at a time.
S6: It's one word at a time. Story or. Yeah , one word at a time. And , uh , we just need a topic of something that we will tell a story about. Beth , do you have a topic? We could do one. We're all going to go around.
S9: Would you like.
S5: To help us raise money for KPBS?
S6: We would love to.
S9: All right.
S5: So let's let's try this.
S7: This morning. Is.
S8: Is. The.
S5: The. Donation.
S6: Donation. Morning.
S9: Morning. For.
S8: For. KPBS.
S5: KPBS. Radio.
S6: Radio. Station.
S9: Station. And for. You.
S6: You. To.
S9: To. Donate.
S8: Donate. Now.
S5: Now.
S8: 500 or. $1000.
S5: $1000. Million.
S9: Million. Will you. Support.
S6: Support. This.
S9: This. Station.
S8: Station. Now?
S5: Now?
S9: Thank you. Love you all.
S8: Oh , it's it's hyphenated. Y'all. Y'all. Yeah.
S6: So that's a pleasant mistake where you made us all laugh. And it was a lot of fun. So thank you for playing with us.
S5: Well , thank you all.
S8: Thank you. Beth.
S9: Thank you all.
S8: She's got. It.
S9: It.
S1: That was improv con founder Chris Colthurst and improvisers Jackie Bergstein and Brandon Hinson , speaking with KPBS Beth Accomando in Provo. Con runs today through Sunday at Town and Country Resort and Convention Center. Still ahead , a look at your weekend arts calendar KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. For our weekend arts preview , we've got all things Book fest , a celebration of Filipino culture , a free punk music festival , and much , much more. Filling in for weekend preview today is KPBS Midday Edition producer Giuliana Domingo. Giuliana. Hey , now.
S5: Hey , thanks for having me , Jade.
S1: Glad to have you here. You're usually behind the scenes producing weekend preview. So how does it feel to be sitting in the chair here?
S5: Yeah , yeah. So usually I'm in the booth producing for our arts reporter and resident weekend.
S11: Preview expert , Julia Dixon Evans. So this is definitely a very big change for me. But you know , Julio is very kind and showing me the ropes. So I'm excited to talk about some very cool arts events with you.
S1: I can't wait to to see and hear what's on your your radar. So I mean , it's finally here , the KPBS Book Festival. It's happening Saturday. What do people need to know? Yes.
S11: Yes. So , as you said , it'll be this Saturday , August 22nd. And just like last year , it'll be at the University of San Diego campus. And you can expect something for readers of all ages , think panel discussions , author signings , even a kids area and a youth reading stage. There will also be an opportunity to meet some PBS kids icons like Clifford Dino , Tiger Arthur , right? Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S11: Hey , I mean , we're all looking forward to it. Right , right. I gotta get my picture with Arthur. Um , and you can also expect plenty of vendors and exhibitors like our local library writers and our beloved , beloved local indie bookstores. And this is personally where I do the most damage financially. I just can't help it spend on books and trinkets and add to my never ending to be read list. So , um , if you're curious about this year's headliners , one of them will be romance novelist duo Christina Lauren. Side note I love their book love , in other words , but they'll be talking about another one , the romance revival , and you'll be actually moderating that panel. Jade.
S1: Looking forward. To.
S11: To. It.
S1: It.
S11: Yeah , yeah. Um , and there will also be other authors like chef Claudette Zepeda , horror erotica author Chuck tingle , and more. Um , so the full programming schedule is live. So if you want to learn more or just figure out some logistical things like how to get there , where to park , etc. , definitely check that out. That'll be on our website and the event itself will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m..
S1: It's going to be really nice , and you can also check the socials out too. Yes , lots of stuff. Lots of good information on on Instagram. So um , and to some live theater. It's closing weekend for the family album at the La Jolla Playhouse. What should we know about that one? Yeah.
S11: Yeah. So the family album had its world premiere last month at the Playhouse , and it follows singer songwriter Mia Bang as she's on the verge of her big breakthrough into the industry. But you know , when she suddenly pulled back to her childhood home , she has to navigate her past and her relationship to her family and more. I haven't gotten the chances yet yet , but from what I've heard , it's just it's been described by a lot of people as very powerful , very moving , and also just really funny. Um , a fun tidbit about the show. Two of its creators , singers milk and A.G. , made a song called quiet that became an overnight anthem during the Women's March in Washington , D.C. , in 2017. So if you are wanting to see the show or you're curious to check it out , your last chance is this Sunday , August 23rd.
S1: All right. There will also be a big celebration of Filipino culture this weekend. What can you tell us about that? Yes.
S11: Yes. So that is the 39th Philippine Cultural Arts Festival , also known as Sama Fest 2026. It's hosted by Samoan , which is a local Filipino performing arts organization here , and you can expect to see plenty of live music , visual art , and even some martial arts demonstrations. And personally , I recommend checking out the Folk Dance Showcase. The dancers there will be accompanied by music ensembles playing the gondolier , which is this traditional plucked string instrument , and the kulintang and the guanxi , which are gongs. And I mean , it wouldn't be a Filipino celebration without lots of good food. So some.
S5: Of us.
S11: Has already been posting on their Instagram with details and hope be there. So if that's something that you want to check out , definitely go there. I have a huge sweet tooth , so you'll find me at the dessert booths trying to get some ube crinkle cookies or some halo halo.
S1: So yeah , sounds like a good time.
S12: I know , I know , I'm gonna be on a.
S11: Sugar high all weekend , so some of us will take place Saturday and Sunday at Boba Park. and more importantly , it's free.
S1: All right. That sounds like a place to be. Let's go out with some live music. What's on your radar there? Yeah.
S11: Yeah. So there'll be a free punk music festival called punk in the Park at Kate Sessions Park in Pacific Beach. The acts include Field Rush , The Basin Nights , Pat mammoth and Rain on Fridays. Here's a song I really like for Man on Fridays. It's called Phony Phobia from their album Death to Affection.
S13: Sometimes I think that it's kind of funny that we live.
S11: So punk at the Park starts at 4 p.m. and will last until sunset , so probably until about 730 ish. They encourage you to bring long chairs or lawn chairs , excuse me , or jump around in the pit for , you know , the three hours that you'll be there. So that'll definitely , definitely be something to check out. And finally , local Americana band Midnight Pine will be doing one last show tomorrow , Friday. The last time that they performed together was in early 2020 , before the pandemic shut everything down. And Julia Dixon Evans , who I mentioned earlier , actually got the chance to speak with them ahead of this On performance , and they'll be doing their 2014 album buried in its entirety as a sort of farewell to the group. This is the song buried from that album.
S14: Thirsty for song. I'm searching for something.
S11: So that'll be at the Music Box in downtown at 7:30 p.m. , and it's guaranteed. Guaranteed to be a great show and probably a little emotional too.
S1: All right , well , you can find details on these and more arts events on our website at pbs.org. I've been speaking with KPBS Midday Edition producer Juliana Domingo Juliana. It was such a pleasure having you in here.
S11: Thank you so much. Have a good weekend , Jade.
S1: You too. Great work. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
