the
Courtyard
A
weekly one-hour radio "Dramedy" set under a gazebo in a courtyard
of a verdant residential complex comprising several bungalow-styled
cottages in Arcadia, California. Most of the tenants,
having just emigrated from various countries of the world,
bring their cultural and religious beliefs/biases into the
mix, which often times turn hilarious and other times dramatic.
As the
characters interact with one another, their provincial accents
still intact, the audience is allowed to eavesdrop on their
conversations and witness the absurdity of their conflicts,
while being exposed to a cacophony of international mindset
and thus gaining an understanding of the characters' worldviews.
For
example, the arrival of a new tenant, a Muslim from Pakistan
creates sparks when it is discovered that his next-door neighbor
is a Hindu from Punjab. But all is not lost as other tenants
of The Courtyard pitch in to resolve the age-old
conflict between India and Pakistan.
The hour-long program is split into two: the first 1/2 hour will be the dramatization while the second 1/2 hour will be a listener call-in session. It is anticipated that the listeners, through the Q&A session with the writer/producer and others, will be able to create a lively and instructive dialogue about the subject matter of the program, as well as offer suggestions for future programs.
Welcome
to the real world – EFH (Extended Family of Humanity).
Not UNO.
Archive
PRODUCED BY: LABALABA REDIFUSSION THEATER
www.labalabamedia.com
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/WRITER: DEBO KOTUN
(626) 294-0990; fax: (626) 294-0626
email: ijamba@aol.com
RECORDED AT: KPFK RADIO STATION, LOS ANGELES
3729 Cahuenga Blvd., West :
North Hollywood , CA 91601
(818) 985-2711
Eva Georgia -- General Manager
Armando Gudino -- Program Director
Nate Scott -- Operations Director
RECORDING ENGINEER (9/2003 – 1/2004) MARK TORRES
RECORDING ENGINEER (4/2004 to date) ZUBERI FIELDS
ARCHIVE:
Episode 1 – INDIAN-PAKISTANI CONFLICT -- The arrival of a new tenant, a Muslim from Pakistan creates sparks when it is discovered that his next-door neighbor is a Hindu from Punjab . But all is almost not lost as other tenants of The Courtyard attempt to resolve the age-old conflict between India and Pakistan . Is this f-o-r-b-a-c-k-y ? Forba--what? Tune in to find out.
Episode 2 – HOMELAND SECURITY -- Ahmed Wadalawala , a mid-30's Pakistani man, got arrested by B.I.C.E (formerly I.N.S.) and Homeland Security agents for the crime of “fitting the profile.” With special appearance by Dr. James Ragan, world-famous poet and director of the Masters of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California .
Episode 3 – THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT -- Haleila , a young 16-year old Israeli girl opens her heart and tells the story of how her mother was killed by a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv to Leroy Jefferson, a 17-year old African American boy who recently joined The Nation of Islam. His new name is Malcolm Y. And Moshe, Haleila's father threatens to break open the door of hell when his daughter runs out of Malcolm's cottage, crying. Ade, the Nigerian-born manager of the complex, attempts to douse the fire.
Episode 4 – COMFORT GIRL -- A potluck banquet at the Courtyard, with sumptuous exotic cuisines from different parts of the world, is abruptly interrupted by Mrs . Kim 's personal tragic story about how she was forced to become a Comfort Girl by her Japanese captors during WW II. But there's a twist as Tanaka, narrates the story of his Japanese side of the same coin.
Episode 5 – FIRE DISASTER -- The recent fire outbreak in the Southland, spreading from San Diego to Santa Barbara , is the backdrop for this episode. Tenants are hurriedly evacuated from their apartments in the dead of night and taken to a public shelter wherein all hell breaks lose. With special appearance by Professor Ngugi Wa Thiong'O, world-famous, Kenyan-born novelist, political activist, and director of The Center for Writing and Translation at the University of California at Irvine .
Episode 6 – ALZHEIMER'S – 80-something African American, Mr. Jefferson, is missing. Everyone close to him is worried, but not Yvonne, his Ebonics-speaking daughter. Yvonne is eventually forced to shed the air of denial and accept the fact that her father has the debilitating and hereditary Alzheimer's disease.
Episode 7 – GANG VIOLENCE – Some kids at the Courtyard decide to feed the homeless this coming Christmas holidays. William, a Chinese boy who graduated from Arcadia High School a few years back, advises Malcolm, the African American Muslim boy, not to go to school the next day. “Why, you know something I don't know?” Malcolm asks. “Yes, but I can't tell you the details,” William replies. Malcolm goes to school anyway and a black low-rider cruises by and a hail of gunfire erupts. Four students are shot dead and Malcolm takes a couple of bullets in his lower back, paralyzing him.
Episode 8 – DEATH OF VUYO – Vuyo, a Xhosa-speaking, seventeen-year old South African boy is one of the four kids killed in front of the school when gang-bangers opened fire. Families gather at the courtyard for a night vigil and various religious prayers are offered, including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Native American, etc. With special appearance by Christine Maggiore, author of “ What if Everything you thought you knew about AIDS was wrong.”
Episode 9 – TEENAGE PREGNANCY/FLU – Jacqueline, the beautiful French wife of Ahmed Wadalawala, is in a state of panic. Her four-year old daughter's temperature is dangerously high. Dr. Ola urged Jacqueline to call 911 and get the baby to the hospital right away. “Please, don't let my baby die again—“ Jacqueline wails. “Again, I thought Nargis is your first and only child?” Dr. Ola asks, confused. And Jacqueline has to share her secret with the Nigerian-born pediatrician. With special appearance by Dr. Ola Olambiwonnu, a renown pediatrician in Los Angeles .
Episode 10 – HOMELESSNESS – A middle-aged homeless man persuaded Ade, the manager, to allow him to stay temporarily in a vacant shed at the Courtyard. Soon after, some of the teenage residents befriend him just before the police arrive at the complex for an unrelated case. The man is accosted by one of the officers and a fracas ensued, resulting in the homeless man getting shot in the back by the officer.
Episode 11 – DOMESTIC VIOLENCE – Upon return from a date, Lijia, the Mexicana resident at the courtyard, is beaten mercilessly by her boyfriend. Ade came to the rescue only to be told by Lijia to leave her alone, “I'm okay, Ade,” she says. “One of these days, this nincompoop is going to kill you,” Ade warns before exiting the cottage. Prathima, a Bollywood actress, enters and the two ladies share their secrets.
Episode 12 – HOMELESSNESS SEQUEL – The homeless man shot at the Courtyard in the previous episode is recuperating at the hospital. The teenagers from the complex come to visit and it is revealed that the officer that shot the man is going to be prosecuted.
Episode 13 – LOCAL JUSTICE SYSTEM – Even though Malcolm is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of being shot in the back by gang-bangers in front of his High School, he is now in court accused of being a gang-member responsible for the shooting. Yvonne, his mother and also an attorney, is defending him. “Your honor, the only reason my son is here is because he is black,” Yvonne pleads to the judge to no avail until a surprise witness comes to the rescue.
Episode 14 – KASHMIR – Habba, the mother of two missing young boys, is visiting from Kashmir to bring her plight and those of other mothers and wives like hers to the attention of the rest of the world. In the middle of the night, she gets a phone call from a security officer in Srinagar . “If you go ahead with your mission to malign our government with your story, your younger son will be executed,” the ominous voice of the security officer threatened.
Episode 15 – PALESTINE – Omar, the sixteen-year old Palestinian resident of the Courtyard is forced by Malcolm to narrate the heart-wrenching story of how the Israeli Army bulldozed his house in the West Bank , killing his father and ten-year old deaf sister in the rubble.
Episode 16 – KIDS' ROW – “Why don't we do something really big this year to help those less fortunate than us?” one the teenagers at the Courtyard asks. “Like what?” asks another. Various ideas are proposed until, “Hey, how about we start our own radio station right here in the Courtyard?” An idea that leads the teenagers from the Courtyard on an exploratory visit to KPFK Radio station is born. With special appearance by M.T. Khartik, Sonali Kolhatka, and Brian Deshouza.
Episode 17 – ADOPTION – June, a Russian émigré and social worker, visits May, one of her case loads. “Why did you sell your baby in Russia ?” May asks. “That is none of your business—Oh, my God! What are you doing with a gun? Put it down, please! I . . .I was young and naïve--” June begs. “You sold your poor baby! Do you ever wonder what happened to her?” May demands. “Sometimes I—” June starts. “I never stop wondering about my mother in Russia . . .” May says, crying.
Episode 18 – KASHMIR SEQUEL – Habba is torn between saving her son from imminent execution by the authority in Kashmir by returning home immediately, and saving the lives of many “forced disappearance” by exposing the atrocities committed by the occupying regime in Kashmir to the world.
Episode 19 – CARDIAC ARREST – Poor old Mr. Jefferson just had a heart attack. Fortunately, Ade is around to give C.P.R. with the help of Omar. At the hospital, the intervention cardiologist explains the diagnosis and subsequent prognosis to Yvonne.
Episode 20 – ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT – A two-hour special episode in collaboration with Don Bustany, host of Middle East In Focus. Guests included Dr. Maher Hathout of the Islamic Center of Southern California, Gary Ratner of the American Jewish Congress, Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, a Palestinian, and Oree Muratov, an Israeli Jew. What a show!
Dear Mr. Kotun:
”Bravo! Congratulations to you and the cast of the Courtyard/Middle East In Focus. I listened to the special program last night in San Bernardino . . .” Funmi.
Don,
”Today's two-hour Middle East in Focus plus weekend program was wonderful. I wondered who had influenced Gary Ratner during his life, and how he had come to see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the dismal way he does. I was greatly impressed by Layla, particularly the clarity of her summaries. People like her give me hope . . . “ Dr. Jerrod Cohen
Episode 21 – 2004 ELECTION – Hilarious yet frightening! A dark political satire about the coming election! Muscleman Arnold, the Governor-sound-alike, Bushwald, who sounds like a pathetic Ross Perot, Husni, the Arab stand-in for Hosni Mubarak, and Strumper, who likens himself to Donald Trump slug it out with Ade, an incurable Democrat, and Moshe, a card-carrying ACLU member.
Episode 22 – AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY – Another special episode in collaboration with Don Bustany of Middle East In Focus. The two-hour special starts with the dramatization of how Multi-National Corporation and Military-Industrial Complex overwhelmingly influence American Foreign Policy. Guests include Ambassador Joe Wilson, Dr. Nadav Morag, who stands in for the Israeli Consul General in Los Angeles , and Dr. Muhammed Ibrahim, a professor at Cal State , Pomona . Riveting!
Episode 23 – RELIGIOUS CONFLICT – Newly arrived émigré from Nigeria turn their cottage into an Evangelical Church on Sundays. Across from them lives Babalawo, an African American, who leads members of his faith in a weekly celebration of Ifa, the old Yoruba religion that was brought to the new World by slaves from the West African nation of Nigeria . All hell breaks loose when the two parties come face to face smack in the middle of the Courtyard.
Episode 24 – “419” NIGERIAN SCAM LETTER – Wealthy but greedy Strumper, owner of the Courtyard, rejects Ade's advice and takes a trip to Nigeria in response to a letter that promises him a bounty if he participates in a scam against the government of Nigeria. Upon arrival in Lagos , his “business partners” take him to a nearby hotel where they shoot him in the butt and take off with one hundred thousand dollars he brought for the deal.
Episode 25 – PSYCHOTHERAPY – Brian Smith, a Britton and commercial pilot, is dead tired upon arrival home from one of his flights to the East Coast. Fabiana, his Spanish wife, doesn't think so! “I haven't slept since you left,” she says. “Why not?” he asks angrily. “Because I just discovered that you are having an affair,” she flares. But just before hell breaks loose, they decide to visit Dr. Nita Vallen, their psychotherapist. With Special appearance by Dr. Nita Vallen. |
