FALL 2008 - UW-Milwaukee

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F A C U L T Y / S T A F FP R O F I L EMichelle Lopez-RiosBy Matthew James Gutierrez“ If the Raza (the people) will notcome to the theatre, then thetheatre must go to the Raza,” saidLuis Valdez, the father of Chicanotheatre. And that is exactly whatMichelle Lopez-Rios does.Lopez-Rios is an assistant professorof Voice and Speech at UWM, as wellas an established voice within theMilwaukee community. She moved toMilwaukee from Texas after receivingan MFA in Theatre from the Universityof Houston. Lopez-Rios realized thatthe Latina/o voice was very muchabsent from the Milwaukee theatrescene, and recognized the opportunityto broaden it to include the Hispaniccommunity.While attending the University ofSouthern California, where she laterreceived her BFA, Lopez-Rios was castin a stage reading of Zoot Suit by LuisValdez. Though she had discovered herpassion for the theatre as a child, shehad never seen a Latina/o-orientatedplay until she attended USC. Lopez-Rios realized that it had taken far toolong for her to discover a theatricalproduction that reflected her heritage,so she began to utilize her abilitiesand education to help develop suchproductions.While in Houston, Lopez-Riosbegan working with The Royal MexicanPlayers, a theatrical group founded byAlvaro Saar Rios that creates andperforms theatrical productions forand about the Hispanic community.After moving to Milwaukee, Lopez-Rios continues to direct and performas a part of The Royal Mexican Players.In 2007, she and Rios conducted anintensive six-week creative writing andperformance workshop at UWM. Theresult was two performances of NuestraVoz, Nuestra Historia (Our Voice, OurStory) during Hispanic Heritage Month.This production gave performers anoppor tunity to tell influential storiesfrom their lives, and gave thecommunity an opportunity toexperience theatre centered on theLatina/o voice.The Royal Mexican Playersfollowed Nuestra Voz, Nuestra Historiawith Bienvenidos a Milwaukee (Welcometo Milwaukee), a theatrical productionthat showcased stories of differentLatina/o generations and their heritageswithin the Milwaukee community. TheRoyal Mexican Players pieced togetherstories from several communitymembers, focusing on immigrationand how their families eventuallymade Milwaukee their home.Bienvenidos a Milwaukee wasproduced by the Milwaukee Repertoryand the United Community Center(Centro de la Comunidad Unida), anorganization that provides education,cultural arts, recreation, communitydevelopment, and health and humanservices to Hispanics and near southside residents. The United CommunityCenter also houses an elementaryschool. Lopez-Rios helps thesechildren hear their voices within thetheatre, and speaks to them about theimportance of their education.In addition to performingBienvenidos a Milwaukee, Lopez-Riosserves the community through herinvolvement with programs such asthe Healthy Girls Initiative andProyecto Salud. These programs helpindividuals cope with abuse, depressionand chronic disease, and provideaccess to health insurance and otherbeneficial infor ma tion that teachesthem how to live healthier lives.Lopez-Rios continues to establishherself within UWM and the largercommunity. She is currently developinga new course, which will begin in the2009-10 school year, entitled, “Theatrein the Americas: Latin America,Caribbean, and U.S. Latina/o Drama.”Lopez-Rios will be directing Arms andthe Man in the UWM MainstageTheatre this semester and can be seenin the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’sproduction of Brooklyn Boy in thespring of 2009.While Lopez-Rios continues toteach and develop theatre in aneducational setting, she also understandsthe importance of showcasingtheatrical productions for the community.Following Luis Valdez’s advice, sheis taking the theatre to the Raza.22 Fall 2008/Myriad
F A C U L T Y / S T A F FP R O F I L ELinda WalkerBy Marla HyderWhile she was growing up inMemphis, Tennessee, LindaWalker’s parents and teachersinstilled in her the value of educationand encouraged her to become adoctor or a teacher. “A lot of AfricanAmerican parents, especially in theSouth, pushed these careers,” sheremembers, “because there wouldalways be jobs available.”Walker absorbed the lesson abouteducation but found that when shearrived at UWM as a freshman, neithermedicine nor classroom teachingappealed to her. “I knew I wanted tobe in a helping profession,” she says,“but I soon learned that every professionhelps. The big question was, ‘How doI want to help?’”So Walker visited the CareerDevelopment Center (CDC). As thecounselors asked her questions abouther interests, values, and skills inorder to help her discern what shewanted to do with her life, she thought,“This is what I want to do!” She beganworking at the CDC first as a programassistant and then as a career counselor.After graduating with a BA in Africologyand Sociology and beginning a Master’sin Community Counseling, she becamea senior advisor. Now she does teach,as her parents long ago suggested, butshe does so as a supportive mentorand coach — teaching students howto con duct a job search, researchmajors, and explore the myriadoptions stretching out before them.Walker knows the importance ofsupport. She considers herself verylucky to have been raised in an AfricanAmerican community in the South,where the neighbors and teacherslooked after her like second parents.“There was a sense of belonging,” shesays. “People cared; people wanted tohelp. The community was family.”Running like a thread through all thepeople surrounding young Walker —parents, teachers, neighbors — wasthe belief that “knowledge is the keyto pursuing and obtaining your careeraspirations.”When Walker was a teenager, herfamily left their Memphis communityfor Milwaukee, where her father coulddo the same job for better pay. “Whenwe moved here,” recalls Walker, “wewere hoping to have the same senseof community. It was the unknown,moving up north.” As it turned out,the family ended up in an all-whiteneighborhood, which was “quite aculture shock for us and quite anadjustment. Unfortunately, they hadsome preconceived notions of theAfrican American family. We didn’tfeel we were in harm’s way, but theywere never very sociable with us. Theypretty much just watched me and myfamily interact with each other.”What the neighbors saw as theywatched were “good people with valuesjust like theirs,” Walker explains. “Weweren’t the Waltons, but they couldsee that my parents raised us withgood values. We said ‘hello’ when theneighbors walked past; we showedrespect even though they did not showrespect toward us.” Slowly, the neighborsbegan opening up their homes andhearts to the family, and some evenapologized for the way they had acted— not allowing their children to playwith Walker and her siblings, forexample. Walker’s mother started aneighborhood watch club and wasvoted president.During high school, Walkerattended a summer youth programthrough MPS, where she was exposedto different careers. She was particularlyinfluenced by three African Americanwomen who had degrees in businessand worked as managers. Thesementors encouraged Walker to go tocollege and pursue a career in whichshe could reach her full potential,while helping others reach theirs.Now Linda Walker and the otherCDC counselors are creating forUWM students the kind of communitythat supported Walker and shaped herlife’s direction. “It really does take avillage,” she says.Visit the Career Development Center atwww.uwm.edu/dept/cdc or stop byMellencamp 128 for assistance withchoosing a major and planning yourcareer.Fall 2008/Myriad 23
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