Keeping the Faith: Preparing for The Golden Hour

"The Golden Hour," in medical terms, refers to the first sixty minutes after a major accident occurs, where the victim's chances of survival are greatest if you can get emergency assistance within that time frame. For Phil Chung, the writer of Lodestone Theatre's newest play of the same title, this idea serves as a metaphor for what his characters are experiencing: the period in your life where you make that choice -- what are you going to rely on in order to deal with difficulties you're faced with, and how will you allow it to define your life?

The story is about Laura (Linda Shing), an attorney, who, on the surface, has a normal, nicely-molded, well-carved life. It isn't until she experiences a near-death car crash that her world falls apart and her sense of confusion is brought to the surface, spriraling her into a frantic search for meaning. She flips out on her fiance (Ryun Yu); she becomes obsessed about finding a woman (Saachiko) who she had envisioned praying for her on the site of her accident; she evaluates her relationship with her slacker younger sister (Rachel Morihiro); and she revisits a friendship with a reverend (Eddie Shin) while looking for spiritual guidance. The play essentially is a character piece that examines the different ways that all the characters deal with their personal strifes.

Eddie Shin, Linda Shing, and Saachiko.

"It addresses a lot of big questions," says Eddie Shin. "For example, how does your central belief system informs suffering? There are some people who will say, 'Times are hard because the world sucks.' There are some people who will say that their problems are actually gifts, to help them sculpt their character and become the person they want to be. Basically the idea is: Why is this happening to me, and how does my faith inform how I interpret that?"

"What the story raises for me," says director Jeff Liu, "is the issue of connection in the modern urban world. We have all this comfort, material things, and yet people are as unhappy or more unhappy than they were before. I think the play is about this existential despair that everyone, if they really think about it, understands."

The play is timely, because it addresses people's struggles to find something to believe in when we're surrounded by so much suffering in the world. "After 9/11," says Chung, "There seems to be more people searching, questioning what their place is in the world. Life just seems more fragile; things don't feel as secure as they did before."

It was something that Linda Shing, who coincidentally in her real life has also been in some serious car accidents, really related to. "That whole adage: Everything happens for a reason. That can drive me crazy," says Shing. "Because I'll want to make it true, but sometimes it's hard to see what could possibly be good about something really terrible that happens. But you find things. And, it makes you question. Is this really the path I'm meant to be on? 'It seems like the yellow brick road, but for some reason it doesn't feel right inside.' I can definitely relate to a lot of aspects of Laura's journey."

Despite the seriousness of the topics, Liu insists it's a passionately optimistic play. "The world is full of bad news and sufferiing," he says, "but it's about how you fight towards something that is meaningful and fulfilling to you. And the play doesn't come down on one side or another."

Ryun Yu and Linda Shing.

One thing Phil Chung really wanted to do was to write about the Korean American community the way that he remembered it while he was growing up. Because of that, the crew went to great lengths to try to capture the authenticity of Koreatown through certain details -- having a particular blanket or pillow or wall hanging that makes it very familiar. It was important to them to research and consult and soak up the vibes of the Korean American community. "That's one of the reasons the religion aspect is such a big part of the play," Chung says. "I didn't set out to write a Christian play, because I can't honestly say that I'm the best Christian, but if you're dealing with spirituality, and it's set in Koreatown, it just makes sense for it to be about that because most Korean-Americans are Christian."

On that note, Chung emphasizes that he wanted to present something different than what we usually see when we think of religion. In terms of religious images, we tend to get the two extremes. On one hand, we get the super pious Susan-Sarandon-in-Dead-Man-Walking and Mandy-Moore-in-A-Walk-to-Remember characters. Both equally commendable performances -- one for its Oscar worthiness, one for its ability to make our APA editor cry alone in his room -- but both a bit unrelatable for the average heathen. On the flip side, there's the crazy Christian stereotype one gets from being immersed in the blue-state mentality and getting used to people blaming the rigidness of religion for all that is oppressive in the world. Instead, Chung wanted to show spirituality and religion in the way that he felt was truer to his personal experiences -- something less infringing, more laid-back and liberal. And for that, he turned to examples in his real life.

Eddie Shin plays Reverend Dustin Lee, a character that is loosely based on Phil's childhood friend, Jonathan Park, who is a pastor at the United Methodist Church on Wilshire. In the play, and in life, Pastor Park represents a more informal, relatable preacher of religion, with his informal congregations that consist of bands onstage singing hymns. Shin spent a lot of time with Pastor Park, preparing for this role, listening to his sermons, having in-depth conversations.

Growing up in a fairly religious environment himself, Shin related to the community that The Golden Hour is trying to represent. "One of the things I loved about Jonathan's sermons was that he's so accessible, and he makes faith accessible as a byproduct of that. He's not a stodgy old guy who tells you what you should believe, and if you question it, you'll go to Hell -- fire and brimstone and all that. I grew up in a very similar environment, and one of the things that drew me to the project is the idea that doubt is not against faith, but a very intregal part of faith."

Linda Shing and Rachel Morihiro.

But the play about the overarching idea of spirituality acknowledges that not everyone sees religion as their answer. Some of the characters reject the church because it no longer feels truthful. "My character, Caroline, is the 'messed-up' sister," says Rachel Morihiro, "And she doesn't think so much about faith. She's not a church-goer, and she has issues of her own that she has to deal with. She goes to her sister a lot to take care of things for her." Some people find meaning in a secular way -- in the world around you, in their friends and family, in love. Some people find a way to survive; some people aren't so lucky.

"I find it a very very very provocative play," says Shing. "If it gives the audience hope about certain things, or even makes them think about things they haven't quesioned before, then I think that's good."

"If we've all done our jobs right," says Chung. "Hopefully you'll feel more connected to the world around you, from what you've seen onstage. I hope it reflects what people are going through.

"I hope it has this resonance, and maybe it'll make people feel like they're not alone."

The Golden Hour
April 15th - May 21st
Fri - Sat at 8 PM, Sun at 3PM
www.lodestonetheatre.org (http: //www.lodestonetheatre.org)