Stevie Taken is probably one of the most unique, energetic and talented people I’ve ever met. I met her at a community event at a local museum in downtown Riverside. She was involved in a conversation about theatre and I joined in because it’s one of my favorite subjects. I immediately realized that her depth of involvement in Riverside’s theatrical world was significant and she was one of the key players. She spoke with passion and authority about different productions that were happening about town. I was struck by her friendliness and her ability to collaborate and draw people to her projects. More importantly, it was evident that she wasn’t out for fame, but for the love of the process and collaboration. She was involved in several projects that required many key players, crossing economic and cultural barriers that usually prevent communities from accessing the world of Art and Theatre.

Currently, Stevie is the artistic director of The Homespun Players in Riverside, California.   With the support of Patrick Brien, executive director of the Riverside Arts Council,  they obtained non-profit status and physical sponsorship from the City of Riverside.   For those who are not familiar with Riverside, it’s a fairly large Inland Empire city. The home of University of California Riverside. Despite it’s accolades for superior educational opportunities, Riverside maintains it’s small town artistic feel. It’s ranked by Forbes as the eighth coolest city in the United States. This has a lot to do with the bevy of creative communities that can be found in Riverside. The original citrus town humbly sits on the banks of the dried up Santa Ana River and the people of Riverside love theatre and almost anything to do with the Arts.  It’s somewhat of an oxymoron; a city that forged it’s success with farming; morphing into a cultural hub and being a major force in Southern California’s art scene. This is where Stevie comes in.

What makes Stevie so special? It all started when Stevie was  a child growing up in  Riverside. She was one of five siblings raised by parents who loved the arts. Parents who encouraged their children to study dance, acting and the stage. Going as far to build a stage in their garage with lighting and a disco ball for dramatic effects.  Stevie and her two younger siblings were all high energy and spent their days in a whirlwind of planning shows and performing them for anyone who was interested in their performances.

As Stevie grew, she continued to follow her love of performing and was involved in productions throughout her high school studies. She began her college education at Riverside Community College where she overcame intense struggles with math (A very common problem for artsy right brained people) to earn entrance into Cal State Long Beach’s baccalaureate program for Performance and Directing. At Cal State Long Beach. She studied under professional working actors and directors who had graduated from prestigious performance schools such as Juilliard and Yale. The students produced and directed weekly showcases to develop and refine their directing chops. In 2007-08, while at Cal State she was among a peer group of 16 who established the Alive Theatre Group and after graduating produced and directed local theatre. Her first show being iShow. The show’s theme was based on our culture’s fear of and obsession with technology.  Then during 2008, the United States economy collapsed.  Stevie decided to head back to Riverside, bringing her talent with her. This led to more traveling to work in the tourist industry. In Alaska and Hawaii she utilized  her skills to engage people and sell them entertainment opportunities such as whale watching excursions. She loved this work, but Alaska turned out to be life changer. Due to the unusual cycles of day and night and the pathological effect on the human sleep cycle, Stevie health suffered. She decided to head back to a healthier environment in Southern California. 

Stevie found herself, once again in Riverside and pursuing her dream of a life in the theatre. She ended up at the Mission Inn, where she became a waitress and tour guide. She loved the work and the flux of interesting people from around the world that flowed through the doors of the art-filled Mission Inn.  There was a never-ending stream of visitors from the world of arts, theatre and history. While working, Stevie continued to pursue the arts and took Los Angeles based acting classes.  She  took classes with Hugh O’Gorman, who was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble and owner of a successful actor’s studio which bases it’s theory on the works of Chekhov and Stanislavsky.

In 2013, while working and taking Los Angeles based theatre classes, she formed a local group with fellow thespian, Erin (Maxwell) Maroufhkani. Initially, they performed in backyards as The Backyard Players. The first show was performed in the backyard of renowned local celebrity and artist, Tiffany Brooks.  Tiffany Brooks’ gorgeous paintings embellish the interiors of the Mission Inn and The Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. It was an economical way to establish the acting company and develop a grassroots following.  It was a humble start and the group was dedicated. Their first show was Metamorphoses by Tony award winning, Mary Zimmerman. A complex piece, utilizing Greek Mythology to embody several plays within a play. Following Metamorphoses was Shakespeare’s A Midnight Summer’s Dream.  With each performance, their popularity grew and their name was changed to The Homespun Players inspired by a line of one of the character’s in the play. “What hempen homespuns have we swaggering here?”

The next three years were years filled with success. In 2015, Stevie and her colleagues shared their success with the city and produced a children’s show based on Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The show played at the Riverside Art’s Museum and raised over $750 to fund art scholarships for children.  Following this project, in 2016, Taken and colleagues produced Riverside’s Shakespeare In The Park, which had a successful run for two years. Due to construction restrictions and funding hurdles, Taken’s group was forced to discontinue the project and they moved on to new venues. Their most recent productions were Medea in October 2018, performed at The Box and Performance Anxiety, performed at the Menagerie. Performance Anxiety is  slated for it’s next performance at  Back To The Grind on March 23, 2019.

When interviewing Stevie, it was a lot to take in. There are so many key players and it’s obvious the success of Stevie’s group is due to collaboration and community.  Stevie exudes an aura of gratitude for what she and her cohorts have accomplished. She is constantly bringing forth names of people and organizations that have contributed to the success of her productions.  She remains humble,  matter of fact and realistic about producing successful theatre.  It’s a huge undertaking and she does it solely for the love of the theatrical arts and bringing excellent theatre to the communities that make up Riverside.  I asked Stevie what her goals were for the coming next few  years. It turns out, her next goal is huge and a step away from the world of theatre. For the past two years she had been drawn into the political spectacle that currently has the United States under it’s sway.  The Women’s March and surge of women representatives in Washington D.C. have  inspired her to make a spontaneous and organic decision to run for the office of Ward III City Council Person of Riverside.

Stevie has realized that she has a  desire to give back in a new and different way.  She believes that there are huge groups from various segments of the Riverside population that are not represented. She wants to include those people in building a future for their community together. Her perspective of the the current political climate in the United States is a large factor in her bid for City Council Member.  She wants to be a part of the political landscape that is working diligently to fight current negative trends that reflect hate and resistance to positive and progressive change. In conjunction with her foray into the world of politics she is working on producing “12 Angry Men performed by 12 Impassioned Women”. This piece is usually  read by an all women cast and conveys the power one person can have when they speak out in the judicial system. The event will be held on Saturday, April 6th @ 2pm at Poly High School’s Littleworth Theater, tickets are $6 and are available at Eventbrite, or at the door. This production is a collaboration with Theatre Spree and The Homespun Players, they are inviting all of the women running for City Council throughout Riverside to participate. 

Towards the end of our meeting, I wanted to find out what made Stevie who she was and fueled her desires and ambitions.  I wanted to know those key attributes that made her so successful and so loved.  She told me that she’s never been one who thinks very far into the future. Her goal is not to do theatre just to do theatre, but to do what she feels most passionate about in the present moment. Stevie has a philosophy about theatre people. That is, theatre people are among some of the best people on the planet. They love to help others, they love having fun and making other’s laugh and feel good. And best of all, they are everywhere you go, so no matter where in the world you find people, you will find theatre people. Her main goal was to create access to the world of theatre for everyone.

To find out more about the upcoming performances of the Homespun Players, go to: www.homespunplayers.com