Detroit, 2015: Citizens who are residential water customers became delinquent bill payers due to years of unmanageable water rate hikes. These locals are getting shut-off notices and their water cut-off. This threatens to displace 25,000 people, many of who are committed Detroiters. Music is a powerful force in Detroit. For many generations, choirs were the platform where voices came together. Today, this is still the case. The Metabolic Studio, based in Los Angeles, has been present in Detroit since 2014. During this time, we came to bare witness to the community articulate their struggle to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation as well as the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing. Being there, we understood the power of a collective human voice as a devotional practice. We invited choirs from Detroit to come together at the iconic United Sound Systems—the oldest recording studio in the country—to cut an album about water. The choir’s songs were broadcasted live, via the Internet, into empty industrial silos on the edge of the Owens Dry Lake Bed in California. This record contains two of these hymns. From the shores of the Great Lakes to the shores of the dry lakes of the inter-mountain West there is a shared experience—both are threatened by the removal of water.

Detroit, 2015: Citizens who are residential water customers became delinquent bill payers due to years of unmanageable water rate hikes. These locals are getting shut-off notices and their water cut-off. This threatens to displace 25,000 people, many of who are committed Detroiters. Music is a powerful force in Detroit. For many generations, choirs were the platform where voices came together. Today, this is still the case. The Metabolic Studio, based in Los Angeles, has been present in Detroit since 2014. During this time, we came to bare witness to the community articulate their struggle to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation as well as the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing. Being there, we understood the power of a collective human voice as a devotional practice. We invited choirs from Detroit to come together at the iconic United Sound Systems—the oldest recording studio in the country—to cut an album about water. The choir’s songs were broadcasted live, via the Internet, into empty industrial silos on the edge of the Owens Dry Lake Bed in California. This record contains two of these hymns. From the shores of the Great Lakes to the shores of the dry lakes of the inter-mountain West there is a shared experience—both are threatened by the removal of water.

Augustus Williamson performs Wade in the Water at United Sound Systems recording studio on May 19, 2015.

Detroit, 2015: Citizens who are residential water customers became delinquent bill payers due to years of unmanageable water rate hikes. These locals are getting shut-off notices and their water cut-off. This threatens to displace 25,000 people, many of who are committed Detroiters. Music is a powerful force in Detroit. For many generations, choirs were the platform where voices came together. Today, this is still the case. The Metabolic Studio, based in Los Angeles, has been present in Detroit since 2014. During this time, we came to bare witness to the community articulate their struggle to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation as well as the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing. Being there, we understood the power of a collective human voice as a devotional practice. We invited choirs from Detroit to come together at the iconic United Sound Systems—the oldest recording studio in the country—to cut an album about water. The choir’s songs were broadcasted live, via the Internet, into empty industrial silos on the edge of the Owens Dry Lake Bed in California. This record contains two of these hymns. From the shores of the Great Lakes to the shores of the dry lakes of the inter-mountain West there is a shared experience—both are threatened by the removal of water.

Metabolic Studio's IOU Theatre presents Manuel Ruiz' "The Townies" on May 15, 2016 at 7 pm at the Double L Saloon in Lone Pine.

This original script follows the story of 20-something young adults growing up in Lone Pine and pondering their futures and life goals. Whether to stay or to go, find love, fulfill family obligations or pursue a dream and leave for uncharted territory…Writer/Director Manuel Ruiz states “the script is about taking chances at a young age, knowing what you want out of life and not letting fears or other people stand in the way of your life goals. Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone in order to figure our what you really want out of life.”

C A S T :

Narrator, Val, Garage Manager – Max Rosan

Max – Cordero Chávez

Curtis – Grant Whitney

June – Chelsea Benbrook

Understudy for June – Jeanie Smith

Robert, Chuck the bartender – Jim Shallcross

Michelle, Tourist #1 – Sharon Avey

Tourist #2 – Jennifer Duncan

Writer and Director:

Manuel Ruiz

Station Breaks/Community Announcements:

Jim Shallcross (written in collaboration with Jon Klusmire)

SFX/Foley Artists:

Sharon Avey and Jennifer Duncan

Director:

Jeanie Smith

Production Assistant:

Manuel Ruiz

Sound Engineers:

Victor Silvas & Victor Silvas Jr.

Double L Host:

Kent Ramlose and the Double L Bar

Gertrude Stein Salon Host:

Chris Langley and Catherine Kravitz

Catering/Craft Services:

Ellen Harrison, Beverly Vander Wall

Metabolic Studio's IOU Theatre presented "Death Valley Scotty" on Sunday September 28, 7pm at the Double L Saloon in Lone Pine, CA.

“Death Valley Scotty” is a live radio play that was written by Ruth Woodman in 1931 and originally aired in 1955 in the “Death Valley Days” Series. Walter Scott (a.k.a. Death Valley Scotty) was a prospector, a performer with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, a raconteur, a conman, husband and father. In 1885 he met an Easterner who was told he only had a few weeks to live. Scotty helped him to recover and cemented a secretive, life long partnership. In 1905 he beat the cross-country speed record on a train from L.A. to Chicago. Free with his stories and his cash, he quickly became one of the West’s most prominent and mysterious legends and kept reporters and the country on the edge of its seat for decades. His fabulous stories of secret gold mines and his million-dollar oasis in Death Valley (Scotty’s Castle) kept the public and newspapermen eager for the next story.

A troupe of local performers from Bishop to Keeler will read the play and perform live music and sound effects.

C A S T :

Narrator– Deborah Levin

Scotty

– Max Rosan

Johnson, Cub – Mark Long

Old Ranger, Borax Man – Jon Klusmire

Old Ranger, Byrne, Caine, – Jayson Lozier

Girl 1, Nichols, Metallic Voice, Borax commercial 2 – Jeanie Smith

Blackie, Reporter, Borax Commercials 1,3 (Rosemary DeCamp) – Judy Wickman

Girl 2, Feely, Bartender, IRS agent, Loafer – Ann Strohm

Old Man West, Orderly, Attendant, Waiter – Mary WInchester

Ed/Man 2/Padre– Mark W. Long

Station Breaks/Community Announcements/Borax Man:

Jon Klusmire

SFX/Foley artists:

Judy Wickman with help from the cast

Musicians/Vocalists

Mark W. Long (Vocals, guitar)

Jayson Lozier (guitar)

Sandy Anderson, Victor SIlvas, Bart LAST NAME? (Sandy & the High Country)

Director

Kristen Luetkemeier

HOST

Kent Ramlose and the Double L Bar

Stabilized Lake Bed Brick Oven Pizza from the IOU Garden

Diane Spieth

Metabolic Studio's IOU Theatre presented “Man Against the Mountain” on June 15, 2014 at the Double L Saloon in Lone Pine, CA.

"Man Against the Mountain" is a live radio play that originally aired in 1947 in the Cavalcade of America Series. The radio play tells how the people of Lone Pine built the Mt. Whitney Trail and Observatory. A troupe of local performers from the Owens Valley read the play and performed sound effects. The Cavalcade of America series, an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953. The Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds.

CAST:

Announcer, Hiestand, Campbell & Luis – Jayson Lozier

Whitman & Tom – Jim Shallcross

Gustave Marsh – Jesse Steele

Elizabeth Marsh – Jeannie Smith

Aunt Hitty – Julie Fought

Oscar – Jon Klusmire

Bert – Manuel Ruiz

Abbott – Deborah Levin

Male Voices 1 & 2 – Jon Klusmire

SFX/Foley artists:

Jude Greenburgh

Drew Wickman

Musicians/Vocalists:

Victor Silvas (Vocals, guitar and mandolin)

Sandy Anderson (Vocals)

Director: Sandy Langley

Music/SFX Director: Manuel Ruiz

Host: Kent Ramlose and the Double L Bar

Bread & Spread from the IOU Garden:

Jane McDonald, Julie Fought, Deborah Levin

IOU Espresso: Sarah McCabe and Betty Alvarado Torres

Metabolic Studio's IOU Theatre performed their annual radio play “WAR OF THE WORLDS” on December 13, 2015 at 7:00 pm at the Double L Saloon in Lone Pine, CA.

This live radio drama was written by Howard Koch, directed and narrated by Orson Welles in 1938, and inspired by the H.G. Wells story written in 1897. The 1938 CBS radio broadcast performed on Halloween caused a historic fracas across the nation. The “War of the Worlds” script has been adapted by Jon Klusmire to be set in contemporary Owens Valley and Los Angeles.

C A S T :

ORSON WELLES, PROFESSOR PIERSON, COMMANDER: Max Rosan

PHILLIPS RADIO REPORTER, STRANGER, ARMY OFFICER, OPERATOR 2 & 5: Jim Shallcross

ANNOUNCER 1, POLICEWOMAN, VICE ADMIRAL MONTGOMERY SMITH, GUNNER, OPERATOR 4: Judyth Greenburgh

ANNOUNCER 2, CAPTAIN LANSING, OBSERVER, OPERATOR 3, LA ANNOUNCER: Jeanie Smith

MS. WILMUTH, HARRIET McDONALD (RADIO STATION BOSS),

SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OPERATOR 1: Mary Winchester

LONE PINE RADIO ANNOUNCER: Jon Klusmire

Community Announcements and Ads written and performed by:

Jon Klusmire

SFX/Foley artists:

Lauren Bon

Dani Lunn

Script Adaptation & Director

Jon Klusmire

Music selections for this production: Terry Riley – A Rainbow In Curved Air (IOU Radio Theme); Dwight Yoakam – Honky Tonk Man; Johnny Cash – Sunday Morning Coming Down; Merle Haggard – If We Make It Thru December; Little Big Town – Girl Crush; Toby Keith/Willie Nelson – Beer For My Horses.

Why IOU Theatre? Since 1914 Los Angeles has been exporting water from the Owens Valley. Metabolic Studio has been working to transform resources into actions that support life in the Owens Valley. The Metabolic Studio IOU Theatre joins the IOU Garden (2009-present) as a way to add additional culture to what's on offer in the Owens Valley.  The Metabolic Studio hosted “IOU THEATRE” in 2014 and presented a series of radio plays that had relevance to the Owens Valley at the Double L Saloon on Main Street and broadcast live in the IOU Garden next door and also on IOURADIO.org and 89.9FM in the Owens Valley.

Special thanks to our host: Kent Ramlose and the Double L Saloon and Jaque Hickman and Boulder Creek for the folding chairs!

Metabolic Studio's IOU THEATRE presented “WAR OF THE WORLDS” at the Double L Saloon in Lone Pine, CA on December 7, 2014 at 7:00 pm. The original live radio drama was written by Howard Koch, directed and narrated by Orson Welles in 1938, and inspired by the H.G. Wells story written in 1897. The 1938 CBS radio broadcast performed on Halloween caused a historic fracas across the nation. The “War of the Worlds” script was adapted by Jon Klusmire to be set in contemporary Owens Valley and Los Angeles.

C A S T :

ORSON WELLES, PROFESSOR PIERSON, COMMANDER – Max Rosan

PHILLIPS RADIO REPORTER, STRANGER, OFFICER, OPERATOR 2 & 5

– Jim Shallcross

ANNOUNCER 1, POLICEWOMAN, VICE ADMIRAL MONTGOMERY SMITH, GUNNER, OPERATOR 4 – Judyth Greenburgh

ANNOUNCER 2, CAPTAIN LANSING, OBSERVER, OPERATOR 3, LA ANNOUNCER – Jeanie Smith

MS. WILMUTH, ANNOUNCER 3, McDONALD (RADIO STATION BOSS), SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, OPERATOR 1 – Mary Winchester

Script Adaptation:

Jon Klusmire and Rochelle Fabb

Community Announcements:

Jon Klusmire

SFX/Foley artists:

Rochelle Fabb in collaboration with Metabolic Studio’s Sonic Division and PPG

Director:

Jon Klusmire

HOST:

Kent Ramlose and the Double L Bar

Stabilized Lakebed Brick Oven Bread from the IOU Garden:

Jane McDonald

IOU Espresso:

Betty Alvarado Torres

STONE SOUPS:

Beverly Vander Wall, Rochelle Fabb & the Community

Metabolic Studio's IOU Theatre presented "The Water Picnic", an original script written and directed by Chris Langley and performed by IOU THEATRE on Sunday, November 1, 2015 at 7pm at the Double L Saloon in Lone Pine, CA.

C A S T :

Walter Cronkite (Anchor for program) - Jim Shallcross

Jon Klusmire (The Inyo Register correspondent) - read by himself

Anderson Cooper (Reporter) - Max Rosan

Guard (Los Angeles guard at Alabama Gates) - Mark Long

Lesley Stahl (Reporter) - Judyth Greenburgh

Sheriff Collins(Inyo County Sheriff, operates out of Lone Pine) - Jon Klusmire

Mark Watterson (Leader of rebels, brother of Wilfred) - Mark Long

Voice (s)-  the Cast

Booming Voice - Mark Long

Geraldo Rivera (Reporter) -  Max Rosan

L.C Hall (Owens valley resident, kidnapped L.A. supporter) -  Jude Greenburgh

Chet Huntley (Reporter) - Jeanie Smith

Jess Hessian (Inyo County District Attorney) - Deborah Levin

Rush Limbaugh (Politician/Radio personality) - Jon Klusmire

Rachel Maddow (Reporter) - Catherine Kravitz

Nancy Grace (Reporter) - Ann Strohm

George Hopkins, Sr (Rancher from Big Pine, father of George Jr.) - Jeanie Smith

George Hopkins, Jr (Son of George Jr.) - Mark Long

Asa Keyes (L.A. District Attorney) - Mary Winchester

Deb Murphy (Local reporter Sierra Wave) - Deborah Levine

Sarah Billingsley (Rancher, mother of Emily) - Catherine Kravitz

Emily Billingsley (Sarah’s daughter, girlfriend of George Hopkins Jr.) - Mary Winchester

Teacher (Lone Pine teacher, took children to Haiwee) - Mary Winchester

William Mulholland (L.A. Water Department engineer: Aqueduct, St Francis Dam) - Jim Shallcross

Charles James(Local reporter) - Jon Klusmire

Mrs. Harry Glasscock (Wife of Owens Valley Herald publisher) - Catherine Kravitz

Harry Glasscock (Publisher of OV Herald, & Inyo Register, on the hill) - Jim Shallcross

W. W. “Willie” Chalfant (The Inyo Register editor) - Mark Long

Wilfred Watterson (Banker, Mark’s brother, in L.A. negotiating) - Max Rosan

Community Announcements and Ads written and performed by:

Jon Klusmire

SFX/Foley artists:

Katy Fielder

Manual Ruiz

Musicians/Vocalists

Mark Long (Vocals, guitar)

Writer & Director

Chris Langley

This script is dedicated to Michael Prather who has spent his life fighting for the water rights of the Owens Valley, and learning the history of this era to make him a better advocate and water warrior.

Metabolic Studio's IOU THEATRE presented “Man Against the Mountain” on May 3, 2015 at Alpine Elementary School at 4 pm in Littlerock, California in collaboration with the Social Practice Program at Otis School of Art and Design and the Museum of Art and History in Lancaster, CA. This radio play that originally aired in 1947 in the Cavalcade of America Series tells how the people of Lone Pine built the Mt. Whitney Trail and Observatory. A troupe of local performers from the Owens Valley read the play and performed sound effects. The Cavalcade of America series, an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953. The Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds.

CAST

Announcer, Hiestand, Campbell & Luis – Jon Klusmire/Victor Silvas

Whitman & Tom – Jim Shallcross

Gustave Marsh – Jesse Steele

Elizabeth Marsh – Mary Winchester

Aunt Hitty – Jeanie Smith

Oscar – Jon Klusmire

Bert – Manuel Ruiz

Abbott - Deborah Levin

Male Voices 1 & 2 - Jon Klusmire/Victor Silvas

SFX/Foley artists:

Judyth Greenburgh

Drew Wickman

Musicians/Vocalists:

Victor Silvas (Vocals, guitar and mandolin)

Sandy Anderson (Vocals)

Director:

Chris Langley

Music/SFX Director:

Manuel Ruiz

Transportation: Beverly Vander Wall