Multiple personalities come out in 'Radio Rodia'
YVETTE AGUILAR, Staff Writer
Issue date: 5/20/08 Section: Entertainment
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Cal Poly music professor Peter Yates put on a memorable performance, acting and singing as different characters in his original puppet opera "Radio Rodia."
Yates performed for more than an hour, singing the entire opera to music he composed. His talent as a music composer, actor, singer and mentor was on display.
Yates said he composed the opera about 12 years ago, creating the fictional character of Simon Rodia, a man who creates eight towers out of "junk." The town becomes consumed with Rodia's creation, and the opera draws on that mishap to entertain.
He wanted to add a female character to his composition, and Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey, who builds a house of glass bottles, was the result.
Yates wanted to show what Rodia's character was going through while the other characters obsessed over his towers. That turned out to be a brilliant idea, as Rodia becomes senile, spending 33 years on the towers and then disappearing once they are complete.
The opera embodied human emotion to its fullest extent. Yates was able to cleverly convey his characters as eager, senile, aggressive, greedy, sad and happy. The intensity from Yates produced quiet giggles from the crowd of about 30, making for a more personal experience.
Sexual innuendos, mysterious thoughts and behaviors, and extreme characters were all part of the performance. The set flourished with meticulous detail, which made for an even more enticing show.
Characters were made from computer printouts, metal robot-like toys, glass bottles and cardboard. A broken glass box with a big yellow phone receiver was used as the phone booth.
Barbie doll legs were used as the television antennae, which
elicited a smirk from the crowd as Yates opened the upside-down legs to get better reception on the fake television.
Another pair of legs was used as the tripod for a camcorder,
which was made from a small, black recording tape.
"Characters were uniquely designed," said UCLA student Nelson Ngo. "The show was definitely something."
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