Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeRace comics N*W*C visit SVSU
September 17, 2007 —
"People don't have to be black, Asian, or Latino to relate to the play," said Miles Gregley, one third of the comedy troupe N*W*C. "For example, a Latina came up to me the other day and said she completely related to my story of 'The Year I was Black.' People gravitate towards one of us because they can relate to our stories; it has nothing to do with race but with identity and finding self-love."
N*W*C is short for N*igger, Wetb*ack, Ch*nk, the comedy troupe that performed at SVSU on Thursday in the Malcolm Field Performing Arts Theater.
Miles Gregley, Rafael Agustin, and Allan Axibal are the three UCLA graduates that make up the group.
For three years, the group - who have been featured on both NPR and in the New York Times - has covered a wide range of topics, all of which center on issues of stereotypes and racism.
"This is a comedy, but when dealing with racism, it's not about the overt racism like we had in the 1960's, it's internal," Agustin explained. "It's a self-hate because of a dominant culture."
Their inspiration stems from their personal experiences with racism and all of the performance is autobiographical.
The goal of N*W*C is to try to make people aware of the stereotypes that are in society and to help break down barriers by presenting the issues in a way that all people, regardless of race or age, can relate to.
Many students, including junior Raquel Ledesma, thought the troupe accomplished their goal.
"Their show took it to a whole new level and made people realize that those stereotypes are out there," Ledesma said. "They are even making the issue less taboo by joking around with it, which is the way to start defeating racial stereotypes."
Freshman Keisha Johnson cites an example of the message of the troupe in action during the performance.
"I was sitting next to a Caucasian girl and she would look at me whenever they said the word 'nigger' like I would be offended, but when she saw my expression she knew it was okay to laugh. I had no problem with that word in this context."
The performers also felt that they accomplished a lot with the SVSU crowd.
"It's a great and progressive student body that will host a show like ours!" Axibal exclaimed. "Mad props to all of you for being a student body that's ready for us, ready for change."