Guest Blogger: Byron Abalos

“Check out my Brown Balls!”

That never gets old to me.

I can’t remember exactly how it happened but about 6 six years ago I decided I wanted to write a play called Brown Balls. Why Brown Balls? Because it made me giggle. And, it made me wonder what that play would be about. If I heard of a show with that name, I’d want to see it. Wouldn’t you?

Byron gets excited about his "Brown Balls"

I’ve been working on this play for about 5 years now and I’ve had some wonderful help on the way from the Ontario Arts Council, Cahoots Theatre Company, Carlos Bulosan Theatre and, of course, fu-GEN. In that time, it has completely transformed. Originally, it was a play for my ‘peeps.’ It was about friendship, nostalgia and old school R & B music. It was about my feelings growing up Filipino in Toronto. I wanted to write a feel good play because there’s so much crap in the world that some times you just want to laugh. But now, with the help of some friends, a special fiancé, gifted actors, and some of the best dramaturges I know, it’s become something I couldn’t have expected. My vision for Brown Balls has expanded. Now, it’s about the experience of Asian-Canadian men - not just Filipinos - in North America. It’s about gender, race, power and hegemony – not just about sex.

My goal is to take the audience for a ride. At first, I want them to laugh their asses off. But in the end, I hope that they can look at their selves and the people around them in a very different way.

To be honest, I’m always nervous when people see this piece. There’s some really uncomfortable stuff in it that even makes me cringe. But isn’t that the point? I hope to push myself and my audience to places that are foreign and scary and ugly and maybe when the house lights come up, we’re somehow different.

I hope you like my Brown Balls.