N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk

It’s about race. One race, the human race. It’s
about challenging stereotypes and assumptions. And it’s about
de-powering the words.

N*gger. Wetb*ck. Ch*nk.

As the posters warn (or rather promise), the asterisks come off
on Nov. 14 and 15, when the threesome of “N*gger Wetb*ck
Ch*nk” take a new and enhanced version of their hard-hitting,
funny, poignant and stereotype-bashing play to UCLA’s Freud
Playhouse for three shows this weekend.

The comedy’s co-creators, Miles Ellington Gregley, Rafael
Agustin and Allan Axibal, all transferred to UCLA from Mt. San
Antonio College, where they bonded after spending two years
together on the speech team.

“Actually Rafael got into UCLA a year before Allan and I
did, and kind of like suckered us into coming to UCLA with
him,” Gregley, a fourth-year theater student, joked.

Once at UCLA, Agustin, now a graduate student in theater, began
working on the idea of an autobiographical one-man performance
piece. He sought the help of his former Mt. SAC speech professors,
Steven T. Seagle and Liesel Reinhart (the co-directors and
co-writers of “N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk.”) It was Seagle
and Reinhart who suggested that Agustin expand the show to include
Gregley and fourth-year communication studies student Axibal.

“We came up with this concept of the “˜N*gger
Wetb*ck,’ and how the Latinos have become the new slaves of
the nation,” Agustin said. “And Liesel and Steven were
like, “˜Why don’t you do this with Allan and Miles?
Individually, you are great performers; but together you guys are
magic.'”

And so, “N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk” was born. The trio
are the first to admit that their choice of name is both
controversial and provocative, even deliberately so.

“People ask us, “˜Why these three words. Why be so
offensive?'” Axibal said. “And the truth is these
words are offensive. We are offended. But we’ve been called
these words all our lives. We own these words, and when something
is a part of your life, you want to express it. You don’t
want to back away from it.”

“It’s not about blaming one person, one race, or
anything like that,” Gregley added. “It’s just
about our experiences, and sharing that, and coming together,
minorities uniting.”

The group is especially excited about bringing their show to the
586-seat Freud Playhouse this weekend. They are promising a bigger
and even better show than last spring’s successful two-night
gig, which played on campus at the smaller Northwest
Auditorium.

“We actually had comment cards at the end of the show last
(spring), and we took into consideration what people had
said,” Gregley said. “We reworded a lot of things (in
the play), personalized a lot of things “¦ I’m even more
proud of it than I was last (time).”

All three are also pleased with the support the show has
received despite its controversial name. The trio claims to have
raised about $15,000 in campus funding for its run at the
Freud.

Gregley laughingly beamed: “It’s an “˜E! True
Hollywood Story.’ It truly is.”

“N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk” will be playing on Friday
at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m. Admission is free for UCLA
students. For more information, visit
www.speaktheaterarts.com.