This post was updated Nov. 18 at 9:09 p.m.

Lapu, the Coyote That Cares Theatre Company is giving its members the confidence and community support they need to pursue creativity.

LCC’s show “WATCH US FALL” came to Royce Hall on Nov. 14 and 16. The production featured two one-act plays and an additional short film. The plays included “One Last Time,” written and directed by third-year global studies student Reia Uchiumi, and “When My Brother Comes Home,” written by library and information science graduate student Kaylie Harley. The short film, “Watch Your Back, Daniel Lee!” was directed by fourth-year sociology student Joanne Lee and written by Jessica Le. LCC is an Asian American theater company at UCLA, through which Uchiumi, Harley and Lee said they have had the opportunity to be involved in theater with the leeway to explore stories with a variety of themes and cultures. In “WATCH US FALL,” audience members saw characters descend into revenge, love and ruin, Harley said.

“LCC has always been a club that really cares about community,” Harley said. “It started off as a theater company for Asian American stories, but it has since evolved to be more about emphasizing Asian Americans in theater. … It’s more about giving us a space to feel safe, to create and also to experiment.”

Uchiumi said “One Last Time” followed a group of college seniors through their final production – yet in trying to chase perfection, they gave up the valuable last moments they had to spend together and unintentionally created more drama. Though the characters’ play continuously went wrong, she added, they ultimately found something worth more than sticking to the script. Uchiumi said she was inspired by the glimpse into characters’ inner relationships and the similar play-within-the-play format of “Noises Off,” which she saw at the Geffen Playhouse earlier this year. Uchiumi added she also drew on experiences from theater groups from middle school, high school and her time at LCC.

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“Appreciate the people who are willing to work with you,” Uchiumi said. “It’s not about the product that you guys make – it’s about the relationships and the memories that you make on the way.”

Harley said she also took inspiration from the gothic short story “The Lovely House” by Shirley Jackson. Harley said “When My Brother Comes Home,” written by Harley and co-directed by herself and Tishi Avvaru, followed the main character Margaret, whom Harley portrayed. After getting kicked out of her house, Margaret stayed with her best friend’s seemingly perfect family, Harley said. The play undertook the horrors of repression and forced perfection amid 1890s heterosexual societal norms, Harley added.

“(It’s) a bit terrifying if you’re being forced into perfection,” Harley said. “It’s also ultimately a story of discovery under duress.”

The company’s first-ever K-drama feature “Watch Your Back, Daniel Lee!” recounted how a plot for revenge against a rumor-spreading boyfriend led a new romance to blossom, Lee said. This short marks Lee’s directing debut after acting for their first three years at LCC, and Lee said being brought on to direct the production helped them to overcome an initial hesitancy to take on leadership roles. Harley and Uchiumi also said LCC has given them the support to grow their confidence while trying new roles in the company.

Uchiumi, an international student, said LCC’s sense of community and “I got your back” motto helped ease her transition from a small all-girls high school in Japan to UCLA. Uchiumi said she was drawn to theater in middle school by the power and confidence that playing a character on stage instilled in her after experiencing bullying. LCC continues to provide a theatrical haven for exploration, she added. Uchiumi said she has been happily involved in the company, holding roles such as acting, directing, writing and now an HR position and working on her own short film.

Harley corroborated LCC’s emphasis on community. As the company’s only graduate student, Harley said it can be hard to feel included when she can only access a few parts of campus and culture. She said she originally joined the club expecting to act but has since explored improv, directed two shows and written two shows and also oversees other writing processes in the company as its writing director.

“When I went to see the first LCC show last year fall quarter, I was hit with this understanding that these were people who were just creating something to create something and to have this experience with each other,” Harley said. “Not necessarily trying to be the best of the best but caring about the stories that they were telling.”

Lee, a co-producer of the company, said she enjoys the way LCC gives her the opportunity to be an Asian American lead in theater while making room for a variety of identities within the community. They added that in their past, they felt pressure to chase perfection as an Asian actor in order to be seen as dependable and successful. However, LCC allows her to explore leading roles, develop her personal identity among peers and feel gratified in helping Asian American talent to be seen, Lee added.

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As a fourth-year student, Lee hopes to continue their creative endeavors and said the LCC alumni give them hope for their future plans. Harley said she intends to continue her involvement with LCC and keep writing, taking on a “try everything” attitude by using her graduate studies to digitize LCC’s 31 years of theatrical legacy. Uchiumi, who is graduating this year, said she is thankful for the friends in LCC who encouraged her to try new opportunities and added that she will take this spirit with her after graduation.

“Writing is something that I’d never done, … so it was very scary for me, and especially to do it in a different language too because English is not my mother tongue,” Uchiumi said. “It’s so amazing how I was offered such a welcoming environment to try out things without having to worry about the consequences or people being judgy.”