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ICUJP Friday Forum
July 31st 7:30-9:30 am Pacific

The People of Pompeii: What Emerges From the Ashes of Altadena?

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Event Description: 

Fires have come before. More will come again. And still, people stay—for love of place, for their children, for the promise of community. Bernardo Cubría's dark, incisive new comedy, set in the aftermath of the 2025 Los Angeles fires, refuses to romanticize that choice. Instead, it interrogates it, exposing the privilege embedded in even having the option to stay. What begins as a dinner party celebrating survival quickly unravels into a sharp, hilarious, and deeply uncomfortable reckoning with the ways we perform community while the ground beneath us remains unstable. Fast, biting, and wickedly observant, The People of Pompeii uses razor-sharp dialogue to reveal a deeper longing: the search for connection, home, and belonging that is neither fragile nor performative. At a moment when so many of us feel unmoored, the play asks what "home" truly means—and whether we are willing to do the difficult work of building it together before the next fire comes.

The People of Pompeii opens August 1st at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum.

Join the conversation with our speakers:



Bernardo Cubría's play The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote received a NNPN rolling world premiere and has had 8 productions around the country. Crabs in a Bucket won the 2024 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Writing. His play The Play You Want premiered at L.A.’s Road Theatre in 2022, garnering Cubría both a Stage Raw Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nomination for Playwriting.

In 2019, Cubría was nominated for the Ovation, Stage Raw and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Best Playwright awards for his play The Giant Void In My Soul. Other playwriting awards include the Smith Prize for Political Theater. He is a chair for the 2025-2026 Dramatist Guild national playwrights fellows.



Since 1978, Ellen Geer has been the artistic director of Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, where she helped the theater develop from a Sunday afternoon workshop performing Shakespeare to a professional repertory theater company with a negotiated Actors Equity Contract. She has produced and directed well over 100 Theatricum productions, including plays by Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Chekhov and Thornton Wilder and Greek classics. Many of her own plays and adaptations have been performed at Theatricum as well, including last season’s Wendy’s Peter Pan; Queen Margaret’s Version of Shakespeare’s War of the Roses; Trouble the Water; An Enemy of the People; TOM (adapted from the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”); Merlin: The Untold Story; Dracula; A Dark Cloud Came; and Dory, A Musical Portrait.

She created the Academy of the Classics for Theatricum in 1976, which now houses an intensive Shakespeare seminar, scene study classes, teen classes and the popular Youth Drama Camp. She helped develop School Days, a field trip educational program for young people now in its 30th year, which brings over 10,000 Los Angeles school children to Theatricum each spring and fall, and co-developed Classroom Enrichment, which brings actor/teachers and programs into the classroom to work with English teachers. Among her awards: A Career Achievement Award from the LA Weekly, “Best Actress” for Long Day's Journey Into Night from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, a “Woman of the Year” award from the County of Los Angeles and special recognition from UCLA for her work in theater.

Will Geer founded The Theatricum Botanicum in 1973. Its mission is to engage, educate and entertain audiences of all ages by presenting thought-provoking classics, socially relevant plays, and education programs in a beautiful, natural outdoor sanctuary for the arts. By passing on a sense of history to young people and adults alike, great works of art inform their present and inspire their future. A true renaissance theatre, The Theatricum Botanicum offers a diversity of programming from Shakespeare to poetry to folk music to the development of future playwrights – all to help understand the world we live in and to embrace our shared humanity.

Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.

7:30 - 7:35  Log in and socialize
7:35 - 7:45  Welcome and introductions 
7:45 - 7:50  Reflection (5 min. maximum)
7:50 - 9:15  Program and Q&A
9:15 - 9:20  Announcements
9:20 - 9:30  Closing circle and prayer

Start your morning with us! 

Facilitator: Anthony Manousos
Reflector: Dr. Rubi Omar

** Meetings begin promptly at 7:30 am Pacific. **

Here's how to join the online meeting:

To join by video conference, you'll need to download the Zoom app on your computer or mobile device. Click on the link to join the meeting and then enter the Meeting ID number and passcode. You'll be able to see slides and video, as well as speakers and other attendees.

If you prefer to join by phone, you'll be prompted to enter the Meeting ID number and passcode. You won't be able to see the visuals or attendees, but you can view them on the meeting video recording afterward. 

If you're new to Zoom and would like to use the video option, we recommend you download the app well ahead of time.

ICUJP Friday Forum 07/31/26
Time: 07:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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*Meeting controls for call-in attendees:
To mute/unmute yourself: *6
To raise hand: *9

(To find a dial-in number closer to you, go here.)

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Please note: Our Friday Forums and other events are open to the public. By attending, you consent to having your voice and likeness recorded, photographed, posted on ICUJP's website and social media, and included in ICUJP materials and publications for noncommercial purposes. If you don't want to be photographed or recorded, please let the facilitator know.

Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace recognizes the Gabrieliño Tongva as the past, present, and future caretakers of the land, water, and cultural resources in the unceded territory of Los Angeles.

Save The Date: The 2026 Rev. George C. Regas Courageous Peacemaker Awards

Sunday, September 27th
All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena
2:00 - 4:00 pm

Looking Back, Looking Forward: 
25 Years of ICUJP

In the Akan language of Ghana, Sankofa means literally "go back and get it". It is a powerful symbol that represents the need to reflect on the past to build a successful future.

As Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace celebrates 25 years of action and advocacy for a kinder and more just world, we want to remember those that were on this journey from the start - the people that came together just after the horrors of September 11th, 2001, and saw that the faith and activist communities needed to speak with one voice, and say that Religious Communities Must Stop Blessing War and Violence.

We hope that you will join us on Sunday, September 27th, from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, as we look back to our founding, look forward to the task ahead, and honor courageous peacemakers who keep our struggle for justice and peace alive.

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Become a Card-Carrying Member of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace!

This year, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace is commemorating 25 years of advocacy for the disenfranchised and abused at home and around the world. In the aftermath of September 11th 2001, Los Angeles religious and secular leaders and activists came together to seek an alternative to the fear mongering and vengefulness sweeping much of our nation. ICUJP declared that  “Religious Communities Must Stop Blessing War and Violence.”

We have endured and spread our message through very trying times - five Presidents, four California Governors, and numerous crises and challenges that would shake the resolve of even the most devout and dedicated group of activists. But through it all, we have held true to our mission to be the voice for "the least of these."  We are determined to create the change we want to see in the world, no matter how daunting the opposition can seem. 

Like many nonprofits, the economy, the aftereffects of the Covid pandemic, and the constant attacks on progressive organizations by the Trump administration have affected our fundraising.  We depend on the support of people who believe in justice and peace, who attend our weekly Zoom forums, who go to our events, or who receive the information on our website and social media.

We would be honored if you can donate $25, $50, $100 (or more) to help us keep up with the increasing costs of securing live venues, renting audio and video equipment, printing valuable information for live events, bringing our social media tools up to date, and paying our small but mighty part-time staff.We have several ways for you to support our work:

You can go to the ICUJP donation page on our website to make a one-time donation, or spread your donation out monthly.

You can also visit our ICUJP Threadless Store where you can make a purchase and wear your support for our organization, or give the gift of a tote bag, a mug, or a cute little onesie so your grandkids can be fashionable!

If you make a donation using either of these options, we will also send you a personalized ICUJP membership card for yourself or as a gift to print out:

ICUJP operates as a largely volunteer organization with a small part-time paid staff. We have survived for 25 years through the generosity of individuals like yourselves and organizations such as yours.

Thank you for your ongoing support – we are honoured to be standing shoulder to shoulder with you in the struggle for universal Justice and Peace.

RESOURCES FOR PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF A PEOPLE UNDER SIEGE

ICUJP Condemns the actions of the current administration to foment unrest in Southern California and other parts of the US. We hope you will find the following information useful in keeping involved and safe.

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