(LeTania Kirkland)

For Kevin Michael Key, performance has woven together the disparate parts of his life. He has come full circle.

Kevin Michael Key is an activist in Skid Row and member of the Los Angeles Poverty Department. LAPD is a non-profit theater group based in Skid Row that creates work to address the social and political realities the residents of the community face. Think addiction, gentrification, over incarceration, mental illness and affordable housing.

The word “community,” is essential to Key. When he arrived 10 years ago, he said he harbored the same preconceived notions about the place that most do. Namely, that it was a dumping ground for the addicted and mentally ill. No doubt, these elements are a part of the place (it is still the nation’s homeless capital), but they don’t define it, said Key. People live, work, recover and even find a space to belong here. It all depends on which lens you are looking through.

“Ultimately, I put on a new pair of glasses,” said Key.

When he started hanging in Skid Row on a regular basis, Key was looking to get high and straddling two worlds. He was a criminal lawyer who often lectured his clients about breaking their drug additions, while feeding his own on the streets after working hours.

“You can get down here and get stuck on stupid you know? The very same advice I was giving my clients I couldn’t see fit to take myself,” said Key.

For years, he attempted several rehabilitation programs with no success. In that time, his law practice declined and he was without insurance or the funds to attempt another, which was when he discovered a free program at the Volunteers of America in Skid Row. That time it stuck.

Key’s sobriety date is July 12, 2002.

But sobriety was only one part of the story―he also became a member of the Skid Row community. That was also the year he was introduced to LAPD. The more he watched, the more he realized the group was not just creating theater, but “activist theater.” That was what pulled him in.

Gradually, Key’s worlds came together. In 2005, he began working for the United Coalition East Prevention Project, a non-profit drug prevention program. Soon, his work with UCEPP met his creativity and lit a fire underneath him. He believes in fusing art and advocacy. Whether on the stage or at the “day job,” Key said he is working toward the same goal―shining a light on the realities of Skid Row and attempting to empower its residents to create change.

“I can be doing a play but I’m still espousing the same principals, the same values,” said Key.

When he practiced law, Key specialized in serving underrepresented communities. Though no longer a lawyer, he said his work with LAPD has given him the ability to serve in an even larger capacity.

“When I was a lawyer I only got to represent one person. Instead of representing one client, now I represent a whole community,” said Key.

Key calls himself the “point guard” of Skid Row―he’s on defense and offense, the activist and the artist. That identity, he said, has been essential to his sobriety. He represents “something good in the community,” something large than himself. Falling prey to addiction would be a betrayal of what he represents.

“You can’t serve two masters,” he said.

When it comes to LAPD, action motivated by art is essential. The group has been working in the neighborhood since 1985 and, in addition to its productions, has partnered with organizations, like the Lamp Community (an organization dedicated to ending homelessness among the mentally ill) to create neighborhood improvement initiatives and group art projects.

In the article, “Making a Case for Skid Row Culture,” John Malpede, founder of LAPD and Maria Rosario Jackson, a research associate at the Urban Institute argue that those workshops have resulted in individual residents finding a sense of identity through art that motivates them to give back to the community.

According to Malpede and Jackson, “The social fabric of Skid Row, at this point, is strong enough that institutional initiatives have led to a plethora of individual initiative that are now themselves inspiring and encourage further creative initiatives.”

Art manifests itself in many ways. It permeates our lives on a daily basis, from a mural on a wall to the last film we watched on the screen. It can enter the deepest level of our consciousness as viewers and, at the very least, make us think in ways we never did before. It would be a mistake to underestimate the potential power it has to change the lives of individuals and communities.

Speaking with Key was proof positive that making art has the power to generate new meaning and lasting change in life. His artistry has fostered an identity and voice that did not exist before.

During our conversation, he perked up as he recalled a 2008 rehearsal for the play UTOPIA/dystopia (a piece about the gentrification of downtown). That day, he spontaneously improvised a monologue about addiction, equating city developers to addicts and the government to their pushers.

“What are they addicted to? More! More city variances, more tax write offs!” said Key.

At the next rehearsal, Malpede showed up with a revised script that incorporated his concept. Key will never forget that moment.

“To actually see something that you thought up spontaneously be incorporated into a performance piece, it’s a jolt of adrenaline. You like it, you feel good about it, you feel better about yourself.

Being respected as an artist, rather than a part of a “caseload” is unlike any mere recovery program. When Key walks through Skid Row, it is apparent that he knows his value. There is confidence in his step as he walks through the neighborhood. The “point guard” knows the place, its people and its problem, but he is committed to finding solutions―on and off the stage.

Reach reporter LeTania Krikland here.