Juneteenth reading of ‘3rd & Palou’ brings 1966 Hunters Point Uprising to life

The cast of “3rd & Palou” flanks writer-director Biko Eisen-Martin, center. – Photo: Lisa Frare  by Tom Molanphy Hours before curtain call on Juneteenth evening, writer and director Biko Eisen-Martin double- and triple-checked the setup at Ruth Williams Opera House in the Bayview. “3rd & Palou” postcards with scannable programs are straightened on chairs, sound systems checked and rechecked, lighting lit and re-lit.& Martin, a multi-talented artist with a mural in Clarion Alley, controls all he can – because the seasoned director knows control is the first thing he’ll lose once the stage reading starts. “I can’t really ask anything of my audience but to show up,” Martin said. “That’s a blessing in and of itself.”& Attending a table reading is especially critical; the reward behind the risk of sharing a work-in-progress is feedback. (“San Franciscans complain there’s nothing to do. Then when you offer something free like this, no one shows up,” one actor worried.)& “You’ll see this as a memory piece,” Martin offered about the work, which dramatizes the 1966 Hunters Point uprising in the wake of the murder of teenager Matthew “Peanut” Johnson by police. “There’s a timeless space within the piece that kind of holds the...