history of below sycamore

Below Sycamore started as an idea I had back in 2017 after I read this scripture in Job about Satan walking the Earth. I was in my 2nd year of sobriety and it struck me that we rarely talk about the nasty power that drove us into the rooms of recovery. Then I heard my friend Paul talk about giving credit to the Higher Power for our sobriety but ignoring the parasite of addiction that cleverly blocked us from our spirit and destroyed our relationships. As a result, we may live in a state of guilt, blaming ourselves for years of destructive behavior.  

I believe that those of us who are addicts and/or alcoholics must understand that we are on enemy ground and we can not defeat this disease alone. The monster will never bow down to human power, I believe we need the Power, Love and Grace of Almighty God. I wanted to create a fictional world where the audience could see the monsters move through the lives of the characters remaining unseen by the characters themselves. So I started writing the play in 2018 interweaving some of my own experiences growing up in Los Angeles with my love for recovery and fiction. What manifested was this story of two best friends who get caught in the cycle of addiction and violence that have plagued the lives of almost everyone in their community. 

In early 2019, my dear friend 3858 joined me and wrote the entire role of Cecil as well as the jumbo fresh ending to the play! After a mind bending series of fortunate events Below Sycamore opened on stage at the Shelton Theater in San Francisco to sold out crowds. Riding the wave of success, my friends in Los Angeles began shopping the script around Hollywood to possibly option it into a television series. Then COVID hit and all of that disappeared but we were determined to share this story.  I continued writing and expanded the play into a television series and in the summer of 2020 the good Lord sent us Fernando Kern, a magnificent comic book illustrator from Argentina. With the support of Robert Garcia aka Mr. Criminal and Danny Trejo we are proud to announce the release of the first issue of the Below Sycamore graphic novel coming later in 2021!

I know I could never pay back all my world wide family in recovery but this is my dedication to all of you, all my family and friends,  all my relations, straight from my heart, all praises due to the Lord Jesus Christ!……..Below Sycamore y’all …enjoy!

Bendiciones

D.A. Medina