About the Play: One could say that the Bird Alberto
Lopez, and Lopecito, the protagonist in El Amateur, are two friends very
much in need each of other. Simply put, as far as anyone can see, they
possess absolutely nothing. And, in reality, all they have left is a
remnant of some inner essence. For the Bird, it is his ability to dream
dreams and his excitement about daily life. For Lopecito, his well
developed, though precarious, survival instinct sustains him, together
with the faint hope that things will get better, despite a bonefelt
weariness. United by the most basic of needs, we do not know if the two
are embarking on a real journey, or if we are only witness to an
imaginary journey that reflects their innermost hopes and dreams. All
the Bird’s effort amount to an epic campaign that challenges each and
every possibility, while the “street smarts” of Lopecito, a wizard in
the face of necessity, help him to believe that, just maybe, the two
really can succeed. However, the task to which the two must rigorously
devote themselves could cost them the highest price, that of their
lives. As in Homer’s Odyssey, the Bird and Lopecito embark on the sea of
life itself, and their true natures are revealed as happened with
Ulysses, when they face the trials sent by destiny, the gods or
circumstances to test them.
Don Quijote
y
Sancho Panza
(Don Quixote & Sancho Panza)
Dominican Republic
June 9, 10 & 11
Teatro "Gayumba"
by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
directed
by Manuel Chapuseaux
About the play: The nobleman Quejana, crazed by his
passion for reading about the exploits of knights, decides to take the
name Don Quixote and convert himself into a “knight errant”. He
convinces the laborer Sancho Panza to accompany him as his shield
bearer. Their journey becomes a series of adventures that end in
illusion and failure: the armies are flocks of sheep, the giants are
windmills…Throughout the story, Sancho begs and insists that they return
home, but Don Quixote persists with his quest.
Más se
Perdió
en Cuba
(More Was Lost in Cuba)
Spain
June 12 &
13
Teatro "Guirigay"
by Agustín
Iglesias
directed
by Agustín Iglesias
About the play: This is the story of the hero Cascorro,
who never returns to Cuba, of Trinidad Tenaguillo, who always hoped to
go back and of the anarchist/aspiring bullfighter Bombita, who served
during the war with Cuba at the turn of the century, and who hopes that
another war will start soon. By chance or trick, Cascorro and Trinidad
are contracted to work for two pesetas in a tavern. There, for the first
time, they find themselves on the stage of an actual theater where they
must use all of their skills from the street and plaza with the hope of
being good enough for the art of theater. To do this, our comics
organize a ridiculous stravaganza – throwing together prologues,
ballads, couplets, short plays, dances and farces, with the constant
presence of the guitarist Bombita. The characters become like men and
women everywhere, our ancestors who bequeathed to use the good and bad
we have today. From this dust we were formed.
Calisto
Portugal
June 19 & 20
Teatro "Meridional"
byJulio Salvatierra Cuenca
directed
by
Miguel Seabra
About the Play:
“CALISTO, THE STORY OF A CHARACTER” At the play’s end, Calisto, a young
lover from the classic drama La Celestina, shares with us his thoughts
and stories, 500 years after his original creation. They are the stories
of a whole century (1500-1600) that closes with the arrival of another
great work: Romeo and Juliet. Through Calisto, we get to know more than
24 characters, as he tells us about them, mimics them, remembering and
bringing them to life before our eyes, converting the actor into a
character, and the character into an actor. We are witness to a ceremony
in Rome celebrated by the libertine Pope Alexander, the carnivals in
Venice in 1530, the war between comedians in Paris, and the moment when
Shakespeare decides to leave the farm and take up writing. But while
telling us his stories, the stories weave themselves into the conflict
that unites -symbolically- character and actor. Who is more real?
Dreams or reality? Reality or wishes? Flesh or spirit? Is dreaming or
imagining worth anything? And of what use is a character?
Quimera
Puerto Rico
June 24 & 25
Compañía "El Cemi"
byRoberto Ramos Perea
directed
by Roberto Ramos Perea
About the Play: “QUIMERA”, a two act play, begins with
the death of Antonio Alonso, as remembered by his son Mario, between
whom had existed a tense love-hate relationship. As the play goes back
in time, we learn that Antonio Alonso was a theater manager, who had
opposed the Spanish government. Because of his opposition, his theater
company teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, and experiences much
hardship. In the midst of this turmoil, Mario’s aspirations are in
constant conflict with his father’s efforts to escape further
persecution by accepting things as they. Antonio organizes a patriotic
Spanish soiree to raise funds to help the Spanish army fight against an
invading army. While the father-son relationship becomes even more
strained over these events, Amanda de Atocha arrives secretly at the
theater, and Mario falls hopelessly in love with her. At this moment,
the Spanish-American war erupts. The North Americans come ashore at
Ponce, and the mayor, to please the new arrivals, sends his wife to ask
Antonio Alonso to entertain General Nelson Miles and his lieutenants
with a show. Antonio Alonso begins rehearsals for the show, and asks
Mario to help because there are so few actors available. After refusing
at length for both personal and political reasons, Mario agrees, while
cursing his country’s misfortune. Before long, old grudges resurface,
and Mario looks for a way to ruin his father’s efforts to entertain the
new arrivals. In desperation, Mario decides to make an attempt on the
life of General Miles during the show. Then follows a great
transformation in the characters of both Mario and his father. The play
ends exactly as it begins.
Las
Cosas
del Cantar
(Songs From Life)
Uruguay
June
5 & 8
byDahd Sfeir
directed
by Jorge Curi
About the play: “SONGS FROM LIFE” is a collective
homage to the great poet of Granada, Federico García Lorca (1898-1936)
in the centennial year of his birth. It gathers together some of Lorca’s
most famous poems, several scenes from his theatrical works, and a
number of the songs he collected in his facet as an accomplished
musician. The show also includes writings by his contemporaries, Machado
and Bergamín, along with songs evoking the world of the Andalusian
gypsies that so captivated Lorca’s spirit. So on the same stage, you see
together the doleful women of the Lorcan dramas (Doña Rosita, Blood
wedding, and Mariana Pineda), the “manolas”, the “bullfighters”, the
“gypsies”, vivid examples of what Lorca himself called the “spirit and
mystery of the flamenco”.
Monte Calvo
USA
June 17 & 18
Teatro "La Tea"
byJairo Aníbal Niño
directed
by Nelson Landrieu
About the play: Monte Calvo, written in 1969 by
Colombian playwright Jairo Aníbal Niño, deals with the participation of
Latin American troops in the Korean War. Colombia has a significant role
in this war as Colombian soldiers suffered heavy causalities during a
surprise attack on Monte Calvo. The story centers around a patriotic
soldier, a demented sergeant, and poor beggar who plays as the town
fool. Poverty binds these three to each other in a way that moves the
heart although the play ends with a unexpected twist. Monte Calvo
depicts a universal problem in which political action involves men in
foreign wars. In the case of Korea, it is a Latin American country that
fights in one of the 86 battles and 44 wars that have taken place in the
world, one from which it received no benefit, and about which it knew
very little.
Comegato
Venezuela
June 15 &
16
by Gustavo Ott
directed
by Gustavo Ott
About the play: The story begins at the end. But in
the first place, COMEGATO is a story of two brothers and one love. But
it is also a story of failure, crime and betrayal -a betrayal that
transcends family and spouse, and becomes the betrayal of country and
reason. And all of this sits, like a time bomb, like two enormous,
dangerous tanks of gasoline awaiting the careless toss of a cigarette,
for someone to reveal himself as the true hero of the country. While the
clock ticks, we watch the characters gamble away their pathetic and
dangerous existences in a society built upon illusion. In a world of
easy money and everyday immorality, Comegato is just an ordinary Sunday
at the Races. Suddenly, an inexplicable phenomenon traps the characters
within a world seconds away from its end. Time begins to move backwards.
The races run against the clock. Time becomes an inverse calculation,
and, like all time bombs set to detonate, it is a blind race towards the
number zero.
Las Fórmulas del Abuelo
(Grandpa’s Formulas)
Venezuela
June 6
Teatro de Títeres "La Pareja"
by Daniel Dimauro & Raul G. Aguirre
directed by Daniel Dimauro
About the play: This puppet show, for children of all ages, consists of three parts each one independent, yet all interwoven. The first part tells the story of the old man Ludovico, who lives with his grandson Nico, and who is obsessed with finding a formula to make him young again, so he can share many experiences with his grandson. His efforts are unsuccessful, but not in vain, since the formula he invents helps him to recover his savings that had been stolen by a mean robber. This first part is to reaffirm a sense of justice in children, and the rewards of perseverance. The second part begins a dynamic contest between the old man Ludovico and a strange animal owned by a robber who wants to steal the old man’s savings. In the end, the robber is converted and the animal is tamed, thanks to Ludovico’s tenderness. The third part retells Ludovico’s departure for Maracaibo, accompanying an iguana who wants to visit its relatives. The two are followed by Nico, who wants to protect his grandfather’s savings. The two travelers encounter all types of robbers along the way, but Nico, with the help of the children and the audience, successfully saves them.
