A woman trapped between death and life
By Janice Zimolzak August 22, 2008 San Miguel de Allende
Theater
Águeda (in Spanish, with
written English translation)
Aug 31 & Sept 7, 6pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
250 pesos
Unique in concept, as well as content, a new dramatic performance, Águeda, promises to take you to a cultural place that has never before been experienced—an artful blend of theatrical performance, music and two-dimensional visual art. Unlike opera, where the music outweighs the story line or a theatrical or film musical, where one discipline overpowers the other, here both musical and thespian arts find a strong and balanced position. Add to this, the dimension of a visual art that instead of detracting attention, clarifies and enhances the overall performance for the viewer. Although this may sound a bit complicated, the multi-disciplinary arts blend together so well, it will leave you wondering why no one ever thought of it before.
The original script and format are the brainchild of local sanmiguelense, Laumuq. Throughout the performance, Águeda, the protagonist (played by Arleta Jeziorska), maintains a dialogue with her constant companion (Christian Baumgartner), on the subject of detachment of appearances and rebirth of new consciousness. A woman, trapped between death and life, Águeda struggles with the petrified faces that continue to torment her existence. It is the constant presence of her “companion-self” that links her to the music of her true essence—allowing her to fuse with the melody of the mournful world in which she lives. The collective unconscious archetypes trapped within her, as they are in all of us, are metaphors of the diverse identities that participate in the plot—the barriers that obstruct her freedom. They speak to the audience through visual language.
Twelve works of art, created by some of San Miguel’s most prominent artists, Peter Leventhal, Santiago Corral, Juan Ezcurdia, Miguel Ángel Morales, Cyr Casas, Laumuq, Carmen Gutíerrez, Margarita Orozco, Oscar Martínez, Angelina Pérez, Guillermo Guerrero Arias, Claudia Casillas, and Artemio Sepulveda, have each interpreted an individual personality in his/her own style. These visual manifestations appear intermittently on the stage.
World-class cellist, Jimena Giménez Cacho, composed the original music for Águeda, which she will personally perform throughout the performance. A graduate of the Real Conservatorio in Madrid, Giménez Cacho has performed in the Symphonic Orchestras of Valladolid, Symphonic Orchestra of Balearesa, Symphonic Orchestra of Mineria, the Mexico City Philharmonic and the String Quartet of the National Institute for the Fine Arts.
The intimacy of the subject dictates an intimate staging, which the Teatro Santa Ana perfectly provides. Victor Zapatero, a lighting specialist, who works internationally on some of the best stages in the world, has designed an ambience that will enhance your theater experience. The public will be accommodated by two performances, August 31 and September 7 at 6pm. Both performances will be in Spanish accompanied by a written synopsis in English. A lack of fluency in Spanish should not deter anyone from fully comprehending and thoroughly enjoying the performance. The music and visuals, each a self-contained pleasurable experience, will draw you into and through the dialogue.
Following its premiere in San Miguel, Águeda will be presented in major cities throughout México for one year, returning to the Teatro Santa Ana for a final performance in August 2009.
The writer/director, Laumuq, studied here at the Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez “El Nigromante” and the Al Collins School for Visual Arts in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as attended Arizona State University. In this, her initial national production, she hopes to raise the consciousness of culture in San Miguel and communicate to the nation the quality of diverse talents that exist within our community.
Tickets are on sale at Bellas Artes, Biblioteca Pública, Casa Katarina, Galería San Miguel and El Tecolote.
A play of beginnings and endings
By Glenda Robinson
Theater
The Last Ride
Fri–Sat, Aug 22–23, 7:30pm
Sun, Aug 24, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
150 pesos
The new musical drama by local playwright Michael Hager, The Last Ride, is more about beginnings than endings. With an unusual dramatic structure, the audience enters the play directly through the main character, Dusty Evans, who has just died and returned to his local hangout as a spirit. A two-act drama set in a southwest New Mexico truck stop bar, The Last Ride brings together an array of curious characters, including a gruff but soft-hearted long-haul trucker, a young soldier leaving his pregnant girlfriend to go off to war in Iraq and a 50-something strip club owner who sees her last chance at love disappear when Dusty is killed in a freak accident.
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