premiere

tonight is the u.s. premiere of the play muy leal (very loyal) written and directed by one of the professors here, pepo delgado costa, and i must say, it's a great pleasure working with him. i've worked with him on three plays now, and this is the most demanding role i've had to date, anywhere. one of the things that makes it so demanding is that i'm playing pepo, so i have to be faithful to the character as he's watching my every move, but try to meld it with my own style. i've acted more here at middlebury in spanish than i have in augusta in english. funny how that happens, isn't it? when we did dress rehearsal yesterday, it was kind of odd because i was the least dressed up--a short sleeve button shirt untucked, khakis & chuck taylors. well, that's what pepo wears. i felt comofortable up there, probably because my wardrobe is from my own closet.

the play is about a playwright wanting to commemorate the tricentennial (1702-2002) of the english attack on the city of arecibo, puerto rico, in which a handful of peasants at the command of capitan antonio de los reyes correa defeated admiral whetstone and his men. peponcio, the playwright, is trying to explain his idea to the director of the teatro oliver, doña olmo, but both the director and her secretary, zoraida, are trying to iron out the details with peponcio, and after the scenes in the office with the three of them, the following scene is the actors' portrayal of peponcio's idea.

it's an amazing play and the cast is terrific! we've put together a whole play, with all that that entails, in 3 1/2 weeks! in comparison, a play on broadway takes at least 6 weeks from first reading to dress rehearsal. so, take that, broadway!

the best part is that my mom, who grew up three towns away from arecibo, knows all about the village of capitan correa, as arecibo is known locally. even though i had told my family i was in a play, when i told her that it specifically took place in arecibo, she was so excited! i hope to get a dvd before i leave; i really want to see everything calmly...and with popcorn.

**chuchi