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Teatro Bicultural
Want your play in Spanish? English? How about
both?
BY MIA LEONIN
Lili Renteria
believes the stage doesn't exist just to present
theater. The stage exists to present possibilities.
Hence the choice of an elegant hand fan as the
logo of her brainchild Teatro Abanico, a 200-seat
theater and gallery space in Coral Gables. "The
fan is not just a visual symbol," emphasizes
the Cuban-born actress and producer. "It's
a concept, a vision, and a desire. The fan opening
represents our desire to offer audiences a sampling
of the cultural and aesthetic diversity that
Miami has in abundance."
One of the things Abanico (Spanish
for the word "fan") has done to that
end is produce a variety of works in Spanish.
"Miami is a crossroads for artists from
all over Latin America, but this hasn't always
been apparent on our stages," says Renteria.
In conjunction with the nonprofit organization
Acting for All, Abanico opened its doors in
November of 2002 to debut the Venezuelan play
Strippers Del L'Inferno. |
Actress/producer Lili Renteria |
The Argentine comedy Y Cómo
Quedo Yo? came next. Last Friday the season's third
show opened: a Spanish-language adaptation of Tennessee
Williams's Sweet Bird of Youth, the story of an aging
movie star trying to recapture her youth, and a driven,
unscrupulous young man who is seeking stardom and
true love. Later in the season, the theater will present
an adaptation of Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot
Lovers and an original work honoring Spanish poet/playwright
Federico Garcia Lorca.
Renteria's concept of diversity extends
across not only cultures, but languages too. She hopes
to make Abanico fertile ground for theater to experience
the kind of crossover that the music and film industries
have enjoyed: "We plan to do plays in English.
We also want to translate contemporary cutting-edge
American plays into Spanish." Other future projects
include weekly children's theater performances and
a children's summer camp for the plastic and performing
arts. No doubt, Renteria is attacking her new role
as producer with the same ferocity that won her accolades
throughout Latin America as an actress. Miami audiences
can look forward to watching this ambitious work in
progress unfold.
Fuente:
New Times
Abril 2003
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