The Cuban play Huevos by playwright Ulises Rodríguez Febles from Matanzas, will be premiered next November 16 in Miami, by Akuara Theatre, The Má Teodora and Cuban Theater Digital Archive of the Miami University.
This staging , written in 2004 and premiered by Mephisto Theatre in 2007, reflected the actual events that preceded the mass exodus of Cubans through the Mariel in 1980 and the consequences of this event that has marked generations of Cubans on both sides .
The play, under the general direction of Yvonne López Arenal and Alberto Sarraín , has the participation of the actors Enrique Moreno , Micheline Calvert, Liset Jimenez, Carlos Alberto Pérez- León , José Antonio Orta , Marcia Arencibia -Henderson , Miriam Bermudez , Christian Ocon, Roberto Bello and Imaray Ulloa .
About Huevos, it is part of the trilogy Dramaturgia del éxodo, with Minefield and Citizenship, and his writer Ulises Rodriguez, who works in Miami in the staging of the play, shares with OnCuba some of his opinions.
“Writing is a complex act, a necessity and pleasure humans live with. A dramatic text comes from an image of an event, a character, a story or even a phrase that impact and sparks creation. The act of writing is a reservoir of things that one has seen, heard, investigated. An author has a responsibility to himself and to others . Of all those feelings Huevos was born, first images, and then events and characters. “
“The play addresses a living and breathing subject, memory area difficult and complex, exciting and painful. Everyone knows it must be very controversial and where each will have its own story. What interests me is the question of human and social phenomena, the search of perspectives and approaches (ethical, psychological, aesthetic, ideological …) related to human nature, immersed in the social aspect. It is important to communicate with others, and that reception is only produced in the case of theater, first in reading, which is more intimate and then on stage, in contact with a mixed crowd. “
How does the work arrive in Miami and how has been the experience of working with Akuara Theatre?
“There was always interest into doing it in Miami. That’s logical. Before that, it was read in Brazil and Spain. Akuara Theatre, presided by Yvonne López Arenal , decided to do it and proposed it to me, with the help of Ma Teodora and Theatre Archive at the University of Miami. They have their own team of collaborators, including actors who are part of the institution and others, whom they invite according to the characteristics of the staging. They have released Cuban playwrights’ texts, because one of its main objectives is to disseminate and promote Cuban drama. And I accepted the proposal. As for the experience of seeing how they work Akuara , as they face the risk of the theater, is also a unique experience for me . It allows me to see and confront”.
“A text that addresses a topic related to people of the two countries, by an author who lives, works and beats in Cuba, with actors living in the United States, which are part of several generations, with different stories, I think it is a significant fact. Because the theater is written so that it does not represent or document for posterity because it is written in a way that it establishes a dialogue, to produce an act of faith, conflict of reunions, which is able to achieve the theater as an artistic fact: its dazzling power of giving something to others. Everyone will find – as it happened in Cuba –what his human and social experience causes him. “
– In its presentations in Cuba, Huevos was well received by the public. Do you think it will be the same in the United States?
“Huevos caused a striking relationship with the public in Cuba, which many people, including critics, have reflected. Sitting in the chair, you hear people sobbing; there was a strange and beautiful communion between the people gathered in a dark room, receiving a piece of national history, of a troubled and controversial stage. For me as an author is significant in these and other works. I write for the people of my country. And as an artist I have an ethical commitment. In the case of Miami, I still do not know what will happen, but it’s interesting because it’s another type of audience. “
“I’ve seen people weep in the rehearsals, for empathy, for the human part of what happens in the play. So I think that if you have received in this new scenario. Already, many people are booking their seats for functions. Although, what will happen remains to be seen. “
* Huevos, will take the stage on Saturday November at 8:30 pm and Sundays at 6:00 pm, in the Akuara theater, located in 45999 75 Ave SW Bird Road Art District in Miami. Tickets can be booked now on the phone 786 853-1283. Tickets will go on sale one hour before the function begins at the entrance of the theater.
By: Lis Arango
