La llegada

Sandra Félix on the right

On Monday, Tim and I arrived at the Mexico Library in the morning to see a play which would be performed in front of a group of students. Sandra Félix, the director for a previous play we saw (exilios: obras breves), adapted this play from a graphic novel by Shaun Tan, entitled The Arrival in English and El emigrante (The Immigrant) in Spanish. The scenery, illumination, and multimedia were all designed by Philippe Amand, the hauntingly beautiful music was originally created by El Gabinete, and the traveler who personified the main character in the story was played by Antonio Zúñiga.

The imaginative world of Shaun Tan

Staying true to graphic novel’s uniqueness as a genre, Sandra chose to keep the play without words. In order to move the story along she used select images from the book. And let me say that these images are breathtaking. Obviously because images were a central part to the play, the use of multimedia was essential throughout the production. To display these images the stage was set up with a large white wall. A smaller rectangular box was located in the middle with another white screen behind this space. When large transitions occurred two large sets of blinds would descend to cover the box. These blinds could shut to allow a full screen appearance, or they could open to allow us a peek into the world. Most of the time the blinds were kept up so we could see the actors on stage.

Actor Antonio Zúñiga

The story followed a husband and father as he leaves his family to travel to a strange new area. The transportation, language, writing system, and animals were all unique to this new world, but here and there he finds remnants of his old world. For example, he is invited to a family dinner, as well as sits and gazes at the sky with a war veteran. Throughout the play, through both the acting and images on the screen, we see his loneliness, his joys, and his fears. By the end of the production his family arrives and they are finally reunited. It was a beautiful and very happy ending.

The combination of actor and image, for me, made the multimedia as significant, if not more significant, than the actors themselves. And I think this is well received in a setting like this because the play is essentially a graphic novel with the actors displaying even more emotions and movement than can be found in a graphic novel. In this way, both sides complement each other: the acting increases the emotions behind the images, and the images move the story along.

Creative use of multimedia and acting

The themes within the play carry a special message for anyone who travels to new places, not just immigrants, as the Spanish title for the graphic novel suggests. Both Tim and I were in tears as the family was reunited at the end. I’m sure that if I were alone I might have been more emotional, but when I’m surrounded by others I try to keep it in. I felt, to a certain degree, the students who were present probably didn’t feel the same emotions as we did, since both he and I have families of our own. But I think the message was still profound enough for them, especially if they are close to their own family or if their father or mother has left for any specific purpose, not just as an immigrant.

The Salt Lake City Temple

And this touches on a gospel truth: families can be together forever. No matter what happens to us here in this life, we have the ability to be with reunited for all eternity if we are sealed by the proper authority in temples. I am grateful that I am sealed to my wife and children. If anything were to happen to any of us I know we will be together again for all eternity after this life. This is a truth that gives me tremendous peace in this life, and hope in the next.

The play will continue on Saturdays and Sundays until the 28^th of June, located in the Foro Polivalente Antonieta Rivas Mercado. If you are in Mexico City, I highly recommend you make a stop here.