I finally have an evening to escape from the plethora of amazing activities Mester in Salamanca has put together for my 2 week course for Spanish professors. Luckily, this week is the "Festival Internacional de las Artes de Castilla y León". Not so luckily, there are very few theater pieces to see: two to be exact. Oh well. "No llueve a gusto de todos" ("you can't please everyone") as one of my professors said here.
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Flyer for the Arts Festival
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Tonight's production was "Sublime Decisión", an overtly didactical feminist play, at the Teatro de la Comedia in Salamanca. This play was originally produced in 1955 by Spanish playwright Miguel Mihura at the Madrid theater "Teatro Infanta Isabel". All the actors of this production, directed by Pablo Málaga, belong to the company "En Verso" ("In Verse"), promoted by the "
Universidad de la Experiencia" (University of Experience), a government inititative with the University of Salamanca, for citizens 55+ in the region of Castilla y León. If I were to offer some type of production comparison for the United States, I would categorize this as a "community theater" piece.
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| Outside of the "Teatro La Comedia" in Salamanca |
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| Flyer for the production of "Sublime Decisión" |
In "Sublime Decisión" we follow the life of Florita, played in this production by Isabel Ortiz de Zarate Gorbea. Florita aspires to more than being only a coquetish girl on a balcony, awaiting a suiter to snatch her up. She aspires to work, to do more with her life. The year is 1895, and we are in Salamanca. For women in Spain during th 19th century, to pursue a career was almost impossible, and definitely socially awkward. Take, for instance, Emilia Pardo Bazán, an incredible writer from Galicia who was
denied entry into the Real Academia Española, not for her indubitable talent, but for the simple fact of being a woman. Florita confronts her society with her dreams. She eventually persists enough to be placed in a government position that is completely sexist. But, true to melodramatic works, she clearly outperforms the men and makes them feel humiliated. She is the "underdog" with pure talent. However, with time, she is eventually sacked from her job, even though she is the best at it, and even though the other men have problems with her. It's completely unjustified, but what could you expect from 1895 when, in comparison, we have an idiot like Trump who continues to make hostile comments about women and menstrual cycles? But enough about that...
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| Florita at work |
But the government office is not where the majority of this play occurs. We are privy to the conversations of Cecilia, Florita's sister, their mother, the aunt, and the two neighbors who gossip like crazy. That was my favorite part of the play. There were moments when it felt like I was actually watching a real conversation. In other words, a lot of the dialogue felt real, as opposed to other moments when the dialogue was a bit forced. Let me give you an example of forced dialogue here. When Florita was fired, right before she leaves she turns back and says "Adiós a mi sueño". I mean, it's obvious. We don't need to hear it to confirm it.
At the end of the production a sort of "deus ex machina" tool was used, and Florita was offered a position to oversee the new ministry of women and put only women to work in that ministry. She denies, yet again, the advances of her suitor, and dedicates her life to her work. This is when she confronts the audience to say that this decision was "sublime".
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| The ladies gossip about Florita |
Now, if I may, I'd like to add just a few criticisms concerning this particular production. I'm not sure if it was the directing or the limitations of the space, but the lighting and the music truly bothered me. For example, the sound system made me jump in my seat at first. Then, they had some strange jazz/pop selection like something straight out of "
Moulin Rouge (2001)" that played between major scenes. Concerning the light, there were moments in which actors whole faces were blocked by the curtain and, subsequently, were in the dark. However, they did well with what they had. I'd imagine this was sort of a shotgun performance for the arts festival, so they probably didn't have a lot of time to sort through technical aspects of the play in this particular theater.
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| The actors during their final bow (Florita is next to the guy with the white blazer) |
It doesn't seem like theater is very popular here. There are two productions during the whole festival, and very few options in Salamanca. Maybe I'm just here during the "off" season, though. For this production, the small house was maybe a quarter to a third filled. But anyway, it was a fun experience. I'm grateful for the time and talents that went into this production.
