UTRGV theatre students conduct an exercise with students from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico theater program March 23 in Puerto Rico. PHOTO COURTESY ERIC WILEY
Last month, 11 students and two faculty from the Theatre Department at UTRGV set forth on a trip to Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce to watch and showcase original theatrical work.
The Department of Theatre was encouraged and enabled to take the trip by Latino Theatre Initiatives, the Center for Latin American Arts and College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffery Ward in order to create and strengthen a relationship with the university in Puerto Rico.
The trip’s March 19-24 itinerary for the UTRGV students included watching other participating colleges compete against each other while showcasing their own performances, exploring the city and performing.
Universities competing were Universidad de Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, who placed first, Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico, host school who came in second, Universidad de Puerto Rico at Ponce, Universidad de Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. A panel of theatre professionals judged the competition.
In total, the play, “Ni de aquí, ni de allá: A través del Valle,” consisted of five short pieces written, performed and directed in Spanish by UTRGV students.
“This play, created by university students from the Rio Grande Valley in the South of Texas, brings actors’ stories to life–with gangsters, autism, intimidation, family dysfunction and a longing for home, dramatized with humor, honesty and happiness,” reads the UTRGV students original play’s program in Spanish.
The play consisted of a team of 13 students: directors Karina Molina and Maximilian Cano, actors Miranda Hernandez Rolando Garza, Lina Ortiz, Scot Johnson and Natalie Palacios, stage manager Dinorah Treviño, assistant stage manager Azuzena Bazan, light operator Gustavo Castorena, sound operator Valeria Mendoza, photographer Jonah Longoria and program and props operator Angelica Gonzalez.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Plaza Las Delicias, in the historic district of Ponce, Puerto Rico. PHOTO COURTESY ERIC WILEY
The participating students were chosen in auditions that took place in the fall semester to be cast in one or several of the plays that would be performed in Puerto Rico.
“They created this play about their own lives,” theatre Professor Eric Wiley said. “So there [were] five performers, and each one presented a play about their own lives, about growing up, about life in the Valley.”
Wiley said the students did not only gain experience and knowledge in theater but also witnessed cultural similarities between Puerto Rico and the Rio Grande Valley.
He said watching the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico perform was a “highly enriching opportunity,” which included more dancing incorporated into their production and was interesting to compare and contrast between what they are used to and what they witnessed.
“The students were exposed to numerous other college theatre programs,” Wiley said. “It gave them a chance to reflect on our theatre program and the type of theatre we do and how we treat theatre by comparing it to what they were seeing in a very far away place that’s very different from the Valley.”
Theatre, film production sophomore Jonah Longoria was brought on to the team to record and photograph the journey and create a documentary.
Longoria said that going into the project, he expected his world view to change. He said visiting Puerto Rico put things into perspective and is grateful for living in the Valley.
“Watching the theatres, the theatre shows, it inspired me,” Longoria said. “It gave you some ideas for filmmaking, which is kind of unique, getting inspired by theatre for filmmaking.”
He saw the different emotions the UTRGV performers went through before and during the performance, such as nerves, excitement and stress.
“It was interesting to see when they’re actually there and seeing how their moods change, the way they conduct themselves,” Longoria said.
He said that although he did not understand much of the dialogue in the play, he was able to understand what each short was trying to convey through each movement and emotion shown on stage.
“You don’t really have to understand Spanish to get the play, because there’s a lot of visual things happening,” Longoria said. “They use props. It’s a unique play. I’ve never seen something like that before.”
UTRGV and Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico theatre students enjoy a meal together March 23 at a restaurant in Ponce, Puerto Rico. PHOTO COURTESY ERIC WILEY
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