San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

Diversity and Parity in Theatre: Notes from the Dramatists Guild Conference in San Diego

by

Licensing, royalties, and writing were the main topics when the National Dramatists Guild (DG) convened at Torrey Pines. The Dramatist Guild is a community of playwrights, composers and lyricists dedicated to protecting, informing and promoting the interests of dramatists everywhere.

Hundreds of people came from different parts of the country and even the world this past weekend to passionately discuss how when, where and why they are guided by the pen. The conference is held every two years in a different city.

There were many known names, those who have and are still writing what everybody is talking about (ahem Frozen…Wicked)   [Read more…]

PLACAS: Family, Roots and Loyalty

by

It had always been difficult for me to watch a Chicano/Chicano-type play in San Diego. I always feel that they present a stereotype instead of an authentic story. Looking at it another way, I guess those past productions achieved their goal on the most basic level of using the art of theater to provoke thought and analysis.

My feelings about this subject of theater changed this past April when I saw “PLACAS: The Most Dangerous Tattoo,” a play written by Paul S. Flores, developed with and directed by Michael John Garcés. The play screamed “This is it! This is the way it is.”   [Read more…]

Zurbarán and Sorolla: Welcomed Guests At the San Diego Museum of Art

by

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

“St. Francis in Prayer in a Grotto” by Francisco de Zurbarán and “By the Seashore, Valencia” by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida are the ‘newbies’ welcomed to the San Diego Museum of Art. The inclusion of these two influential artists’ works continues to build on the strength of the museum’s renowned permanent collection of Spanish art.

Earlier this month there was the unveiling of “By the Seashore, Valencia.” Several personalities for the arts community were present for the important event which falls perfectly into the celebration of the Balboa Park Centennial as well as the museum’s 100th birthday.   [Read more…]

‘The Grift’: Mysteries and Cons at the Lafayette Hotel

by

Theater without the seat

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

Sometimes the word “theater” can be an intimidating one. Different festivals and companies around the world are recognizing that feeling of intimidation and have designed productions in non-theater related spaces like basketball courts, school yards, parking lots and so on. San Diego is also exploring this dynamic with events such as The Fringe and WoW (Without Walls) festivals.

Each festival, as with every project, entails a learning process. Since the WoW festival is designed to happen every two years, there are several shows in prep for it which give people the idea of the festival. These shows also act as a thermometer, testing out audience’s response to the building hype.

“The Grift,” the latest presentation in the WoW series, is a very particular, creative and innovative way to not only attract new audiences but to also boost teamwork and new relations and friendships. This theatrical event was created exclusively for the Lafayette Hotel, a California boutique hotel located in North Park since 1946.   [Read more…]

The “Darrell Hammond Project” at the La Jolla Playhouse

by

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

When the name “Darrell Hammond” is heard or read, the immediate association is with Saturday Night Live and comedy. Hammond holds the title for being the longest running cast member on the show (14 years), as well as for the most impressions by a single Saturday Night Live cast member: Bill Clinton, Regis Philbin, Dan Rather, John Travolta, Jesse Jackson, Richard Dreyfus, Jay Leno, Donald Trump and Sean Connery in the ever-popular “Celebrity Jeopardy” skits. He also has the distinction of being the person that has said the show’s catch phrase “Live From New York, It’s Saturday Night!” the most often.

In 2011, Hammond released his memoir “God, If You’re Not Up There, I’m F*cked: Tales of Stand-Up, Saturday Night Live and Other Mind-Altering Mayhem.” It was so well received that Hammond scaled the piece to a live performance. “The Darrell Hammond Project,” co-written with Elizabeth Steins, is the result.   [Read more…]

Herbert Siguenza on ‘Steal Heaven’: We Have More Power Than We Think

by

The San Diego REP begins 2015 with Herbert Siguenza’s tribute to Abbie Hoffman

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

Abbie Hoffman was an American political activist who also founded the Youth International Party (Yippies) in 1968 and was known for his successful media events. The Yippies were likely to use ‘guerrilla’ theater or public pranks to bring attention to their causes.

Hoffman’s legacy lives on at the San Diego Repertory Theatre when it stages the world premiere of “Steal Heaven.” The production, which opens on January 10 is by Herbert Siguenza who also acts and co-directs along with Todd Salovey.

“Abbie Hoffman was a political figure of the sixties. Some people called him ‘crazy’ or ‘ultra-radical’ but the things he was saying back then have all come true,” …   [Read more…]

San Diego Rep’s “Honky” Navigates the Murky Waters of Race, Rhetoric and Basketball Shoes

by

An interview with playwright Greg Kalleres about the West Coast premier

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

Greg Kallares felt inspired while writing TV commercials for Jordan and Nike during his undergraduate years in New York. As his insight into the advertising industry grew and his own writing progressed he felt the need to write a play.

“I was very much inspired by the industry,” Kalleres told the San Diego Free Press. “It is a very white industry. I was struck by how white it was and how comical it became to watch people discuss the demographics with a certain level of discomfort.”   [Read more…]

The Search for a Way Out of the Dark: “Rabbit Hole” Opens the Season at San Diego State University

by

SDSU School of Theatre, Television, and Film opens their 2014 – 2015 Theatre Season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

“Rabbit Hole” is the season starter at San Diego State University. It is directed by Peter James Cirino who is also Director of the San Diego Asian American Repertory Theater.

A shocking and sudden loss leaves young couple Becca (Katie Rich) and Howie (Christopher Yarrow) redefining their existence as they grow apart. Eight months into their loss, Becca’s younger sister Izzy (Courtnee Stagner)—a not too stable girl who loves to party—announces her unexpected pregnancy, adding a bitter-sweet ingredient to the already complex mix.

“Rabbit Hole” is a tough piece of work to put together and perform, especially with young actors. In this case, Cirino’s direction shines through the talented portrayals of its cast.

  [Read more…]

Trouble in Kingdom City: “If You Try to Repress Something, It’s Going to Come Out Somewhere Else…”

by

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

Playwright Sheri Wilner was intrigued by a 2006 article she read in The New York Times about a controversial high school theatre department in a small Missouri town. She explained her impressions of the article during an interview with San Diego Free Press, how it triggered her play “Kingdom City” which opened with a world premier at The La Jolla Playhouse on September 4th.

“The article talked about how ‘Grease’ created some controversy in the school. And the next play that was being done was ‘The Crucible’; the principal was worried that that might cause controversy too, so he preemptively cancelled the play. I consider ‘The Crucible’ a masterpiece, I think it is one of the most important plays ever written. But if it where my 14 year old niece in the play, it becomes a different story. That was the fear I could understand.”   [Read more…]

San Diego Rep Opens the Season with “The Pianist of Willesden Lane”

by

A young girl’s gripping tale of art preserving life

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

Over the course of the past weeks, responses to the ALS ice bucket challenge have become viral sensations. At its heart, the ALS challenge is a testimony to the hope and courage of people living with the disease and the generosity of people who want to help cure it. The San Diego Repertory Theatre is opening its 39th season with the play “The Pianist of Willesden Lane.” Although it is set in a different time and under different circumstances, it too is a story of hope, courage, generosity–and virtuosity.   [Read more…]

The Epic Battle between Doctor and Student Beneath the “Ether Dome”

by

La Jolla Playhouse stages Elizabeth Egloff’s exploration of ambition, pain relief and the beginning of health care as big business

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

The Ether Dome is an amphitheater in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. It served as the hospital’s operating room from its opening in 1821 until 1867. It was the site of the first public demonstration of the use of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic on October 16, 1846.

La Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Forum has been transformed through Jim Youmans’ scenic design to portray that historic passage. Audience members witness how these men of medicine continued to search for the least painful way to surgically intervene. The play captures the circus like atmosphere that surrounded surgery during the mid-nineteenth century when both medical and non-medical staff offered various opinions on procedures carried out upon unanesthetized patients.   [Read more…]

The Orphan of Zhao: “Who wants to be another man’s equal? … To be powerful, one must be feared”

by

The story of loyalty, family and revenge at the La Jolla Playhouse

By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

The latest piece currently on stage at the La Jolla Playhouse Mandell Weiss Theatre is a co-production of The Orphan of Zhao, the first Chinese play to be translated in the West. This adaptation by James Fenton is directed by Carey Perloff in conjunction with the San Francisco based American Conservatory Theater.

I am always amazed by the La Jolla Playhouse. This effort to bring different and diverse works to the stage is something not just to admire — it is something to also be grateful for.

“Staging an ancient Chinese epic for a contemporary American audience is like building a bridge between distant but entwined cultures,” shared Carey Perloff in his Director’s note.   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry