performance
CERTAIN DARK THINGS/CIERTAS COSAS OSCURAS
An experiment in collaborative creation, spoken word, identity politics, gender politics, religion and feminism.
Written, Directed and Designed By Lián A. Sifuentes
With poetry by Pablo Neruda
and Margaret Atwood and stories by Edith Hamilton
This piece was inspired by the conflict and confusion that both Love and Religion bring into a person's life. I am intrigued by the consuming passion and blatant hypocrisies that exist both in forms of religion and in romantic love. Religion is love, love for God. In mythology, love for a God was also intimately tied to love for another human. Modern love is often described as a religious experience with fate stepping in to guide to lovers. Religious differences, racial mixing, age gaps, and worldwide communication capabilities further complicate matters of the heart. I found all of these complexities and conflicts inspirational as I began writing.
Edith Hamilton's Mythology was a crucial source as I was writing and Margaret Atwood's "Siren Song" seemed to be the perfect ending to the piece. However, it all began with Pablo Neruda's "Sonnet XVII." The words were so beautiful; I couldn't help but be inspired by them. I chose to speak the poem in Spanish because the filter of translation did not appeal to me. I also felt that speaking in an untranslated language reinforced the idea that all too often lovers do not listen to each other and are unable to communicate.
I appreciate your attendance this evening and invite you to join us for a post-performance discussion.
Special thanks to Julian Olf, Julius Lester, Harley Erdman and Roberto Sifuentes.
Monday, May 6th at 5pm
Studio 204
UMass Theater Department, Fine Arts Center
Performed in Collaboration with:
Heather Crocker
Caitlin Jaffe
Matt Lang
Thomas Naughton
Natasha Norman
Jenny Thomson
Faculty Advisors:
Julian Olf and Julius Lester
Staged with the help, advice and support of Roberto Sifuentes
Tonight's performance is a dramatic montage of images, personal stories, poetry and found text. Tonight is the second phase of an exploration of the creative process and the often confusing, challenging process of making art (conceptual, performance, visual or otherwise). The first phase of this process was a staged reading, where audience members were invited to write down images and words that came to mind or stood out. All of the responses became tools in the "creative process" as I developed the next phase of the project- the visual performance.
- Lián A. Sifuentes
Naughton (far right), Sifuentes (right) and Crocker (center)
during post-performance discussion.
Photo by Julius Lester
PROCESS DESCRIPTION:
The original script was written by Lián Sifuentes and included found texts from Margaret Atwood, Edith Hamilton and Pablo Neruda; the found texts are all typed with their original phrasing. This is a postmodern text, written outside of the conventions of traditional theater. For the purposes of archival, the script is considered a creative manuscript and is written in the format most suitable to the subject matter.
The first phase of this project was a staged reading of an earlier draft of the script. The staged reading occurred on February 11th, 2002. The reading was performed in Studio 204 of the UMass theater department, with a cast of two. Audience members were encouraged to write down comments, images and lines from the text that stood out to them. Those comments were then taken into consideration when writing the next draft of the piece.
The final performance of the piece was May 6th, 2002 in Studio 204. The show was cast, directed, and designed by Lián Sifuentes. The piece was performed with a cast of seven ensemble members (including Lián Sifuentes) after a rehearsal period of two months. The script, as it is written for the purposes of archival, is as close the actual performance as possible; stage directions and light and music cues are included.