The Chasm: Two Prevailing Winds of Gabriela Mistral
presented by Disquietude Theater Company
The Chasm: Two Prevailing Winds of Gabriela Mistral
This is a piece about the chasm between sorrow and life. Using the poetry of Gabriela Mistral as text, we intend to explore passion on two sides of a mirror: The passion of mourning and desolation on one side, and the projection of color and fecundity on the other.
Gabriela Mistral is one of Latin America's most revered poets. Nobel Prize winner, teacher and diplomat, she is the namesake of hundreds of schools in that region and is studied by students of all ages. Yet despite her acclaim by Spanish speaking countries, and despite the fact that she was Pablo Neruda's friend and teacher, many Northern Americans have never heard of her.
Disquietude Theater Company wants to change that. In "The Chasm: Two Prevailing Winds of Gabriela Mistral", which premiers this August at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Disquietude Theater brings Mistral's poetry to the Midwest in a performance that uses her words to create a story of the chasm between sorrow and hope. The visceral movement in this piece is accompanied by a minimalist, post-rock score and a collage of projected text and images. The team of artists collaborate to create a story from Mistral's poetry, presented in Spanish and English, in a passionate ritual.
Disquietude Theater is a new collaborative group of artists that seek to create text-based theater productions using movement as well as visual and audio elements to present new work to audiences. Our work is both inventive and fair: to the artistic abilities of the artists, the audience and the text.
The cast
Indira Addington Role: Ensemble Indira Addington studied theatre at Macalester College and Metropolitan State University. She toured with CLIMB theatre as well as Teatro del Pueblo. She's also been involved in Teatro's Political Theatre Festival, Augsburg's Manna Fest, and this is her third year being involved in the MN Fringe Festval. Currently, she works with Open Eye Figure Theatre.
Martin Elie Role: Suicidio After spending eight years in New York, where he attended pharmacy school, Martin is now making his debut in theatre with "The Chasm." A native of Haiti, here Martin makes his first steps in a rich multicultural and bilingual piece. Martin is enthusiastic and grateful for the opportunity to work with the Disquietude Theater company and the cast.
Dana Huseth Role: Ensemble Dana is completing her final degree in Theatre Arts and English at the U of MN. She has previously appeared in "Fannie Pack Follies" and "Dante's Pizza". She has also directed "Special" and Reefer Madness" this spring.
Kelsey Ann Olson Role: Ensemble Kelsey Ann enjoys creating theater with her body and is grateful for the opportunity to tumble for Disquietude Theater. She spends her days running the box office for The Southern Theater. She was last seen on stage in Jillia Pessenda's "Made in China" for Bedlam 10-Minute festival. This is her second Minnesota Fringe Festival.
Laurel Orman Role: Ensemble Laurel is a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota Morris, with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Spanish. Laurel has been acting in the Twin Cites theatre community for many years. Some of her favorite roles include Noreen in The Dark Side of Brothers' Grimm (Hardcover Theatre), Beatrice in Servant of Two masters (UMM) and Babe in Crimes of the Heart (UMM).
Katrina Perez Role: Corderito Katrina Perez is an 11 year old girl that is very crazy (in a good way) and likes guinea pigs, goats and llamas. And one minor detail- she can talk like a squirrel. You're probably thinking... "What?" Yes it's true. Everyone in the school refers to her as a squirrel. One guy doesn't even know her real name. Anyway, Katrina is half Spanish and honors her heritage. This zany girl is one of a kind.
Sheila Regan Role: Director Sheila Regan has performed with Theatre de la Jeune Leune, Theatre in the Round, Nightpath Theatre, Live Action Set, and Heart of the Beast in Minneapolis; as well as various Chicago credits. As a writer/performer/director, she has showcased her work at the Works In Progress festival at Redeye Collaborative, the Around the Coyote Festival in Chicago, and The Et Cetera Festival in Chicago. Regan has worked as a teaching artist at East Side Arts Council in Saint Paul, at Workhouse Theatre in Minneapolis, and as educational coordinator for Teatro del Pueblo in Saint Paul. She has a B.A. in Theatre from Macalester College and an M.F.A. in acting from Indiana University.
Hector Roberts Role: Creator/Adaptor/Designer Hector Roberts is a native of California where he started writing short plays, stories and poetry. While attending the University of San Diego, he directed new works by local artists as well as developing and experimenting with photography techniques. As an artist, he has combined his prose and poetry with images to create pieces known as paper movies, a concept that was originally pioneered by photographer and director Lou Stoumen. His first play Out of Cordoba was presented as part of Teatro del Pueblo’s Political Theater Festival in February, 2008.
Sarah Salisbury Role: Stage Manager Sarah recently graduated from Webster University's Conservatory for Theatre Arts with a BFA in stage management. Since returning to her home town, she has worked with such companies as The Southern Theater, Park Square Theater, Intermedia Arts, Eclectic Edge Ensemble, and Teatro Del Pueblo. She is thrilled to be able to work with such an amazing group of people on The Chasm.
Maria T. Sarmiento Role: Ternura Maria was born in Honduras and moved to Minnesota in 2007. Back in her country, she was part of two theatre groups: "Dogo" in high school, which means Earth in an aboriginal language, and "Chalukuan" in college. Using "Eva" as an artistic name, she has developed different characters as a comedian. Now she is looking forward to bringing herself in a new experience in "The Chasm".
alejandra Tobar-alatriz Role: Desolacion alejandra is humbled by the opportunity to play with Disquietude Theater and all whom it holds at the moment. In general, she likes to contribute to a creative, compassionate, and critical cultural 'reality'. You can find out more about her through Google. Muchisimas gracias por venir.
John Torgerson Role: Composer John Torgerson is an electronic musician and producer from Minneapolis, MN. He has written electronic music under the pseudonym naphini since 2002. His recent works feature post-rock and minimalist influences, using both acoustic and synthesized instruments such as the piano, vocoder, musical saw and theremin to create a hybrid sound. In addition to his solo work, John also plays keyboard for Minneapolis-based band Sika. Samples of naphini's music can be heard at www.naphini.com.
Sasha Walloch Role: Ensemble Sasha is excited to be performing in her first show with Disquietude Theater... especially since it's also Disquietude's first show. She has a BA in theatre Arts from the U of MN where she focussed on physical performance techniques. Recent roles include Mary Matthew in "State of the Union" at Lex Ham, Isabella in "Measure for Measure" at Nightpath, and part of the collaboration ensemble of "Personal Effects" at Pangea World Theatre. Watch for her this December in Commedia Beauregard's original "Klingon Christmas Carol".
Showtimes
Thu., Jul. 31 @ 7:00 p.m. Fri., Aug. 1 @ 10:00 p.m. Sat., Aug. 2 @ 8:30 p.m. Mon., Aug. 4 @ 7:00 p.m. Fri., Aug. 8 @ 10:00 p.m.
Good movement and visuals by paulino brenerFollow this reviewer Rating 3 kitties Good movement and visuals (may be a few too many slides, though) but I felt they could have done a better job with the delivery of Mistral's wonderful poems. Dame la mano y danzaremos! Dame la mano y me amaras!
An Outstanding Work by Mariana AguilarFollow this reviewer Rating 5 kitties I liked this piece for its visual elements and physicality. Also, the music really added to the over all experience. There may not be a story, per se, but it's not a play, so that's fine. As far as the dialogue, well, it is poetry placed to movement. So, actors are not necessarily talking to each other, but bringing poetry to life.
Not my cup of tea, but sincere by Dave LarsonFollow this reviewer Rating 3 kitties I appreciate what the artists are doing here, but I didn't connect with it. The poetry in Spanish or English is a bit too flowery for me. Also, a movement piece should be more danced than this one is, in my opinion. That said, I appreciate the effort that went into this, and it may appeal to some.
Five Kitties. by Christine GantzFollow this reviewer Rating 5 kitties I give this show five kitties.
This review fell asleep by Nick n Rosie HeilleFollow this reviewer Rating 3 kitties The Chasm is based on great material, well staged, with beautiful costumes; but, the dialogue as delivered lacks conviction and emotion. What ever the spoken language a stage performance is done in the viewer should see the physicality and emotion of the words that are used as well. In the presentation this reviewer saw the dialogue was so poor it put us to sleep.
Captions & dance by Jon SkaalenFollow this reviewer Rating 3 kitties If you're going to this moody and visually striking show, sit far back so you can see the captions of the translated poetry above the actors-dancers. It seemed to be most effective when we didn't have to choose what to watch - the words or the dance or the projected images - all of which were strong on their own.
A Rare Achievement by John MungerFollow this reviewer Rating 5 kitties I have to second Chris Kidder's comments in City Pages. This is a show that deserves much bigger audiences than it is getting or is likely to get. Delivered mostly in Spanish, the poetry of Gabriela Mistral is spoken, chanted, flung back and forth antiphonally by a chorus, and brought to life by the actions of the cast. There is not what anyone would call a "story" and there is not a mere miming of words. This is a far more sophisticated and evocative piece of high art. The chorus is magically synchronized, speaking with one shared breath and one shared intonation, all while moving through choreography that ranges from sculptural groupings to swift action. Behind it all the cyc features English translations of the Spanish poetry in large, easy-to-read fonts and a wealth of exquisitely chosen and evocative still photographs of buildings and nature. This deeply intelligent work eschews wham-bam Fringe frivolity but is far too mature for the kind of sophomoric self-absorption that sometimes bedevils new producers with an earnestly intense message to deliver. Simply put, this show is damn good artistry.
Visually complex by Jeff JonesFollow this reviewer Rating 4 kitties The striking images and original music are just the backdrop for this intense dance/movement piece. The young performers were very good, though with so much happening I had a hard time knowing whom to keep my eye on. The translated poetry is dense, but beautiful. Some pieces are translated and projected on the wall, others are spoken in English. I was glad I read background about the poet on the Disquietude Web site before I saw the show...fascinating subject. The simplest moments of this tightly constructed production are the ones I liked the best.
Impressive! by Angela HansonFollow this reviewer Rating 5 kitties This is a pretty intense movement piece. I was very impressed with the performances and appreciated the hard work that went in to making this. Moving and very well done.
Beautiful Movement Piece by Rachel OlsonFollow this reviewer Rating 5 kitties Beautiful movement piece showing two sides to the poet, Mistral. Flowing lines in the actors' movements, energy within the piece shows. Entertainment, not fluff.
A Valued Piece by Richard HeiseFollow this reviewer Rating 4 kitties Will probably not draw large audiences. Very well done but the material is probably a bit too much on the fringe for the general audience
