"Mariano Moreno"

This is the second play that Professor Dubatti, who teaches my seminar on theater today in Buenos Aires, sent us to see. He is quite a well-known guy, they even MENTIONED HIM IN THIS PLAY. Woah.

I found this play to be really quite fascinating. The full title of the piece is actually Mariano Moreno y un teatro de operaciones, i.e. Mariano Moreno and a theater of operations. It spends very little time talking about the actual historical figure and is best described as a witty, energetic commentary on the process of theater-making and connections with one’s history. A near-quote from the play: “When we conform to the same pre-determined, unchanged texts over and over, we become little more than beasts...” The play explores the connection between political freedom and artistic freedom, an essential idea in the development of contemporary Argentine drama. Well done, Dubatti!

I would love to see this play again at the end of my stay here (a.k.a. that magical time when I will understand everything. Fingers crossed!) The audience laughed a lot, and while I was entertained, I only got a couple of the jokes. Much of the humor had to do with the impressive speed at which the actors spoke, and therefore, much of it went over my head. Still, I was able to grasp a surprising amount of the text once I got into the rhythm of the play. Baby steps for the impatient baby.

The piece was highly stylized, which I loved. The makeup, costumes, props, and actors’ movements made the whole thing seem like a gothic puppet-show. The energy of the actors was unbelievable. The company is called “el bachín teatro” and I would love to see more of their work. And be best friends with them. Most plays make me want to act, but this was one play that gave me that unrequited love feeling, longing to be a part of it.

An extra note:

Those of you who knew her can understand why I’d say that Robin Wood, my high school drama teacher, would have particularly adored this piece. I wish so much that I could e-mail her about it and get back one of her enthusiastic, all-caps, ingenious replies. She taught me a lot, much of which I am just starting to learn now.