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or a straight actor, Rafael U ntalan gets cast
in some queer plays. Kiss o f the Spider
Win rum. Sirena, Queen o f the Tango. And
now The Child Is Father o f the Man, playing
through Aug. 16 at University of Portlands
Mago Hunt Theatre.
In the new comedy by Quintessence Language
and Imagination Theatre, Untalan plays Rio, a
gay man who has great respect for the institutions
in his life: a multicultural but traditional family,
his church and the legacy of his deceased father.
All of which are at odds with his sense of self.
“It’s a very promising time in the evolution
of our sexual culture,” states U ntalan, “but Rio
comes from a very C atholic family where there’s
still a lot of incredible bias, most o f which is
manifested in the form of Iris grandmother who
believes he is cursed because of his sexuality.”
Rio asserts, however, that love is eternal
and goes beyond body and gender. And he is
determined to prove that who he is is not a
curse in and of itself. “T h a t’s the struggle,” says
U ntalan, “and a very profound one.”
Like many sexual minorities, R io feels like a
misfit, a trait shared by his creator, Portland
playwright Connor Kerns. “1 don’t fit in with
this Am erican culture. I don’t fit in with my
co-workers. W hether you’re an artist, whether
you’re gay, a minority or mixed blood, we just
don’t fit in. And so what do you do? Do you
rail against it? l\) you hide?" ponders Kerns. "I
guess if you talk to anyone in the entire world,
I think they would feel like they were a misfit.”
How these misfits relate to each other and
love each other fascinate the writer. “As a
straight man, I envy that relationship that a gay
man has with another man because in some
sense I can’t have it,” Kerns shares. "For some of
us, that’s the way we want our relationships
Queer essence
Het star and scribe create
a new play of gay love
by
T imothy K rause
with some other man to be, as a father or a
brother or a friend or whatever. (As Rio says in
the play,) ‘A man to answer our questions and
to keep us safe and to love us with strong amis
and strong hands, caress us, hold as and stand
us up and challenge us to face the unknown.’
Those are the essential qualities that we want.”
Even at 30, Rio remains obsessed with his
father being all these wonderful things, and
Untalan identifies personally with his charac
ter’s quest to learn more facts about a man he
has only imagined.
“My father died when 1 was 3," he says.
“And what 1 have found was that you have a
constant dialogue with this phantom. You try
to fill in the mental picture of this person with
fantasies, and you always want to think the
best of him. St) (Rio) has been fed this fantasy
of his father by his mother, who wanted to take
care of him and protect him.”
But a question keeps nagging Rio: Did his
father kill himself?
“T h at’s part of the mystery of the play,” says
Untalan. “His grandmother says yes, he shot
himself...but everybody else in his family doesn’t
say anything about it. So there’s a heightened
need for him to know more. I don’t think you
come to a resting place in trying to identify a
missing parent."
Kerns was turning 30 when he wrote the play
^uaran/eecf I s ) inflow S e a /
A BO A R D
T H E
PO R TLA N D
SPIR IT
Experience the Portland Spirit s new A d m iral Package, which includes yo ur choice of any two
appetizers, two desserts, a special song, a hon voyage photo, and a bottle of champagne with
two souvenir champagne glasses. A ll o f this and a window table with the Ixst view in town.
A ctor Rafael U ntalan (right) plays gay again in The Child Is Father of the Man through
Aug. 16 at Mago H unt C enter
and says he was “grappling with those same
issues: What does it mean to be a man? What
does it mean to have your ideals compromised by
what clearly you’re learning is reality? 1 was raised
Catholic, and 1 have a great affection for many of
the things about the church. And a lot of things
have really disappointed me. In a way, it’s all the
same thing: a parent who doesn’t live up to your
expectations...and how do you reconcile that.”
And how do two straight men come to
terms with a gay play?
“It’s all about love. How we love, and how
we don’t love," says Kerns.
Mechanics
that fix
everything.1
including
your
conscience.
Untalan adds that, for him personally, “it
just reinforces that, ultimately, the question is
not who you love, but do you love.” J H
T he C hild I s F ather
of the M an plays 8 p.m.
Thursday to Saturday through Aug. 16 at
University o f Portland's Mago Hunt Center,
5000 N. Willamette Blvd. Additi<mal performance
at 2 p.m. Aug. 10. Tickets are $ I 0 ' $ I 2 from box
office or 503-285-2826.
Features Editor T imothy K rause can he reached
at tim@justout .com.
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