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Theater stages Latino culture BY MERARI CALDERON RUIZ M om ents o f laughter, happiness and sadness all occur on stage. On Feb. 9, Teatro Milagro opened the play “ Swimming W hile Drowning” in Portland, and with it, continued its com m itm ent to bringing a different perspective to the Portland stage for 33 years. In the play there were two actors; Blake Stone plays the part o f Mila and M ichel Castillo plays the part of Angelo. It’s a show about two homèless teenagers that struggle to fit in in today’ s society, and a strong presence o f sym bolism is dem onstrated throughout the play. “ W e are in a tim e w hen we are trying to accept more different beliefs and people from different walks o f life,” said Stone after the play. “ So to share this story o f these two people, we don ’ t even focus on the hom osexual aspect o f the story.” The play is 70 m inutes lon g but it is rich in dialogue. The language used is in poetry form w ith some rapping involved. “ T h e p o em s are re a lly h ard b eca u se i t ’ s n ot a monologue and it’ s not a song,” said Castillo. “ It’s slam poetry and it’ s som ething different than ju st regular poetry. So it ’ s ju st a m ixture o f being able to be honest and true and tell a story at the sam e tim e, keeping a beat w ith som ebody.else’ s work and not just you own. ” “ Swim m ing While Drowning” will continue until Feb. 25, but Teatro Milagro w on’t stop there. . José G onzalez and h is w ife, D an e! M alân, founded Teatro Milagro in 1984. They had just moved to Portland fro m C a lifo rn ia and w anted to stay involved in the theater business. W ith the help o f friends and fam ily, they produced th eir first play called , “ R elatively S p e a k in g .” Now , Teatro M ilagro is producing its 33rd season and has toured all around the United States in different places and different schools. “ W e’re doing a lot o f things during th e course o f the season th a t inclu des m ajor produ ction s, ch ild ren ’ s sh o w s, to u rin g p ro d u c tio n s an d th e n cre a tiv e engagem ent activities,” said Gonzalez. “ So people of all backgrounds can have an opportunity to experience arts and culture ‘ a la Latino’ .” Depending on the show, in the course o f a year, they can hire anywhere from 75 to 100 different actors, artists, designers and technicians. H a lf o f th e w ork th a t th ey produce, th ey create them selves, but som etim es playwrights send in their work to Teatro Milagro. In all, they try to connect ideas to current situations around us. “ W e’re tryin g to tell stories about th in gs th at are im portant to us, and in our storytelling we try to tell it from a Latino perspective,” said Gonzalez. P art o f th a t L a tin o p e rsp ectiv e h as to do w ith experiencing the diverse culture aftd being bilingual. Som e o f th eir productions ate either in E n g lish or Spanish, depending on the playwright, but m any dive into the bilingual aspect. According to Gonzalez, they som etim es work w ith people w ho either ju st speak E n glish or ju st speak Spanish. So apart from using strong body language in theater, they also use language as a way to tell the story so that everyone can have a positive experience. Teatro Milagro is a place to see art, m usic, dance and poetry incorporated in different ways to the public. Angelo (left), played by Michel Castillo, cowers as Mila, played by Blake Stone, yells at him. CLACKAMAS STUDENTS; Want a career that builds on your passion for literature and creative writing? Transfer your Clackamas credits to Marylhurst and complete your bachelors degree in English Literature & Writing. We offer a top- ranked program in an accessible, flexible form atjontine or on campasi. Curriculum is both relevant and career-focused taught by exceptional English faculty in small.classes. . ' \ - j •• Transfer & - _ < -'Campus to / mile«- south Phi Theta of Poriland " Kapjsa” scholarships/;? • HÉ -"Earn'credjt for prior learning. Y -including” ? ! ' - . w r it in g . , experience W ell-' - networked English faculty Get started today: marylhurst.edu/ccc-elw iilllB MARYLHURST IlSiSS UNIVERSITY INSPIRE CHANGE Clackamas Print FEBRUARY 15,2017 thedackamasprint.com 5
