Portland observer., May 30, 2018, Page Page 5, Image 5

May 30, 2018
Page 5
Rare Perspectives on Stage
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only expression in his language
deserves that description.
In the world envisioned here,
the indigenous characters are ac-
corded due respect, and spiritu-
al and historical connections are
sensed and honored. Although the
stories here evoke sorrow, they
also inspire reverence. The act
of creation in which these artists
participate holds the potential to
transform. [Runs through Oct.27.]
Mexican-born playwright Kar-
en Zacarías, tired of having Latinx
theater compared indiscriminately
to telenovelas, set out to create an
unapologetic telenovela when she
penned the glorious “Destiny of
Desire.” The inapt comparison
she reacted to, often meant to be
dismissive, minimizes the value
and influence of telenovelas, not
to mention their comic and po-
litical potential. Zacarías finds
both in her play, which pairs tele-
novela storytelling conventions
with Brechtian theatrical self-con-
sciousness. The result is a story of
female empowerment that is both
fun and political, in all the best
ways.
Telenovelas are hugely popu-
lar in Latin America (though also
in Asia, Eastern Europe and the
Middle East) and are character-
ized by stock characters and over-
blown plots, costumes, and music.
While often evincing conservative
values, they also influence social
Photo By J enny g raham , o regon s hakesPeare F estival
Pilar Esperanza Castillo (Esperanza America, right) shares a jail cell with Hortencia Del Rio (Adriana
Sevahn Nichols), the woman she believes to be her maid in “Destiny of Desire,” a story about female
empowerment running through July 12 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.
progress as well by highlighting
story lines involving hitherto con-
troversial topics like migration
and family planning.
Zacarías has employed the
genre of this play to tell a story
of women seizing control of their
Allen Temple CME Church
Pastor Appreciation
In Honor of Rev. Dr. LeRoy Haynes, Jr.
Pastor ~ Teacher ~ Civil-Rights Leader ~
Counselor ~ Author
Theme: “A Servant’s Heart”
Mark 10: 42-45
When: Sunday, June 03, 2018 at 4:00 P.M.
Where: Maranatha Church
4222 NE 12th Avenue
Portland, OR 97212
Guest Speaker ~ Bishop Grace Osborne,
Pastor of Grace Covenant Church
Rev. Dr. LeRoy Haynes, Jr.
Bishop Grace Osborne
For further information
please call (503) 287-0261
destinies and even changing the
world. On the same night in Bel-
larica, Mexico, two baby girls are
born -- one sickly, one healthy;
one to a rich family, and one to
a poor one. Due to the machina-
tions of the rich girl’s mother, a
former beauty queen, the babies
are switched at birth. When they
meet 18 years later, unaware of
their connection, they quickly
become friends and switch their
identities to pursue their passions.
Further complications of course
ensue and, as often happens in
telenovelas, the play turns the ta-
bles on the upper class, but also
reveals the emptiness of domi-
nant culture values and challenges
power imbalances that are often
taken for granted.
Director José Luis Valenzue-
la, a visionary leader of Chicanx/
Latinx theater, has directed each
of the four productions of this
play, and strikes a deft balance
here of respect and celebration.
His production takes telenovelas
seriously without taking itself too
seriously. The colors are vibrant,
the emotions intense -- and while
Valenzuela shows us the humor,
the production is not making fun.
The play’s use of Brechtian con-
ventions brilliantly aids the sto-
rytelling here; the actors stop the
action to add facts and statistics
which illustrate that the plot is not
as outrageous as you might think,
or to rewind the action to high-
light what the plot mechanics are
pointing to. Like Bertolt Brecht,
this play is less concerned with
involving us emotionally than
with helping us to see unnoticed
ways in which life imitates even
the most outrageous art. It seeks
to make us laugh, and also to mo-
tivate us to seize our destinies.
[Runs through July 12.]
How do we make space for
those for whom there has been
no space? How do we point out
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