October 25, 2017 The Skanner Page 7
OSF Play “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles”
to Open at The Armory
Retelling of ancient Greek play through the lens of Mexican
immigrants; lead actress Sabina Zuniga Varela interviewed
By Melanie Sevcenko
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARMORY
A
ft er a six-months
run at the Oregon
Shakespeare Fes-
tival, “Mojada: A
Medea in Los Angeles,”
offi cially opens on Nov.
10 for a limited-engage-
ment run.
Written by Chicago
playwright Luis Alfaro
and directed by Juliette
Carrillo, the play is an
interpretation of the
ancient Greek tragedy
“Medea” -- a story of love,
vengeance and transfor-
mation.
Alfaro’s
version,
however, is set in mod-
ern-day Los Angeles,
where Medea and her im-
migrant family struggle
with new life in Ameri-
ca. The three-week run
at The Armory features
the same cast as the Ore-
gon Shakespeare Festival
production.
Los Angeles-based ac-
tor Sabina Zuniga Va-
rela was awarded the
best lead performance
award for her portrayal
of Medea by the Los An-
geles Drama Critics Cir-
cle. The Skanner spoke
with Varela about the
connection between peo-
ple and their land from
her native New Mexico.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles.”
This interview has been
edited for space and clar-
ity.
Previews of “Mojada:
A Medea in Los Ange-
les” begin on Nov. 4 and
performances run until
Nov. 26. For more infor-
mation and to purchase
tickets, visit: www.pcs.
org/mojada
The Skanner News:
The original ancient
Greek play “Medea” is
a story of love, betrayal
and revenge. Luis Alfa-
ro’s “Medea” interprets
that play through the
lens of Mexican immi-
grants coming to the
United States. How does
the original text lend it-
self to the modern retell-
ing?
Sabina Zuniga Varela:
I feel like the tragedy of
Medea, in terms of the
Greek literature, is ac-
tually one of the most
misunderstood.
Folks
like to zero in on Medea’s
revenge – a woman’s re-
venge. But what it’s ac-
tually about – the root
of it – is a woman who is
removed from her land.
And when a people is re-
moved from their land
or loses the connection
to their land, there’s a lot
See MOJADA on page 11
Arts & Entertainment
Book cont’d from pg 6
transpired last Novem-
ber when the nation
elected the candidate
running on the slogan
“Make America great
again!” The author cites
how, in the wake of the
Civil War, the ex-slaves
were bitterly disap-
pointed when the egal-
itarian Reconstruction
plan for the South was
dismantled by the for-
mer Confederate states
and replaced by the Jim
Crow system of segre-
gation.
That devastating de-
velopment
inspired
black South Carolina
Congressman Thomas
Miller (1849-1938) to
lament, “We were eight
years in power” in ref-
erence to the brief peri-
od of African American
optimism in terms of
securing equality un-
der the law. The quote
serves a dual purpose,
here, as it talks about a
dream rudely deferred
while simultaneously
issuing a dire warning
that history might very
well repeat itself.
Thus, “We Were Eight
Years in Power” serves
as a clarion call for vig-
ilance about the possi-
ble erosion of African
American
advances
presumed sacrosanct.
Consider these riv-
eting,
well-reasoned
ruminations of the
most-prodigious Black
visionary around a
must-read indeed.
To order a copy of We
Were Eight Years in
Power, visit: TheSkan-
ner.com.
2018
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• Att ending a post secondary, accredit- within past 12-months
ed institution or planning to att end
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