Recipe for Theatrical Success
Blind Mouth Singing was written by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas and directed by Rubén Polendo. It was a profound play that depicted life in a rustic society and portrayed inner conflicts associated with maturation. The lighting, sounds, and stage contributed to a lively performance that was memorable for the audience. Polendo directed the play with creativity in mind, hand picking skilled actors for each role and creating an abstract set which compounded the meaning of the story.
The play took place in a rural town that was not fully industrialized. Everything was still old fashioned, including family beliefs and ideals. The main character, Reiderico, had an imaginary friend who lived inside of a well. His friend, Lucero, escaped the well and switched identities with him. Lucero used this opportunity to run off to the city and has been running ever since. The plot is simple but there is a great deal of emphasis put on the actors and the stage.
The actors were powerful and absorbing. Alexis Camins (Lucero) played a strong willed and witty boy who yearned to be free. Mia Katigbak (Mother of the Late Afternoon) was an over protective mother with an unpleasant history which made her cold and emotionless on the exterior. Sue Jean Kim (Bolivia) was a weak-minded woman who was single and desperate for acceptance. Orville Mendoza (Gordi) was a thickheaded man that strongly believed in hard labor and capital punishment. Jon Norman Schneider (Reiderico) was an immature boy who struggled to fit in with society. The actors performed with great emotion, stressing intense and precise facial expressions. They were aware of the environment and knew all aspects about their characters’ world.
The stage was one of the most important and entertaining aspects of the play. It took on an industrial look to give the feeling that technology has not quite reached their village. The large fan and the many little gadgets symbolized industrialization and the transfomation into modern times. But nothing was as shocking, interesting, and meaningful as the well. It was as if Rubén Polendo took a well, sliced it down the middle, and laid it flat on the ground! This gave the stage and the play a profound effect. The audience was able to see the entire depth of the well and gave the actors the ability to move freely. It also had figurative meanings. The well represented one’s mind, which shows that the darkest thoughts are hidden in the back of the mind (at the bottom of the well.) Also, since the well was perpendicular to the audience it gave the effect of being at the bottom of the well and having to look up at the world.
The lighting and sound was well coordinated with the events in the play. Adam Cochran, the Foley Artist, was actually creating the sounds in front of the stage during the entire play. At times, the sounds were humorous and gave the audience a little laugh. The lights reflected the mood of the scene. When Reiderico spoke with Lucero, the stage was completely dimmed. When Gordi stabbed Lucero, the stage exploded in bright red. The combination of the lighting and sound heightened the emotional effects of the play.
Rubén Polendo had a personal connection to the play. The same beliefs that were held in Reiderico’s household were evident in Polendo’s life. When Polendo left for college, his family was devastated. They did not want to let him so and saw his departure as a lack of love and loyalty to the family. He realized that because of their beliefs, they simply couldn’t understand his motives. His parents would try to protect him from the world, just like the Mother of the Late Afternoon did to Reiderico. Polendo and Lucero both shared the curiosity and the desire to explore the unknown.
Successfully directing such a play did not only come from personal experience but from professional expertise. Being the founder of Mitu, Rubén Polendo knew acting talent when he saw it. He auditioned through dozens of actors but only selected a handful. In order to audition, an actor had to come in and act out a piece of the script (for about ten minutes.) Polendo had a feeling for each actor and selected the ones he though were best for the role. It is evident that he made the correct decisions.
After selecting the actors, Rubén Polendo had to constantly work with them. He had to make sure that they accurately portrayed the characters and their emotions in every aspect of the play. During rehearsal, weird objects, such as books or gowns, were thrown into the well. Polendo did not tolerate script improvisation but allowed the actors to improvise on their movements and actions. By the time of the performance, Polendo made sure that all their scripts and movements were in sync with the stage director.
Blind Mouth Singing, by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas, was an insightful play that showed the difficulties of maturing in an ever-changing world. Through Rubén Polendo’s directing, the play became a touching and imaginative work of art. The actors were well chosen and delivered a high caliber performance. The stage lighting coupled with the homemade sound to add even greater meaning to every event in the play. The stage, especially the ingenious interpretation of the well, was abstract and contained a wealth of meaning. This method behind Polendo’s craft has become a recipe for theatrical success.