This summer, two contemporary productions will be staged at the iconic Repertorio stage at 138 E 27th St by two young directors: La muerte y la doncella (Death and the Maiden), written by Ariel Dorfman and directed by Jean Carlo Yunén Aróstegui, and La pasión según Antígona Pérez (The Passion of Antigona Perez), written by Luis Rafael Sánchez and directed by Bibiana Torres. For tickets, call 212.225.9999 or visit Repertorio NYC Both shows performed in Spanish with English subtitles.
The Van Lier Directing Fellowship, sponsored by The New York Community Trust, is designed to support emerging Latino directors living in New York. Repertorio offers mentorship and guidance to the directors and provides them with an opportunity to mount a professional production at Repertorio.
LA MUERTE Y LA DONCELLA (Death and the Maiden)
By Ariel Dorfman ; Directed by Jean Carlo Yunén Aróstegui
La muerte y la doncella follows Paulina Salas as she comes face to face with whom she believes to be her former torturer when she was kidnapped by her country’s tyrannical regime fifteen years prior. Never having received justice, she takes matters into her own hands to force a confession out of him, to the disdain of her husband, whose new job may be on the line if word of Paulina’s actions were to get out.
PERFORMANCES:
Friday, August 2, 2024, 7:00 PM
Saturday, August 3, 2024, 8:00 PM
Sunday, August 4, 2024, 3:00 PM
Saturday, August 10, 2024, 8:00 PM
Sunday, August 11, 2024, 3:00 PM
Jean Carlo Yunén Aróstegui – Director
Jean Carlo is a theater and XR director originally from the Dominican Republic who is attracted to stories where humanity and ideology are in conflict, utilizing humor as a disarming tool for healing. He has associate/assistant directed in regional theaters such as Seattle Rep, OSF, Cincinnati Playhouse, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He has been an SDCF Observer, Williamstown Boris Sagal Fellow, Drama League Director’s Project Alumni, and an inaugural artist-in-residence for the XR2C2 in Cannes, France. He holds an MFA in directing from UCLA and BA in film from the University of Notre Dame.
Ariel Dorfman – Playwright
Ariel Dorfman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1942. He was brought up in Chile and obtained citizenship in 1967. He is the author of several novels including Viudas (Widows) (1981) and La muerte y la Doncella (Death and the Maiden) (1992), as well as of a number of plays, poetry and short-story collections, and essay volumes and a screenplays. His books have been translated into over twenty languages. Dorfman was awarded the Best Screenplay Prize from Chile Films, the Sudamericana Ampliado Prize, the Roger L. Stevens Award, and the Time Out Award for best play in London, among other honors. He served as cultural advisor to President Salvador Allende from 1970 to 1973, when he was exiled from Chile. He also lived in Paris, Amsterdam, and Washington, DC. He has taught at various universities, including the University of Chile, the Sorbonne, the University of Amsterdam, and since 1985—Duke University. He currently splits his time between Chile and the United States.
LA PASIÓN SEGÚN ANTÍGONA PÉREZ (The Passion of Antígona Pérez)
By Luis Rafael Sánchez; Directed by Bibiana Torres
In this adaptation of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, the titular Antigone is a Latin-American revolutionary, kept as a political prisoner by her country’s General Creón for the crime of giving proper burial to two of her fellow rebels. While Creón alternates between torture and emotional appeal to pressure her into confession, Antígona’s defiance is an ode to the real women who lead the resistance against dictatorships in Latin-America.
Performances:
Friday, August 16, 2024, 7 PM
Saturday, August 17, 2024, 8 PM
Sunday, August 18, 2024, 3 PM
Saturday, August 24, 2024, 8 PM
Sunday, August 25, 2024, 3 PM
Bibiana Torres – Director
Bibiana is a director and administrator from Puerto Rico and Chicago interested in new work and magical realism onstage. She is currently a Development Associate at New York Theatre Workshop, after completing the 2050 Administrative Fellowship in the 22/23 season. She got her B.A. in Sociology and Theatre & Performance Studies from Yale University, where she majored in directing and reproductive politics in Latin-America. Directing credits include Keen Company’s Keen Teens Festival, The Green Room 42, Emerging Artists’ Theatre Spark Festival, the Yale Dramatic Association, and the Yale Playwrights’ Festival.
Luis Rafael Sánchez – Playwright
Luis Rafael Sánchez was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico in 1936. Considered one of the most important playwrights of the island, he is the author of nine plays, including La pasión según Antígona Pérez (The Passion of Antígona Pérez), 1968), Quíntuples (Quintuplets, 1985), and Farsa del amor compradito (Farce of Bought Love, 1959). In addition to his work as a playwright, he has also written two novels, La guaracha del Macho Camacho (Macho Camacho’s Beat, 1976) and La importancia de llamarse Daniel Santos (The Importance of Being Daniel Santos, 1988), and several collections of essays, including La guagua aérea (The Air Bus, 1994). In 1964 Sánchez became a member of the Advisory Board of the Theatre Arts Committee of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. He also taught at the University of Puerto Rico for nearly twenty years. He was named Distinguished Professor at the City College of New York and received a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Puerto Rico.
ABOUT REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL
Repertorio Español was founded in 1968 by Artistic Director René Buch and Producer Gilberto Zaldívar and has become one of the most successful Off-Broadway theatres. The company was founded with the mission of producing the finest Spanish-language theatre from Latin America and Spain as well as plays written by Latino artists. The company presents a rotating repertory of plays, musicals, and dance concerts every year. Repertorio Español offers 12 productions (at least two new works added annually), programs to promote the work of emerging Latino artists (readings of new works, commissions, and opportunities for young/emerging directors), and activities for students and seniors. Productions are performed in Spanish with available captioning in both English and Spanish translation to reach non-Spanish speakers and the hard of hearing. Its productions are seen by over 50,000 people annually at its home, the historic Gramercy Arts Theatre, and on tour. Every year, approximately 18,000 students are introduced to the heritage of Spanish language theatre through its education program, ¡DIGNIDAD!
