Theatre Arts presents Two Latino Plays: References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot & Sleepwalkers
November, 2005

The second half of the fall season of Virginia Tech Theatre Arts is set to begin and there seems to be a Latin beat in the air. The second fall mainstage production of the department, Jose Rivera's award-winning References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot which will run in Squires Haymarket Theatre November 9-12 at 8 p.m. and Jorge Ignacio Cortinas' Sleepwalkers which will be performed as a workshop in Room 204 of the Performing Arts Building November 2-4 at 8 p.m, are directed by Virginia Tech Theatre Arts professor, Melody Zobel and Virginia Tech MFA Directing student, Megan Carney, respectively.

The two directors have made extensive efforts to invite the Latino/a community's collaboration and have researched to build an authentic cultural tone into their shows. The outreach for these projects at times proved daunting, but was well-worth the effort. "This play has continually taken me out of my habitual comfort zone s in the Performing Arts Building. I have been welcomed and supported by various Latino community organizations and by individual Latino faculty members and students. If not for this remarkable play these vital community contacts may never have been made," commented Zobel. Spanish professor Olga Padilla-Falto, graduate student Gregorio Velez, undergraduates Raymond Quijano, Luis Conde, Brian Marroquin and Tony Lushman have been vital to Zobel and the cast of Dali.

Sleepwalkers also received assistance from outside of the Theatre Department. Geography professor and cast member Joe Scarpaci travels extensively in Cuba and shared excerpts of his journeys in Havana with the cast. Collaborations and events with the Foreign Language department and Hispanic Student Honors Society, Sigma Delata Pi, are being planned to create a dialogue surrounding the cultural aspects of the show following the close of Sleepwalkers.

Why the sudden interest in the Latino culture and incorporating it into departmental works? According to Zobel, "We are creating a more diversified [theatre] program, which means we are also creating a new aesthetic for our work. We want to make sure that the Latino/Latina community feels acknowledged, seen, and heard. This is not a token pass at getting on the diversity bandwagon."

While the two directors did not collaborate on their ideas for the projects, they exhibit the desire to incorporate these significant Latino works. Carney commented on her initial experience with Sleepwalkers by saying, "what really struck me about this play was the poetic language and evocative story telling that captured this small, complex, and rich place. I was really drawn to that."

References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot contains adult language and situations and is recommended for mature audiences. Tickets are now on sale at the Squires Ticket Office and may be purchased by calling 540.231.5615 or online at www.tickets.vt.edu . Tickets are $6 for students and senior citizens and $8 for the general public. The performances of Sleepwalkers from November 2-4 in 204 Performing Arts Building are free and open to the public.

For more information on either performance, please call 540.231.5200 or visit online at www.theatre.vt.edu.