“People think we [Cazateatro] are an Hispanic theater group but we're multicultural, with people from 6 or 7 different countries. It’s amazing. Someone from Venezuela comes and says, ‘Hey, I am here, I want to help you, and I want to learn English.’ Or ‘I am from India. I don’t speak Spanish, but I want to learn.’ Or an American says, ‘I saw you in the newspaper or on the website. I want to practice my Spanish. Do I need to speak Spanish before I can join you?’ No. Come. You help us, and we help you. In our group, in our performances, we show the diversity of Memphis and of the Latino community. English speakers practice their Spanish; Spanish speakers practice their English. It’s a bridge. Everyone is welcome. Bilingual theater is a wonderful way for both actors and audience members to learn each other's language and culture.
“The scripts come in either English or Spanish and we adapt them. One actor says his lines in Spanish; the other person answers in English, and it goes back and forth. We all work during the day, so it’s difficult to give performances in elementary or high schools, but we’ve done shows at Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and at St. George’s. And we do evening shows; we held more than 20 performances around the city in 2015. Our rehearsals are very interesting. We have mothers who come to rehearsals and have to bring their kids, so we often use the kids in one way or another too. ‘You are going to be here,’ we tell them, or ‘You’re going to say this line.’ We put everybody on the stage.
“We love it when people bring their kids to a play. Maybe the kids are growing up in the United States and don’t speak fluent Spanish, but they understand what's going on and enjoy it. Maybe they decide they want to participate in theater, or maybe they decide they need to learn more Spanish. We don't want them to lose their language just because they are living here. We want them to be fluent in both and to appreciate how rich and beautiful and brilliant Latin culture is. Sometimes, we think, ‘Aargh! This is a lot of work,’ but we are doing something important for the kids and for the community. It’s like a flower. We plant the seed, water it, and it grows. There’s so much to give, and that’s what we try to do.”
“The scripts come in either English or Spanish and we adapt them. One actor says his lines in Spanish; the other person answers in English, and it goes back and forth. We all work during the day, so it’s difficult to give performances in elementary or high schools, but we’ve done shows at Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and at St. George’s. And we do evening shows; we held more than 20 performances around the city in 2015. Our rehearsals are very interesting. We have mothers who come to rehearsals and have to bring their kids, so we often use the kids in one way or another too. ‘You are going to be here,’ we tell them, or ‘You’re going to say this line.’ We put everybody on the stage.
“We love it when people bring their kids to a play. Maybe the kids are growing up in the United States and don’t speak fluent Spanish, but they understand what's going on and enjoy it. Maybe they decide they want to participate in theater, or maybe they decide they need to learn more Spanish. We don't want them to lose their language just because they are living here. We want them to be fluent in both and to appreciate how rich and beautiful and brilliant Latin culture is. Sometimes, we think, ‘Aargh! This is a lot of work,’ but we are doing something important for the kids and for the community. It’s like a flower. We plant the seed, water it, and it grows. There’s so much to give, and that’s what we try to do.”
Photos below courtesy of the Cazateatro FB page:
(At right) Dorimar Ferrer, Executive Director / Actress / Theater Education student at U of M
Monica Sanchez, Artistic Director
--------------------
2014 Article, Callboard Memphis: http://www.callboardmemphis.com/introducing-cazateatro/
Website: http://cazateatro.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/CazateatroBilingualTheaterGroup
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/cazateatromemphistn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cazateatromemph/media
Google+: https://plus.google.com/104507352583300327113/posts
Monica Sanchez, Artistic Director
--------------------
2014 Article, Callboard Memphis: http://www.callboardmemphis.com/introducing-cazateatro/
Website: http://cazateatro.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/CazateatroBilingualTheaterGroup
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/cazateatromemphistn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cazateatromemph/media
Google+: https://plus.google.com/104507352583300327113/posts
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