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Hello! This is Khristián, one our Co-PADs, writing to share a few updates for you on this Friday morning.
This play feels really special to us, and we’ve been working hard to create a compelling and fresh perspective for our Austin audiences.
It’s also a special play because it is truly breaking ground. It covers topics that very few plays cover: Guatemalan culture, fungi, the emotional and spiritual toll of political turmoil, and what it might mean to heal. In times when American and Texan audiences only see Guatemalans and Central Americans as victims, this play looks beyond those stories. I would tell you how, but I don’t want to spoil it!
As someone who has been co-helming this project since its inception in 2023, I have to say that I’m really, really proud of the way we’ve found a way to incorporate these topics and perspectives in a way that feels unconventional and fresh. Along the way, we’ve been guided by Caroline’s razor-sharp dramaturgical instincts (and talents as a performer, designer and puppeteer). The story and project has been nurtured by the hardwork of a relentless team of collaborators that have deposited so much trust in this project, including our fellow Co-PAD Gricelda, three fabulous performers: Isis Silva, Antonio Medrano, and Diana Guizado, and our team of devisers, designers and stage manager who have built a world we could not have imagined when we first started: Delena Bradley, Kade Conklin, Gavin Kenter, K. Eliot Haynes, and Joshua W. Martin, and Karla Zodapop. And our Fungal Dramaturg Jesus Garcia has kept us grounded.
Also, a special shoutout to Assistant Director Ariane Stier! Who jumped into this devising process and has helped us keep our center in the middle of a very sprawling project!
Okay, that’s long enough–we will send a few more updates about the process as the play comes together in its final weeks. See you at Ground Floor?
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