Brava and La Lengua Teatro en Español present
PARADISE a new play by Tere Martinez
Directed by Samuel Prince
September 5-29, 2024
Fri - Sat @ 8:00pm
Sun @ 6:00pm
September 5 and 6 (Previews), 7 (Opening w/ Reception to follow), 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29
Friday to Saturday at 8 PM - Sunday at 6 PM (PDT)
(in Spanish with English supertitles)
Running time: 60 minutes, no intermission.
A new bilingual play by Tere Martinez on how colonization processes are still alive and well in our contemporary society. Performed in Spanish, English, or Spanglish, this production will feature projected supertitles to ensure access and eliminate language barriers.
Paradise uses the tensions between compelling characters on the stage to cast light on the exploitative relationship the United States, after more than one century, maintains with Puerto Rico. The play aims to draw attention to the unfair political situation of the island. Julian, an American living in Puerto Rico, takes advantage of tax incentives offered by the Puerto Rican government to foreign “investors” who agree to relocate to the island. Andrea, a local public-school teacher, gives Spanish lessons to Americans to make ends meet, while taking stock of the damage these incentives are doing to her country and the profiteering of outsiders who provide little while benefiting a lot. Tata needs to find a new home in a city plagued by Airbnbs yet clashes with both Andrea and Julian given her own perspective. And Quiko, who has lived all his life between the island and the mainland, depicts the punishing disparities suffered by the “American citizen” residents of the United States territory.
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Una nueva obra bilingüe de Tere Martínez sobre cómo los procesos de colonización siguen vivos y coleando en nuestra sociedad contemporánea. Realizada en español, inglés o spanglish, esta producción contará con supertítulos proyectados para garantizar el acceso y eliminar las barreras idiomáticas.
Paradise utiliza las tensiones entre atractivos personajes para arrojar luz sobre la relación de explotación que Estados Unidos, después de más de un siglo, mantiene con Puerto Rico. La obra llama la atención sobre la injusta situación política de la isla. Julian, un estadounidense que vive en Puerto Rico, aprovecha los incentivos fiscales que ofrece el gobierno puertorriqueño a los “inversores” extranjeros que aceptan trasladarse a la isla. Andrea, una maestra de una escuela pública local, da lecciones de español a estadounidenses para llegar a fin de mes, mientras evalúa el daño que estos incentivos están causando a su país y la especulación de los extranjeros que aportan poco pero se benefician mucho. Tata necesita encontrar un nuevo hogar en una ciudad plagada de Airbnbs, pero choca tanto con Andrea como con Julian dada su propia perspectiva. Y Quiko, que ha vivido toda su vida entre la isla y el continente, describe las duras disparidades que sufren los “ciudadanos estadounidenses” provenientes de los territorios de Estados Unidos.
TICKETS
Weekday shows + Previews- Pay what you can option available
$25 general admission
$35 La Lengua Alentadores
$50 La Lengua Patrocinadores (priority seats)
$75 La Lengua Mecenas (priority seats + 1 free drink)
$100 La Lengua VIP Mecenas (priority seats + 3 free drinks)
ABOUT LA LENGUA
Founded in 2019 in San Francisco, California, by Virginia Blanco, La Lengua Teatro en Español/La Lengua Theater is an emerging company -and the only one in the area- that creates spaces to make high-quality productions of contemporary Latin American theater in Spanish, disseminating its immense diversity and richness, to empower Spanish-speaking communities and its artists in the Bay Area.
We believe that values of JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, and INCLUSION are priorities in cultural and linguistic matters. They should be applied to both audiences and artists. We are committed to continuing to increase our efforts to 1) recognize, affirm and celebrate the diverse origins, lives and experiences of all our collaborators and 2) seek justice to identify and eliminate barriers and systemic disadvantages, opening access to resources and opportunities.
Its first three productions were staged readings: Ana en el Trópico by Nilo Cruz, and - during the pandemic - live virtual shows of La Muerte y la Doncella by Ariel Dorfman and Beben by Guillermo Calderón, and two radio plays (Adiós Robinson by Julio Cortázar, and Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig). In 2021, La Lengua inaugurated the 'Historias de Descolonización/ Decolonization Stories' project: a residency to commission playwrights from across the Americas to write short plays, especially in Spanish and Native languages. This first edition was made in partnership with the AlterTheater company through the call and development of the residency facilitated by playwright Diana Burbano.
In 2022, La Lengua premiered its first commission, Las Azurduy by Florencia Aroldi, and produced the first Decolonization Stories Festival. In August 2023, La Lengua presented the U.S. premiere of Domestica Realidad. This year 2024, we are developing our second edition of the Decolonization Stories residency. The resultant pieces will be featured in a theater festival this Fall. This season also includes the world premiere of Paradise, a new play by Tere Martinez from the first edition of our Decolonization Stories program. For more information: www.lalengua.org
La Lengua Teatro en Español is fiscally sponsored by Brava! for Women in the Arts.