Hispanic Heritage Onstage in Loco for Love
By Ben Gunter
What can you discover about your Hispanic Heritage when Cervantes and Shakespeare wrestle with each other to win the title of World Champion Storyteller? What can a battle of wits between a famous Anglo playwright and a genius Spanish author from 400 years ago tell you about friendship, betrayal, and cross-cultural understanding today?
Find out this fall, when Theater with a Mission brings a sneak preview of Loco for Love to Hispanic Fest 2016 at the Emerald Coast Convention Center in Ft. Walton on September 18.
Loco for Love gives you a ringside seat at a classic wrestling match that’s based on Don Quixote. One stirring subplot in the Quixote tells the story of a dashing young man named Cardenio, who goes crazy for love when his best friend Fernando steals his fiancée Luscinda. People in the 1600s found Cardenio so fascinating that Shakespeare stole him to star in his last play, called The History of Cardenio.
In Loco for Love, Cervantes and Shakespeare show you surprisingly different versions of deliciously juicy moments from Cardenio’s story, side by side. You get to see spicy slices of a classic telenovela, complete with gorgeous love songs, swashbuckling fights, heartrending speeches, and wry comic relief – high drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat, all the way to the cliffhanger ending. Because this is Florida in an election year, Loco for Love also gives you chances to vote, early and often, as Cervantes and Shakespeare compete for the title of World Champion Storyteller. Who wins? Your applause decides!
You’ll find more opportunities to celebrate your Hispanic Heritage when Loco for Love premieres at Mission San Luis in Tallahassee on October 1 & 2. In conjunction with those performances, three expert speakers from three different states will come to Florida’s Capital city to bring you exciting talks and hands-on demonstrations that explore great ideas from Florida’s Hispanic past – ideas about courtship and friendship, marriage and madness, nobility and chivalry, gender and power.
Ian Borden will demonstrate Spanish swordplay from the 17th century, and invite some adventurous participants to help him, armed with wooden swords. Dr. Borden teaches acting at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in the University of Nebraska, directs plays all over the country, and translates plays from the Spanish Golden Age into English.
Leah Lowe will tell you about dramatic differences in the roles that women played in the worlds of Shakespeare and Cervantes. Dr. Lowe is the Chair of the Department of Theatre at Vanderbilt University, directs performances for colleges and professional companies in Tennessee, and leads workshops in places as exotic and far afield as Russia.
Keith Howard will connect you with Quixotic characters from Florida’s history and take you deep into the world of Don Quixote with a look at Jews, Moors, and Indians in the work of Cervantes. Dr. Howard teaches Cervantes, Spanish Golden Age theater, and the culture of Spanish Florida at Florida State University.
These talks, demonstrations, and discussions make up a speaker series called “Interpreting Cultural Connections between Cervantes and Shakespeare.” On October 1 & 2, the speaker series will present activities every hour on the hour from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m., and Loco for Love will premiere at 2 p.m.
All this takes place at Tallahassee’s unique Hispanic Heritage site, Mission San Luis. On Saturday, October 1, admission to Mission San Luis will be free, during the annual Blessing of Animals event. Admission on Sunday, October 2, is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for youngsters. More information is available online at missionsanluis.org and Theater with a Mission’s Facebook page.
What can hearing the same story in two different languages tell you about your heritage during Hispanic Heritage Month? Come see!
