It has often been said that the sign of a good movie plot is one that can be watched with the sound turned off. This month's column goes a step further; specifically, a good stage play is one that can be enjoyed -- and understood -- in the full melody of a foreign tongue. (And we're not just talking about opera!)
Actress/Director Maria Laris graciously shares her views on how theater is experienced on either side of the U.S.-Mexican border, as well as how today's aspiring playwrights can deliver a script that transcends the language barrier.
Laris's introduction to live theater came at an early age in her native Mexico City. From spectator to acting student to university theater major, she now boasts a substantive list of directing credits and continues to look for exciting new works that will not only challenge the performers but help bridge the gap in cultural communications.
Q: You've come a long way from the first show you directed in college. Do you remember what the play was and how it felt to be "at the helm" of a production?
A: I had chosen a play called Los Mangos de Cain (Cain's Mangos) by Albelardo Estorino, a Cuban author. The play is a satire of the biblical story of Cain and Abel treated in a comic way that deals with the injustice of authority. Needless to say that in the beginning, I was afraid of not having the ability to direct, especially something as sophisticated as comedy! As rehearsals went by, however, I discovered I knew how to communicate with the actors and to transmit my ideas to them. Since then I have directed both comedy and drama and in every play I have found something new to learn, some new aspect of the theater to discover.
Q: Did your work as an Assistant Character Coordinator for the Walt Disney Company enrich your ability to direct?
A: On the contrary, directing helped me to do the Disney job better, as I had to deal with actors, costumes, schedules, rehearsals, and audience all the time. (By the way, I loved it!)
Q: In your growing list of credits, which scripts stand out as personal favorites?
A: As an actress, I loved the prostitute character I played in Hayde Boetto's Los Limites de la Obscuridad (The Limits of Darkness), a play about the problems of prostitutes and what happens in the nightclubs. The interesting thing about it was that it was presented in a bar and we had to act among the audience. If I have to choose one as a director, I would say it is Informacion para Extranjeros (Information for Foreigners) by Argentinian author Griselda Gambaro. The play deals with the abuses from the government and the 'mysterious' disappearances of the people involved in politics. Our proposal (I co-directed with Maipy Duarte) was to set the play in a house with different scenes taking place at the same time. The audience was divided in three different groups and watched the play in different sequence by moving around the house guided by 'tour guides.' The actors, 30 of them, had to perform the same scene three times during the same presentation to different audiences.
Q: Having translated plays from Spanish to English and vice versa, which lends itself easier to adaptation -- a comedy or a drama?
A: Drama is much easier because many comedies have local or cultural slang and jokes that make no sense in the other language as the cultural 'humor' is different. For instance, I definitely wouldn't choose a play like Five Women Wearing the Same Dress because, although it is very funny, we don't have the same wedding traditions in Mexico or any other Spanish-speaking country so the audience wouldn't relate to any of it. Generally speaking, the situations drama portrays are more universal than those of the comedy.
Q: What about instances where there's a word or colloquialism for which there isn't a counterpart in the translation?
A: Sometimes you have to sacrifice good jokes in the original language so the content won't get lost. Other times, there are jokes that have equal expression in the other language. Comedies that are more 'situation' comedies are easier to translate than the ones that make more use of the words themselves. A well-directed play, however, reaches the audience even if you can't understand the language. The director should be able to use the energy of the actors to transmit situations and emotions. I can give you two examples of this. A few years ago I saw in Mexico City a Hamlet that was presented by a Polish company and I can tell you it was great! I also went to see Ubu Roi in Ottawa, Canada. It was all in French (at that time I wasn't good at it) and I was still able to understand everything. In both cases I didn't understand the words by themselves but I really felt the energy from the stage.
Q: In translating a script, do you work directly with the original playwright in a collaborative effort or is this entirely subject to your own interpretation as a director?
A: I usually work with the original, though sometimes I have to change some things in order to make them understandable in Spanish. I try to modify the play as little as possible. The adaptation would come when I direct the play because there I have to mix the author's intention with my own concept for a mise-en-scene.
Q: You had mentioned in an earlier interview with WOL that you're receptive to reading new scripts. Do you prefer that they be in Spanish or English?
A: I like to read plays in both languages, and even French or Italian! (I haven't directed yet in French or Italian but I would really like to sometime.) I also don't mind if it's a comedy or drama as long as it makes you think. When I finish reading a play, I want to be able to continue thinking about the characters, about the possibilities, and about the message.
Q: Are there any themes that you think are being overdone?
A: Not really. From the same situation there can be a million possibilities, from the same theme there can be a million points of view.
Q: Speaking of points of view, you've directed productions in both the U.S. and abroad. What kind of differences in perception do you see between respective audiences?
A: In Mexico, people who go to the theater like all kinds of plays and it depends on the level of culture of the audience the kind of play they prefer. Latin Americans are more responsive when going to the theater and you can feel if they are really enjoying the play or not. Americans are more discreet; even if they don't like it, they will be patient and wait. In my experience, they also like to see the plays they already know and they prefer comedies over drama. They definitely don't like plays related to political or social topics.
Q: Do you think the American accessibility to the media -- and, hence, the saturation on daily television and in the newspapers -- accounts for their opting to see something lighter for entertainment?
A: I think people in general (not only Americans) are tired of the bad news and no one likes to worry more about problems that cannot be solved immediately. But I also think that theater-going Americans live very far from where the problems are and they have a better and more comfortable way of life. Their problems are completely different from those in Latin America or in Africa and though they know about them, most of them are not interested in being closer to them. Plays that make them think are not their first choice. (I'm talking about the average American; not everyone, of course.)
Q: In the arena of art-imitating-life, American theater has seen a transition in the past two decades of stronger roles being written for females. Have theatrical productions south of the border evolved in the same way?
A: Actually in both Mexican and Latin theater, the meatier parts usually have been for women, as the society in Latin America revolves around the image of motherhood (i.e., Mexico's Virgin of Guadalupe). If I think of all the plays I know, I can tell you that the roles for men and women are equal.
Q: If you had your pick of any theater script in the world to translate to Spanish, which one would you choose?
A: I'd choose something from Dario Fo. His sense of humor is very appealing to Latin Americans and I love all the plays I have read from him. I think his style is great as it appeals to all levels of audience. Most of his plays are comedies, but they can be understood as lightly or as profoundly as each one of the people seated in the theater wants to understand them. I personally think that is the secret of the great comedies!
Q: Any parting advice for our readers who have a script in their heads and a dream of Broadway in their hearts?
A: I think writers should think about the production itself and try to write a play that will require a low budget and only a few actors. Regardless of the subject (any theme is interesting at a certain point for certain people), much of the decision of producing a play rests on the economic restrictions that we as directors have to face.
Editor's Note: Maria Laris can be reached by email at marialaris@aol.com. As with any script submission, it is best to query first with (1) a brief synopsis of the play, (2) staging and budget particulars pertinent to your production, and (3) an introductory letter on your background as a writer.
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