 | 1.
Lady Blue at UNM April 24 (April 24, 2009)| We'll be performing the play about Maria Jesus de Agreda at a symposium at UNM in Albuquerque. The event will be in the building that houses the Spanish department. More details to follow. |
| 0 Images
Shared Album | |
| |
| 2.
Soiree V, April 19 4-6 PM (April 19, 2009)Soiree news: Dear friends – Spring is really happening regardless of the crazy economic news... time to come out of our caves and celebrate!
The second Soiree for 2009 will be April 19th. Here’s the lineup:
Lisa Carman will be back again performing more of her great original songs. She was a big hit a year ago at the first Soiree.
Rima Miller - one of our favorite Santa Fe actresses will do ... well, we're still not sure WHAT she will do, but we know it will be excellent theater.
One of Lisa Carman's up-and coming songwriters - come be surpised by this 19 year old talent!
Bob Bruen and Brian McClain, great local singers/songwriters.
Puppet’s Revenge (Laia and Ron)– we’ll do some more scenes from our new play, the Dreams of Lady Blue – the cloistered nun who many believe bi-located to New Mexico more than 500 times in the early 1600’s. You'll get to see her bilocating from Spain to New Mexico!
We hope that all of you can come to this next show.If you missed our previous emails about these events, just go to the previous Soirees for more description and images.
The show will be in the old railroad station at the Eldorado community center (1 Hacienda Loop) starting at 4:00 PM on Sunday, April 19th. To get to the Eldorado community center take 25 North to the Eldorado exit (285 south). Turn right at the first traffic light on Ave. Amistad. Go 1.3 miles and you'll see the community center on the right (just before the stop sign). Turn right into the parking lot.
There will be time after the Soiree for wine, cheese, dessert and talk. We are encouraging people who think they might like to participate as performers to come and meet the other performers – make connections and perhaps do an ensemble piece next time.
The cost is $10 adults, $5 teens, kids FREE. Hope that you can come, and please spread the word to friends and neighbors. Space is limited, so plan to come early to get good seats. And thanks for your support that made the first three Soirees so much fun.
For more info on the Series of Soirees, see any of the other Soirees (I,II,III,IV). |
| 0 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 3.
The Blue Lady - a brief history I’ve often been asked, “Just who IS this Lady Blue who you are so interested in?”. I’m going to do my best to thumbnail her life and explain makes her so fascinating to both Laia and I (and has made it worthwhile to spend countless hours the last 3 years researching her life, visiting Agreda, the town where she lived, and making her a principal character of our newest full-length play).
The shortest thumbnail would be that she was a mystic Spanish nun named Sor Maria Jesus de Agreda, the confidant of King Felipe IV, the abbess of her convent at age 25, the author of a 3,000 pages biography of the Virgin Mary based on the revelations from the Virgin herself, and the subject of a legend about her frequent bilocations and missionary work in New Mexico and Texas. Some resume, no?
She was born Maria Coronel y Arana in Agreda, a town of 100 inhabitants in the rugged mountains of northern Spain in 1602. She shared the times of Miguel deCervantes, Sor Juana de la Cruz, Ignacio de Loyola, and Teresa de Avila. Her parents likely were conversos (the name Coronel is the same as the tax "farmer" of Fernando and Isabel, who converted in 1492). Perhaps in an attempt to appear more sincere about their faith, "they were passionately engaged in self-mortification and often saw supernatural interventions in their lives" (from Colahan).
When she was 13, as a result of a dream of her mother, they converted their house to a Franciscan convent for women, and her whole family joined the order. She had suffered from 13 with an exaggerated (but not unusual for the time) sense of shame at her sexual feelings, and punished herself to try to suppress them when she took her vows at age 17. She also suffered from poor health for an early age, and was so ill at age 20 that a death mask was made for her. During her first three years as a nun she regularly experienced out-of-body experiences, trances, and ecstasies. During these experiences, she saw other parts of the world, and preached Christianity to people who lived in stone houses and wore little clothing.
She desperately wanted to keep these events secret, but her confessor and her mother eagerly spread the news. Her confessor interest finally convinced the head of the Order to write a letter to Friar Alfonso Benavides, the head of the Franciscans in Mexico City. His letter convinced Benavides to make a trip to New Mexico to interview natives who claimed to have been visited by a “beautiful young woman dressed in blue” who taught them about Christianity and urged them to ask for conversion when friars arrived from Mexico. So began the story of the Blue Lady which still resonates today though both popular and scholarly history books in the Southwest.
Certain historical facts are clear – Benavides DID visit New Mexico, DID interview various native tribes (at Grand Quivira and Isleta), DID write a report to the king, DID go to Agreda to interview Maria Jesus, DID write a second report stating that he believed that she had in fact bilocated to the Southwest on many occasions and had preached to the natives (all the while never leaving the cloistered convent). All that is well documented.
What is not clear is what ulterior motives Benavides had for making connections where none may have existed and what motives the natives had for telling Benavides what he wanted to hear…. Only lots of speculations from hundreds of years ago.
However, even without the legend of her bilocations, Sor Maria was a woman with influence in the world of 17th century Spain. She maintained a 20 year correspondence with Felipe IV and expressed her thoughts to him in a powerful, direct manner. Both of them considered her his moral superior, and they clearly were friends. She offered sound political advice as well as counsel for his anxieties.
She ran the convent in an enlightened manner, was a successful fund-raiser (yup, that was as important then as now), and gave up many nights of sleep in order to write. Her masterwork was the 3,000 page biography, The Mystical City of God. She always said that the Virgin dictated the entire book and that she was merely the scribe. Bizarrely, soon after she finished the book, her confessor told her that it was the work of the Devil, and commanded her to burn it. He died shortly afterwards, and her new confessor told her that she must re-write it… which she did without complaining. What a memory!
The impact of her writing has been compared to Sor Juana (Mexico) and Teresa de Avila. All three felt they had been called to change the world, and they tried to do so with writing and political activities. Sor Juana and Sor Maria were both subject to multiple encounters with the Inquisition – Sor Maria fared much better than Sor Juana, who was finally denied all writing materials in an attempt to stop her from writing.
All in all, a fascinating woman from 17th century Spain – but that doesn’t really answer the question about what has maintained our interest for so long. Laia first read about her in 1991 in an article by a young Spanish journalist, Javier Sierra. He described losing his way in a snow storm, ending up in Agreda, and learning about Sor Maria. Her story inspired his international best seller, “The Lady in Blue”. Last summer, Gov. Richardson read the book and was so taken with the story that he suggested creating a “hermaniemento” between Agreda and the state of New Mexico… and the signing took place on Dec. 2. Even though most of the participants in the ceremony (which included a delegation from Agreda, now a “big” town of 2,400) don’t believe that Maria really bilocated to New Mexico, they uniformly agreed that the legend/myth still had enough power to engender a profound expression of friendship between Spain and New Mexico.
Seems like no story about mystic nuns is complete without an incorruptible body… and lady blue delivers. I was sceptical about her incorruptible at first… but two years ago, Laia and I went to Agreda. In the church is a small glass coffin. Inside is her body – her face covered by a wax mask made for her when she almost died in her early 20’s, her body in the typical funerary clothes of a Franciscan nun. The only visible part of her body is her right wrist – the skin is dark, like tanned leather. We talked with the woman who is the caretaker, and she told us that 10 years ago they had taken all the clothes off the body and that the skin was still soft. Curious. This woman didn’t seem at all like someone who was trying to make LB seem other than what she was – a beloved nun who had lived and died in the 17th century. She also said that a local physician examined the body at that time and wrote in his report that the body was in exactly the same state as it had been the last time a physician had examined it 50 years before. Even more curious. No visible signs of decay in the 342 years since her death.
So that’s my nutshell summary of Sor Maria’s life – if you want to see more, come to the Soiree on April 19th or the performance at UNM (Albuquerque) on April 24th.
Much credit for much of our understanding about Sor Maria go to Clark Colhan's marvelous book, "The Visions of Sor Maria de Agreda", University of Arizona Press. |
| 20 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 4.
Soiree IV Feb. 15th 4:00 - 6:00 (2/15/09)Soiree news: Dear friends – winter and snow are back again – and so are the Soirees. All three of the Soirees in 2008 were such wonderful community
experiences – fun, lively, lots of laughter and smiles... And even some tears.
The first Soiree for 2009 will be Feb. 15th. Here’s the lineup:
Ferdi Serim and friends (jazz)
Charles de Muth (dramatic readings)
Kerri Lay (solo violin)
Lori Romero (surprise) Puppet’s Revenge (Laia and Ron)– we’ll do a scene from our new play, Lady Blue, Maria Jesus de Agreda – the cloistered nun who many believe bi-located to New Mexico more than 500 times in the early 1600’s.
We hope that all of you can come to this next show.If you missed our previous emails about the Soiree, just go to the previus Soirees for more description and images.
The show will be in the old railroad station at the Eldorado community center (1 Hacienda Loop) starting at 4:00 PM on Sunday, Feb. 15th. There
will be time after the Soiree for wine, cheese, dessert and talk. We are encouraging people who think they might like to participate as performers
to come and meet the other performers – make connections and perhaps do an ensemble piece next time.
The cost is $10 adults, $5 teens, kids FREE.
Hope that you can come, and please spread the word to friends and neighbors. Space is
limited, so plan to come early to get good seats. And thanks for your support that made the first three Soirees so much fun.
For more info on the Series of Soirees, see any of the other Soirees (I,II,III). |
| 10 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 5.
Soiree III (5/25/2008)For details about the Soirees read the info on Soiree I.
Here's the lineup:
Michelle LaFlamme - poet
Susan Abod - jazz singer
Gaye Done - surprise guest from NYC - a REAL opera singer
Betsy Robinson performs the Hunchback Madonna
Puppets Revenge - the story of Cabeza de Vaca and Estebanico, from a new play, "Lady Blue"
******************************************
Anyone who is interested in performing at future SOirees please send an email to rondans@yahoo.com or call 505-216-0882. It’s first come, first served, so if you want to perform, call early.
To get to the train station take 25 North to the Eldorado exit (285 south). Turn right at the first traffic light on Ave. Amistad. Go 1.3 miles and you'll see the community center on the right (just before the stop sign). Turn right into the parking lot.
To see video of Cabeza de Vaca and Estevanico, click on image to the left. |
| 3 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 6.
Soire II, April 6 2008 (4/6/08)For details about the Soirees read the info on Soiree I.
Here's the lineup:
Hailey Jounoubeh - teenage blues singer
Mark Friedman - standup comedy
Terry Wilson - monologue
Laurianne Fiorentino - native flute, harmonica, songwriter
Onde Chymes - native American singer/songwriter
Doug Stewart and Melissa Trent - original play, "Final Exam"
Puppets Revenge - Santa Librada, from a new play, "Lady Blue"
Anyone who is interested in performing at future SOirees please send an email to rondans@yahoo.com or call 505-216-0882. It’s first come, first served, so if you want to perform, call early.
To get to the train station take 25 North to the Eldorado exit (285 south). Turn right at the first traffic light on Ave. Amistad. Go 1.3 miles and you'll see the community center on the right (just before the stop sign). Turn right into the parking lot.
To see video from this Soiree, click on image to the left. |
| 1 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 7.
S.O.S. Series of Soirees, Teatre Petit (2/17/08)*** LINEUP AS OF 2/14/08 ***
Puppet's Revenge - MC's and general rowdiness
Lisa Carman - singer/songwriter
Ann Filemyr - performance artist (pronounced FILLmeyer)
Karen Edwards - group improv (with Gudrun and Wally)
Alexa Bauer - monologue
Amanda Baglione - singer/songwriter
Surprise guest (as long as his visa comes through) - Gandhi !!!
*******************************
What do you do on cold winter Sunday afternoons??? If you are like most of us, maybe you go to a movie or watch sports on TV, read a book, dream about a beach in Mexico, make endless cups of tea. Do any of these activities really satisfy the hunger to talk with other people, laugh with other people, enjoy the warmth of other people? Not for us.
In the old times, before TV, video games and cheap airfares, people gathered together in small theaters or community rooms. Gathered to meet each other, tell stories, play music, have fun (si non e vero, ben trobato)(if it’s not true, the image is beautiful). If there was a movie, the experience was completely different from today’s multiplex. People brought their dinner, and everyone talked and laughed out loud. They had fun, shared energy and ended feeling warm inside. There was little distance between audience and performer.
We’ve been thinking about this for some time and finally we decided to start a “Series of Soirees” that we’ve named S.O.S. - Teatre Petit… a time and place to come together to enjoy each other’s talents and energy. A place where sometimes you are in the audience, and sometimes on the stage. Both roles completely active. Each soiree will be about 2 hours long, ending with wine, cheese and grapes (uvas, vino y quesos siempre saben a besos). Each performer will have 10-15 minutes, and all the proceeds ($10 adults, $5 teens, kids FREE!) will be divided among the performers. And what kind of performers? Anything that can fit on a small stage… comedy, poetry, improv, theater, music, dance, puppetry, spoken word and others. All ages welcome both as audience and performers. Each soiree will have a theme to stimulate your imaginations, not to limit your ideas. We’ve booked the cozy old train station at Eldorado for Sunday, Feb. 17th from 4-6:30 pm for the first Soiree.
Anyone who is interested in performing please send an email to rondans@yahoo.com or call 505-216-0882. It’s first come, first served, so if you want to perform, call early. Also, the train station holds about 60 people, so it would be good to call ahead to reserve a seat in the audience.
To get to the train station take 25 North to the Eldorado exit (285 south). Turn right at the first traffic light on Ave. Amistad. Go 1.3 miles and you'll see the community center on the right (just before the stop sign). Turn right into the parking lot. |
| 7 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 8.
Nails (5/16/07)| Laia wrote this short piece based on a writing exercise. You may want to cover your eyes during the most gruesome scenes (joke). |
| 1 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 9.
Numimblaba comes to Santa Fe (5/16/07)| Numimblaba comes to a writing class at SFCC. See what happens! Numimblaba (the character) is based on a real Northwest Indian mask character whose "job" was to remind people of their humble origins. He would appear from time to time when someone (or some family) had begun to believe that they were better than other people. He would come at night and throw mucous and (sometimes) even shit on their house. Also, the idea that one of the first tests for new shamans is eating their own shit is based on authoritative writings about shamanic traditions in many cultures. |
| 1 Images
Gallery Album | |
|
 | 10.
Revenge on Agua Fria (Santa Fe) (June 9 - 24th, 2006)Come to the Wise Fool Performance Space, 2778 Agua Fria Unit D (2 blocks north of Siler, across from Club Alegria in Santa Fe) for our mini series entitled "Revenge on Agua Fria".
On June 9,10,16, 17, 8 P.M. we'll perform "Blue Jobs - the Secret Sex Lives of Insects". Come see world famous TV personality and sex therapist Dr. Phil Phraud, Phd. as he takes on all manner of clients, from Praying Mantises to centipedes. Marvel at his miraculous cures as he uses all the tools of this arcane trade to rid his clients of their phobias, phantasies, and phears. Maybe you'll discover that your problems aren't so big after all. Free tickets to the first 5 audience members at each show. This show is rated PG-13 (no violence, but insect nudity and sex)
On June 23, 24, 8 P.M. we'll perform "Amabantur" (they loved each other), which is based on the Latin tale of Eros (the son of Venus) and Psyche. In this love story Psyche loses Eros' love and journeys to recover it. Her search leads to a confrontation with a vengeful Venus and then to the underworld and the discovery of her deep femininity. The main characters are played by Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. The play is in English and Spanish and is fun for all ages (not recommended for children under 7). To see a short preview, go to the album titled "Amabatur at El Museo Santa Fe".
Tickets are $10.00 adults, $8.00 Seniors and Students, $5 children. Space is limited, advance reservations are recommended. Call 216-0918 to reserve.
Wise Fool Performance space is located at 2778 Agua Fria Unit D 2778 Agua Fria in the Agua Fria Business Park, two blocks north of Siler across from Club Alegria. On performance evenings, call 992-2588 for help in finding us. |
| 7 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 11.
Amabantur at el Museo in Santa Fe (Feb. 17-26, 2006)The play is based on the Latin tale of Eros and Psique (as told by Apuleius in "The Golden Ass" in 110 AD). It tells the story of Eros -the son of Venus- and Psyche's journey to recover his love. Her search leads her to a confrontation with a vengeful Venus, and then to the Underworld and to the discovery of her deep femininity. We've played the show to all ages (4-92)... in schools, festivals, private homes. The show is in English/Spanish verse, and is fun for all ages. We'll be presenting the full show of Amabantur at el Museo Cultural de Santa Fe from Feb. 17-26th, 2006.
Performances Friday and Saturday at 7:00, Sundays at 3:00 PM.
Go to www.elmuseocultural.org for more details, or call 505-216-0918.
Enjoy the photos and the video! |
| 9 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 12.
Big Heads (aka los cabezudos) (September, 2002)| The inspiration for these "big heads" came from the puppetry tradition of Catalonia (northern Spain)... most festivals include characters who wear these "cabezudos". We have used these in many short skits as well as in political demonstrations, and just having fun at home! |
| 2 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 13.
Pearl Earring at the Colonial (March 15, 2004)Here's a short skit we did at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville for the movie "The Girl with the Pearl Earring"
For more info, call Ron Dans at 505-216-0882, or email to rondans@yahoo.com
To receive email updates for our upcoming shows, send me an email! |
| 7 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 14.
City Of God at the Colonial (March 16, 2003)This was a short skit we did at the Colonial Theater in May, 2003. The Brasilian movie, "City of God" was very dark... and our skit was light...
Call us at 505-216-0882, or send an email to rondans@yahoo.com to receive notices of upcoming performances. |
| 2 Images
Shared Album | |
|
 | 15.
Lost in La Mancha at the Colonial (May 2003)the was a short skit we did to open the hilarious movie, "Lost in La Mancha". Enjoy the images of the characters!
To get more info about upcoming shows, call 505-216-0882 or send an email to RonDans@yahoo.com |
| 2 Images
Shared Album | |
| |
