Theatre students rehearse a scene from the play “Se Vende una Mula” March 8 in the Albert L. Jeffers Theatre on the Edinburg campus. The play was part of a show hosted by the Latino Theatre Initiatives program. THE RIDER File Photo
The Latino Theatre Initiatives program is looking for students registered in the spring semester to put on a show in Puerto Rico organized by the UTRGV College of Fine Arts.
Selected students will visit Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico in the city of Ponce.
Eric Wiley, a theatre professor, said the purpose of the trip is to create a bridge between the two universities.
The tentative dates for the trip are March 9-13, 2024. Students and faculty will be housed in the university in Puerto Rico.
“It’s not only a theater trip,” Wiley said. “We are just one part of a larger College of Fine Arts trip that is meant to be the first of many trips. And hopefully, [the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico] will be visiting us next.”
He said selected students will present a theater piece at the university in Puerto Rico.
“The other people, non-theater people, will be presenting things like … a poetry reading or workshop,” Wiley said. “So, there will be several things going on. … And then, also, there will be some other things, like we will tour some theaters in San Juan, [Puerto Rico,] stuff like that.”
LTI is looking for five to six actors fluent in Spanish, one to two camera people and one to three production staff. Prospective candidates must be UTRGV students enrolled in the spring semester.
Students do not have to be theatre majors or be in the student organization LTI to go on the trip.
Wiley said actors must be fluent in Spanish and no experience in acting is required.
Gorguz Teatro in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, will hold five four-hour-long workshops on the Edinburg campus during the winter break, Jan. 8-12, for students participating in the show.
“One of the most exciting things about this project is that we are bringing members of a theater company in Monterrey to come here and do a workshop with our students,” he said.
Wiley said the actors selected are required to attend the workshops.
“These are professional theater artists who will be working with our students and helping them to create material, monologues and to organize material into a theater piece,” he said.
Wiley said all expenses will be covered for the trip to Puerto Rico.
“Karina [Molina is] going to be directing and helping to create or devise a new piece of theater,” he said. “From the time of the workshop to the time of spring break, it’s roughly two months. Again, you’re going to be working. … We are not doing a play that’s already written; we are creating a play.”
Molina, a theatre senior, said students must write and perform a one-minute monologue in Spanish about their experience living in the Rio Grande Valley for the audition process.
She said she is excited to create the play.
“It’s gonna be the actors putting their stories into the show,” Molina said. “I feel like our stories are yearning to be told. And I feel like the Valley is so niche, and it’s so different, and there’s no place like the Valley. So, getting our stories told outside of the Valley, it’s a really great opportunity.”
She said the project will help the Theatre Department expand.
“I think reaching out and venturing in areas outside of our little circle is very important for students to grow, even professors to grow,” Molina said. “I also feel like it would benefit the students very much because they would be able to see how things work outside of what we are used to.”
Wiley said auditions for students interested in participating will start in December.
“Possibly just as early as Dec. 10 or Dec. 15, somewhere in that area,” he said. “We will be putting up flyers for that and … students who want to be actors will need to audition.”
More than 20 students gathered on Nov. 15 for an informative session with Wiley to learn more about the theater part of the trip.
Theatre junior Elyza Roldán said the trip to Puerto Rico would benefit a lot of students.
“I think it’s a really good learning experience because a lot of us are in this field to do things like that,” Roldán said. “I’m concentrating on doing costumes. So, I think it’s a really good experience outside of main stage shows. And also, you get to see how tours actually work.”
She said she won’t be auditioning but will contact the director to help create the costumes for the play.
“This is a project for people interested in theater,” Wiley said. “This is not really a project for people interested in a vacation in the Caribbean. This is more about being interested in theater. This is a theater trip, you’ll be doing theater. You will be meeting theater people in Puerto Rico. You’ll be seeing shows and touring theaters and things like that.”
For more information, email eric.wiley@utrgv.edu.
