TE LLEVO EN LA SANGRE
Written by Mónica Silver
Directed by Daniel Jáquez

Love! Obsession! Murder! Set against the backdrop of turbulent 1955 Argentina, this award-winning black comedy cleverly weaves together the infamous backstage lives of a radionovela (radio soap opera) cast with the dreams of Mabel, an obsessed fan. Mabel’s deluded fantasies can as easily awaken love as provoke a macabre crime, one in which gift boxes bearing body parts mysteriously begin to arrive at the studio. The intersection of show business and politics examines our fleeting passions and illusions of grandeur in the face of an aggressive world, questioning the nature — and existence — of love in the real world. On the surface, this is an amusing soap opera, but underneath hide political metaphors from a society in transition.

Te llevo en la sangre takes Miracle Theatre audiences back to the roots of the nonprofit organization’s Spanish language presentations with a fully staged production of what was presented as a staged reading in 2002, launching the organization’s now annual Teatro Español Spanish-language productions, which recently included Federico García Lorca’s Bodas de sangre (2008) andRosalba y los Llaveros by Emilio Carballido (2007).

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Mónica Silver was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since 1978, she has worked as a theatre instructor, establishing in 1987, together with Silvia Kanter, her own school. From 1988 to 1992, she was a member of the group “3x1”, where she wrote and directedGAG, 3x1, and Bando Neón. From 1995 to 1998, she has written for television, including the series Nueve lunas, De poeta y de loco and Laura y Zoe. In 1999, she wrote Te llevo en la sangre. In 2000, she was an instructor at the University of Oregon in Portland and at the San Antonio Film School in Baños, Cuba. Awards for her work include in 1989 a “Coca Cola en the Arts and Sciences” citation for her work 3x1; in 1995, an award from “Fundación Huesped” for Nueve lunas; and in 1996, a nomination for best script for the Martín Fierro prize for her work De poeta y de loco. In 1998, she received the “Argentores” Prize for Laura y Zoe, and in 1999 she won first place for Drama from the National Theatre Institute of Argentina for Te llevo en la sangre.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Daniel Jáquez, a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, is Artistic Director and Choreographer of Calpulli Mexican Dance Theatre (calpullidance.org), as well as Associate Artist at the Miracle Theatre Group in Portland and The Immediate Theater Company in New York. From 2003 to 2006, he was Director-Producer of INTAR Theatre’s NewWorks Lab. In New York City he has directed at The Lark, Queens Theatre in the Park, The Town Hall, INTAR Theatre, Vital, The Immediate, The Kirk, The Lion, HERE, Ensemble Studio Theatre, 78 Street Theatre and others. His work has also been seen regionally at The Miracle Theatre, South Coast Rep, Freehold Theatre, Teatro Bravo, The Intiman, The McCarter, Artists Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre Institute, Speakeasy Stage, Boston Center for the Arts, Market Theatre, Boston Playwrights, Greensboro Community Theatre and at the Moscow Art Theatre Studio in Russia.

Habla el Director

Jáquez is back … and he’s out for blood
Before leaving town, Ana Dorado, Miracle’s former Marketing Assistant, interviewed director Daniel Jáquez about his upcoming work on Te llevo en la sangre, Miracle’s Spanish-language production opening at the end of January. Rehearsals are just getting started and new discoveries are coming to light as we dig deeper and deeper through this dark comedy’s many layers. For example, we are now just learning more about an actual murderer (el descuartizador de Constitución) from the same time and place as our play. Hmmm... Could there be a connection? Stay tuned, dear readers, as we unearth more about this story-behind-the-story in the next Insider. For now …. read on, as director Jáquez shares his thoughts about this play that gets under your skin.

Ana Dorado: This is a weird play. How is it viewed by Argentines and where is it placed within Latin American literature, aside from winning the 1999 Primer Premio de Dramaturgia from the Instituto Nacional de Teatro in Argentina?
Daniel Jáquez: I have no idea, but I don't think it is weird. It is beautifully complex, and its ability to shift realities and presentation structure to invite the audience into a world that is historical and resonant while making use of comedy and melodramatic tools is brilliant.

What is the role or the significance of the Locutor character throughout the play? We see him telling the love stories of the fictional radionovela characters, but we also see him narrating the love stories of the play’s main characters such as radio stars Linda, Dante and Mabel. 
He is our narrator, our Rod Serling. He takes us into the world of the play and is always in the present, doing his job from an omniscient point of view ... with a wink he tells us, "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

We have a variety themes going on in this play including ‘progress’ and politics. What does this layering of political subtext add to the play? 
The playwright Mónica Silver was trying to explore her then-belief that love did not exist, except in fiction. By the way, she recently mentioned she now believes in love. I think she placed the play in 1955 because of the power of radio melodrama and passion exhibited by the Argentinean media ... and she might have been born around then ... so it is nostalgic in a way. Politics are not simply layered in the play; they are integral to the story and deepen the significance of the actions of the characters in the play.

Can you describe the world of the play for us? 
A black-and-white murder mystery, a dark comedy. Chaos in society, change is in the air. Television replacing radio, a government coup d’état, a shifting of moral values, and hypocrisy. 

What can we expect to see? 
Hilarious performances by some of the best Spanish speaking actors in Portland. You should expect to laugh and cry at the absurdity of the situations as the characters make the best of a tough world where two societies collide in the name of love.

Teatro Milagro

Posted Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 09:09 AM

"Te llevo en la sangre" at Milagro Theatre

TE LLEVO EN LA SANGRE - JAN 30-FEB 21, 2009 AT MILAGRO THEATRE 
Miracle Theatre Group is pleased to present the U.S. premiere of "Te llevo en la sangre", an award-winning dark comedy from Argentina written by Mónica Silver, directed by Daniel Jáquez and sponsored by SmartForest Ventures. This winner of the 1999 First Prize for Drama from the National Theatre Institute of Argentina will be presented in its original Spanish, with subtitles projected in English. Performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 21, 2009 at the Milagro Theatre (525 SE Stark St., Portland). 


"Te llevo en la sangre" takes Miracle Theatre audiences back to the roots of the nonprofit organization’s Spanish language presentations with a fully staged production of what was presented as a staged reading in 2002, launching the organization’s now annual Teatro Español Spanish-language productions, which recently included Federico García Lorca’s BODAS DE SANGRE (2008) and ROSALBA Y LOS LLAVEROS by Emilio Carballido (2007).