[su_carousel source=”media: 41680,41652,41650,41651″ limit=”100″ link=”lightbox” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″]<\/p>\n
Death is a scary thing. But so is not living.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the premise of \u201cDeath and the Artist,\u201d a theatrical production by Bay Area Theatre Company (BATCO), which is set to open Oct. 17 at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.<\/p>\n
Directed by Marcelo Pereira and adapted by longtime community activist, theater professor and playwright Carlos Bar\u00f3n, the play takes place in Alta California and follows the story of Pobreza (played by Alfred Muller), a campesino protagonist and ex-coyote whose defiant chance encounter with God\u2014or Our Lord (played by Tommy Clifford)\u2014leads him on a dark yet humorous journey, where he cunningly cheats Death (played by Benjamin Garcia).<\/p>\n
The story is based on the old legend \u201cEl Herrero y la Muerte,\u201d and is one that Bar\u00f3n\u2014who revised the script six times\u2014knows well.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany years ago my sister Margarita, who just passed about a year ago, was an actress in Chile,\u201d Bar\u00f3n said. \u201cAnd they produced this very particular play. And I got a hold of some photographs and the script in Spanish, and I loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
But aside from the plays dark humor, it was the universal concept of mortality that captivated Bar\u00f3n.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of, what if no one died? We\u2019re postponing death more than than our ancestors, more than ever,\u201d Bar\u00f3n said. \u201cWhat if we could we could put death up on that tree? What chaos would happen? And because it\u2019s dealing with iconic characters, that lend themselves to reflection, but also laughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of those \u201ciconic characters\u201d are Our Lord, St. Peter (Played by Michael Huston) and Gentleman Lili (aka The Devil who also moonlights as the show\u2019s narrator, played by Ron Chapman).<\/p>\n
And despite the shows Latino origins, it\u2019s unapologetically San Francisco. The show features a 10-person multicultural, multiethnic and multigender\u2014or what some may consider a \u201cnon-traditional\u2014cast.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefinitely, Our Lord is not a white guy with blue eyes. The actor is not,\u201d Bar\u00f3n said. \u201cSt. Peter is not a white guy either.\u201d<\/p>\n
That move was intentional.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re good actors. They happen to be black. But they\u2019re also cast for reasons of making people, after a second of surprise, pay attention to what is being said,\u201d Bar\u00f3n said. \u201cBecause what is being said is universal. It goes beyond color. Beyond skin deep assessments.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The story unfolds with Our Lord and St. Peter descending from heaven to check on the mortals on earth, or more specifically, Yerba Buena.<\/p>\n In BATCO\u2019s version, the playwright and producers make it clear that Our Lord is hesitant about the visit, fearing that the situation on earth has gotten out of hand.<\/p>\n Makes sense.<\/p>\n But once Our Lord meets Pobreza, it changes that fate of all in Yerba Buena, including Pobreza\u2019s sister, aptly named Miseria (played by Mercedes White) and the town\u2019s shrewd Governor (played by Julio Chavez).<\/p>\n In addition to making people laugh, Bar\u00f3n hopes the message of \u2018get busy living\u2019 resonates with the audience.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should not be afraid of death, we should be afraid of not living,\u201d he said. \u201cDeath is only a couple of seconds, then an eternity. Living, or not living, takes everyday, it\u2019s painful. Worse than death is not living.\u201d<\/p>\n But while the production humorously wrestles with death, for Bar\u00f3n, it is also a call to action to keep theater alive.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no need for [theater],\u201d he said. \u201cI always say, if we were as important in the theater as garbage collectors are…the whole city is thinking about garbage at least once a week. If we had people thinking about theater at least once a week, we would be in good shape. But in order to do that, we have to become essential. We have to become as important as garbage collectors.\u201d<\/p>\n So support local theater. And laugh.<\/p>\n \u201cDeath of an Artists\u201d will running from Oct. 17 to Nov. 3 at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, located at 2868 Mission St, San Francisco. For more information, visit sfbatco.org.<\/i> <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [su_carousel source=”media: 41680,41652,41650,41651″ limit=”100″ link=”lightbox” width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] Death is a scary thing. But so is not living. That\u2019s the premise of \u201cDeath and the Artist,\u201d a theatrical production by Bay Area Theatre Company (BATCO), which is set to open Oct. 17 at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. Directed by Marcelo Pereira and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":41680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[15472,18334,8367,18336],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-41679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-batco","tag-bay-area-theatre-company","tag-carlos-baron","tag-death-and-the-artist","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n