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Opening night for any first-time director can be nerve wracking, but for
Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego '07, there will be the added pressure of having
the play's Pulitzer Prize-winning creator sitting in the audience. The
playwright, Cuban-American Nilo Cruz, will be attending Dinnella-Borrego's
production of his play, A Bicycle Country, as part of a campus visit
during which he, the director, and other members of the play's cast and crew
will participate in a panel titled, "An Open Discussion with Nilo
Cruz." The event is taking place in 105 Dartmouth Hall on Monday, March 5,
from 4 to 5 p.m. The play's opening will follow at 8 p.m. in the Hopkins Center
Bentley Theatre.
A Bicycle Country, a play about three Cubans trying to reach the
United States by raft, is one of 10 plays by Cruz, whose work also includes
Anna in the Tropics, for which he was awarded the 2003
Pulitzer, making him the first Latin American to receive the prize.
Dinnella-Borrego, a history major and theater minor, was in
the process of directing A Bicycle Country within the theater
department when he and other members of the production came up with the idea of
inviting Cruz to speak at the College. Thanks in large part to the generosity
of an anonymous donor, they raised the money to bring Cruz to campus.
Assistant Professor of Theater Laura
Edmondson, who is moderating the panel, says, "This is an
unprecedented opportunity for the actors, director, and designers of A
Bicycle Country to engage in dialogue with Cruz about his creative
process, his artistic and cultural influences, and perhaps how the play speaks
to the ongoing controversy about immigrants and undocumented workers in the
United States. I expect that all audience members will be inspired by this
articulate and poetic writer."
Dinnella-Borrego says he feels a little nervous to have Cruz in the audience
for his directorial debut, but has confidence in his production, particularly
in light of the interaction he's already had with the playwright. "Nilo
Cruz actually called me during rehearsal once and asked me 'How are you doing
and how do you like the play?' and then out of the blue he suggested how to fix
a certain scene," says Dinnella-Borrego.
Sitting on the panel with Cruz and Dinnella-Borrego will be the three cast
members, Danny S. Rangel '09, Janill B. Espaillat '10, and George Ochoa '10 as
well as set designer Alexandra Araiza '09, lighting designer Brian Fortin '08,
sound designer Nikhil Jain '09, costume designer Anna Schumacher '09, stage
manager Elizabeth Ellison '09, and assistant director and dramaturge Peter Van
Buren '07.
By GENEVIEVE HAAS
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