Playwrights tackle tough topics

The University of New Mexico’s Words Afire! Festival of New Plays may want to underline the word “new” in the title.

The plays are so new that they’ve never been seen, said Elaine Avila, the festival artistic director.

The festival, now in its 12th year, will present a fully staged production of Law Chavez’s “Señora de la Pinta,” directed readings of five other plays and a group of screenplay readings.

	If you go WHAT: 2012 Words Afire! Festival of New Plays WHEN: Thursday, April 12, through April 22 WHERE: Performances are in the Experimental Theatre, basement of the Center for the Arts, UNM campus, except for “An Evening of Screenplay Readings,” which is at the ARTS Lab, northwest corner of East Central and University HOW MUCH: Tickets for the main stage production “Señora de la Pinta” are $15 general public, $12 seniors, $10 students in advance at ticket offices in the UNM Bookstore and the Pit, by calling 925-5858 or by visiting www.unmtickets.com. Admission to all festival directed readings are free. For more information go to http://theatre.unm.edu/waf ADVISORY: For mature audiences due to content and language

“All of the plays are relevant today to the concerns of our larger community and to UNM. I’m proud of my playwrights because they’re bravely facing what’s going on by writing such relevant plays,” said Avila, who is the director of UNM’s Dramatic Writing Program.

Chavez’s play, she said, looks at how men have gay relationships in prison and how they deal with that after leaving prison. The play’s story is presented through the lens of Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King.”

“I like writing New Mexico history plays, and this one refers to the issues (such as loss) that Hispanic communities had to deal with after the (prison) riot,” Chavez said.

The lead character Gringo (Marcos Kelly) survived the 1980 New Mexico state prison riot and came to a barrio where he starts a new relationship with Yvonne (Nicole Gramlich). Gringo vows to find the killer of Yvonne’s son, Tito (Gilbert Sanchez), who died in the riot.

Yvonne finds peace in not knowing. However, her daughter Josefina (Perla Ponce Nuñez) pushes Gringo to find out because she wants honor and pride for her family.

Daniel Banks, the director, said audience members who know the Oedipus story will recognize elements of it, but those who don’t know it won’t have any problem following the story of Chavez’s play.

The first of six performances of “Señora de la Pinta” will be Thursday in UNM’s Experimental Theatre.

Chavez won the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s 2011 National Latino Playwriting Award for his play “Caballos Muertos.” It received a festival directed reading last year.

This year, Christina Hjelm won the same prize for “Casualties of Dream and Sand”, which is one of the plays that will receive a directed reading at the festival.

“It’s a refreshing play because it’s told from the perspective of a woman whose husband is killed in Iraq and she finds out he was gay. So she’s doubly bereft,” Avila said.

The reading, directed by Valli Rivera, will be presented Thursday and Friday in the Experimental Theatre.

These are the other directed readings:

♦ “Wrecking,” by Kevin R. Elder and directed by Shepard Sobel, is about how three brothers learn to love women despite their early abusive environment. It will be read Friday, April 13, and April 21.

♦ “Half Empty,” by Zee Eskeets and directed by Paul Ford, is about a woman confronting her drinking problem. The readings will be April 19 and 22.

♦ “The House That Che Built” by Barney Lopez considers homelessness in Albuquerque and the Occupy movement. The director is Becca Holmes. It will be presented April 18 and 22.

With directed readings, Avila said, there’s the opportunity to stage part of the play.

In addition to these readings, the festival will offer “An Evening of Screenplay Readings” by various students. The readings are directed by Matthew McDuffie.

“The rubber hits the road in Matt McDuffie’s program,” Avila said. “They’re getting a test drive in front of an audience.”

The screenplays will be read in the UNM ARTS Lab on April 18 and 22.

Meanwhile, “Port Twilight, or The History of Science,” a UNM production that is not part of the festival, will be staged April 20 through April 29 in Rodey Theatre. The sci-fi thriller by Obie Award-winning playwright Len Jenkin is set in the mysterious town of Port Twilight, where various residents tell an apocalyptic tale of science and the search for knowledge.