The award-winning Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble has been dark for most of this year. A successful fund raising effort in December allowed for the company to stay alive long enough to bring the community its latest coup; “Digging Up the Dirt,” by inimitable Chicana playwright Cherrie Moraga! She is, of course, known for her many accomplishments including co-editing along with the late Gloria Anzaldua the now classic work, “This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color.” The moment for “Digging Up the Dirt” arrives this Friday, July 30th and runs through August 29th. A quick visit to Moraga’s website reveals what is in store for theatergoers in Los Angeles and Orange County when they wisely makes plans to attend a staging of her latest play:
“Digging Up the Dirt” takes place, as Moraga writes, “Inside The Poet’s head, somewhere in the fragmented Chicano nation of Aztlán.” Here, as in most Moraga plays, the playwright uses the imagined landscape of the Southwest to poignantly explore those censored questions that continue to impact Chicana lives. And, as in most Moraga plays, such depictions give all of us pause –regardless of race or gender or sexuality. This is especially the case in “Digging Up the Dirt” where the plot thematically interweaves two murder stories.
One is the tale of “Sirena Cantante’s” murderer, “Zanzibar,” serving a life sentence, while engaging in lesbian romances and being mercilessly visited by the probing “Poet.” The second is an intimate account of the murder of “Amada,” a Chicana lesbian killed by the hand of her own son. Through the telling of both stories, alternately satirical and tragic, audience members are held accountable for their own “crimes of passion” and the play becomes a kind of moving mirror to all our unacknowledged “murderous” deeds of the heart.
“Digging Up the Dirt,” directed by Cherrie Moraga and Adelina Anthony, is intended for mature audiences only. It features a talented cast including Anthony*, Virginia Grise, Cheryl Umana*, Anthony Rodrigo Castillo, Brenda Banda, D’Lo, & Melissa Hidalgo (*appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association) This Friday’s opening will feature a reception as well as a post-play talk back session (Digging Up the Dirt starts at 8 p.m.) Special events throughout the run and all run times and dates are listed on Breath of Fire’s website. You can catch Moraga herself talking about the play on KPFK’s Pocho Hour of Power show co-hosted by cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. on 90.7FM!
To purchase tickets online (highly recommended) please visit:
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29. July 2010
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