The first play I directed for a bilingual theatre company (Teatro Bravo! in Phoenix, AZ) was Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas (Sex, Shame, and Tears) by Mexican playwright Antonio
Serrano. It was an all-Spanish language production.
Two couples live next two each other in luxurious condos. Each
couple is expecting a friend for the weekend. One couple is waiting for a
female friend, the other couple for a male friend. Somehow they all get to know
each other and at some point the men unite against the women. It’s a battle of
the sexes, type of play.
The concept for this play was to utilize the entire stage as a
single condo and as the two condos at the same time. One single wall placed
upstage defined the ‘back of the condos.’ A bed placed upstage center served as
the centerpiece for both condos. Walls, windows, or doors were nonexistent so
specific movement and very defined blocking was use to define/identify
windows, doors, hallways, and pathways.
Lighting was a strong element in this production. It served to
divide the stage into two condos when simultaneous scenes were happening, as
well as when the stage was used as one condo for single scenes, and to define the building’s hallways when characters found themselves outside the condos but inside the building.
