Aravind Enrique Adyanthaya
Encyclopedia
Aravind Enrique Adyanthaya (born 1965) is a Puerto Rican
writer, performer, and theater director. He is the founding artistic director of Casa Cruz de la Luna, an experimental theater company and cultural center based in an old house in the historical district of San Germán, Puerto Rico
. He holds a PhD
in theatre
historiography from the University of Minnesota
in Minneapolis and an MD
from the Mayo Medical School
.
, India
; he died in 1971. His mother, Dr. Angelita Ramírez, was born in the town of Lajas, Puerto Rico
, and is a plastic surgeon in the southwest of the island.
Adyanthaya received his MD at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in 1992. That same year he traveled to the southwest of India, where he did a rotation at St. John's Hospital
in Bangalore
. Soon after, he began graduate studies in theater at the University of Minnesota, leading to the doctor's degree in theater historiography. He wrote a dissertation on 18th century French public spectacles.
Adyanthaya founded Casa Cruz de la Luna in Puerto Rico in 1997. This cultural center is located in an old building in the historic district of San Germán. Working with the Casa Cruz de la Luna Theater Company, Adyanthaya has done experimental staging of several plays by Federico García Lorca
, of one of Miguel de Cervantes
's exemplary novels
, and of several stories by the Puerto Rican author Pepe Liboy. Adyanthaya has also written about San Germán.
, his best-known piece, approaches the tragedy of Aeschylus
. In another piece, The Library, based on the story "The Library of Babel" by Jorge Luis Borges
, Adyanthaya makes use of the Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery
in Old San Juan to explore the notion of deposits. In 2009, he expanded the techniques of writing act in creating The Marquis de Sade
Is Afraid of the Sea.
As a writer of fiction, Adyanthaya's first book of stories, Lajas (2002), took well-known stories of his family as a starting point. The result was a kaleidoscopic, fantastic, bizarre, vision of his hometown. Lajas won the first prize of the PEN Club of Puerto Rico and the Ateneo Puertorriqueño literary competition. In his second book of fiction The Hand (2010), Adyanthaya explores medical, mystical, everyday, and unintelligible events.
; a Jerome Performance Art Fellowship by Intermedia Arts and an Artist of Color Directing Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop
. For his play The Faculties, he received the Pregones Theater's Asunción Prize and First Prize in Theatre at Casa de Teatro in the Dominican Republic.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
writer, performer, and theater director. He is the founding artistic director of Casa Cruz de la Luna, an experimental theater company and cultural center based in an old house in the historical district of San Germán, Puerto Rico
San Germán, Puerto Rico
San Germán is a municipality located in the southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez and Maricao; north of Lajas; east of Hormigueros and Cabo Rojo; and west of Sabana Grande. San Germán is spread over 18 wards and San Germán Pueblo...
. He holds a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
historiography from the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in Minneapolis and an MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the Mayo Medical School
Mayo Medical School
Mayo Medical School is a part of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. It grants degrees in medicine, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
.
Biography
Aravind Enrique Adyanthaya's father, B. Aravind Adyanthaya, was an orthopedic surgeon born in MangaloreMangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
; he died in 1971. His mother, Dr. Angelita Ramírez, was born in the town of Lajas, Puerto Rico
Lajas, Puerto Rico
Lajas is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in southwestern region, south of San Germán and Sabana Grande; east of Cabo Rojo; and west of Guánica. Lajas is spread over 11 wards and Lajas Pueblo...
, and is a plastic surgeon in the southwest of the island.
Adyanthaya received his MD at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in 1992. That same year he traveled to the southwest of India, where he did a rotation at St. John's Hospital
St. John's Medical College
St. John's Medical College is one of India's premier medical institutions. It is part of the St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences run by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. It was established in 1963 and is situated in Bangalore, India....
in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
. Soon after, he began graduate studies in theater at the University of Minnesota, leading to the doctor's degree in theater historiography. He wrote a dissertation on 18th century French public spectacles.
Adyanthaya founded Casa Cruz de la Luna in Puerto Rico in 1997. This cultural center is located in an old building in the historic district of San Germán. Working with the Casa Cruz de la Luna Theater Company, Adyanthaya has done experimental staging of several plays by Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
, of one of Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
's exemplary novels
Novelas ejemplares
The Exemplary Novels are a series of short stories by Miguel de Cervantes. Written between 1590 and 1612, the collection was published in Madrid in 1613 by Juan de la Cuesta, and received well in the wake of the first part of Don Quixote. These are twelve short novels that follow the model...
, and of several stories by the Puerto Rican author Pepe Liboy. Adyanthaya has also written about San Germán.
Artistic style
Adyanthaya's theories and practices of escritura acto (writing act) propose a way of conceiving the stage as a ground of multiple lines of communication and miscommunication in which the live production and reception of mediated written and spoken words converge. Adyanthaya began to develop this new poetics based on live, on-stage computerized writing in 2002. It is implemented through a series of one-man shows in which the author writes the text in front of the audience on a computer that is projected on a screen. Prometheus BoundPrometheus Bound
Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek tragedy. In Antiquity, this drama was attributed to Aeschylus, but is now considered by some scholars to be the work of another hand, perhaps one as late as ca. 415 BC. Despite these doubts of authorship, the play's designation as Aeschylean has remained...
, his best-known piece, approaches the tragedy of Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
. In another piece, The Library, based on the story "The Library of Babel" by Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
, Adyanthaya makes use of the Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery
Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery
Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under the auspices of Ignacio Mascaro. The cemetery is located outside...
in Old San Juan to explore the notion of deposits. In 2009, he expanded the techniques of writing act in creating The Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
Is Afraid of the Sea.
As a writer of fiction, Adyanthaya's first book of stories, Lajas (2002), took well-known stories of his family as a starting point. The result was a kaleidoscopic, fantastic, bizarre, vision of his hometown. Lajas won the first prize of the PEN Club of Puerto Rico and the Ateneo Puertorriqueño literary competition. In his second book of fiction The Hand (2010), Adyanthaya explores medical, mystical, everyday, and unintelligible events.
Plays
- Hagiografías (Hagiographies), a series exploring the notion of quotidian sainthood (1998–2006)
- Íconos de Vellonera (Jukebox Icons): winner of the Institute of Puerto Rican CultureInstitute of Puerto Rican CultureThe Institute of Puerto Rican Culture , or ICP, for short, is an institution of the Government of Puerto Rico responsible for the establishment of the cultural policies required in order to study, preserve, promote, enrich, and diffuse the cultural values of Puerto Rico...
's Playwriting Award (2004) - Las facultades / The Faculties, winner of the 2007 International Playwriting Award from Casa del Teatro, Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, and the 2008 Asunción Prize from Pregones Theater - Quisimos tanto a Lydia, featured at the 2008 Latin American Theatre Today Congress
- Prometheus Bound (based on Aeschylus' tragedy), shown as a special presentation at the American Society for Theatre Research 2009 Conference
- The Marquis de Sade Is Afraid of the Sea, an “escritura acto” ensemble piece, which toured universities in Puerto Rico in 2009
- La Mano (The Hand), a musical theatre/performance piece which premiered in Puerto Rico in 2010 and in New York City in 2011
Publications
- La Mano (collection of short stories and one-act plays), Concepción 8 Press, San Germán (2010) ISBN 9780982040423
- The Faculties / Las facultades (playscript with prologue, bilingual edition), Concepción 8 Press, San Germán (2010) ISBN 9780982040416
- La ciudad de vidrio / The Glass City (children's story), English and Spanish editions, Alfaguara, San Juan (2009)
- El X-mático / X-matic (children's story), English and Spanish editions, Alfaguara, San Juan (2009)
- Monthly column in the weekly ClaridadClaridadClaridad is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was first published in June, 1959. Claridad served as the official publication of the Pro-Independence Movement and later the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. The paper has been praised for its strong political and...
, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2004) - A Chinese Tale (playscript), Alexander Street Press, Virginia (2003)
- The Mystery of the Birds (playscript), Playscripts Inc., New York (2003)
- Lajas (short stories / performance text), Isla Negra Editores, San Juan, Puerto Rico (2002) ISBN 1881715973
Prizes
Adyanthaya has been awarded a Jerome Playwriting Fellowship and a McKnight Advancement Grant, both from the Playwrights' CenterThe Playwrights' Center
The Playwrights' Center is a theater organization established in 1971 in Minneapolis, Minnesota with the aim of furthering the careers of both new and established individuals in the field. Five playwrights formed the organization in the hopes of providing/obtaining support for new play development...
; a Jerome Performance Art Fellowship by Intermedia Arts and an Artist of Color Directing Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop
New York Theatre Workshop
__notoc__New York Theatre Workshop is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it houses a 198-seat theatre for its mainstage productions, and a...
. For his play The Faculties, he received the Pregones Theater's Asunción Prize and First Prize in Theatre at Casa de Teatro in the Dominican Republic.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Rican writers
- Puerto Rican literature
- Puerto Ricans in the United StatesPuerto Ricans in the United StatesStateside Puerto Ricans are American citizens of Puerto Rican origin, including those who migrated from Puerto Rico to the United States and those who were born outside of Puerto Rico in the United States...