Carlos Diaz (theater director)
Encyclopedia
Carlos Diaz is a Cuban
theatre director. Diaz studied dramaturgy and theatre at Havana
's Superior Institute of Art (ISA). He started his career as a theatre and art critic and only later took on the role of director. His work is often described as unique and unexpected.
(The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire), and one play by Robert Anderson (Tea and Sympathy). His company, which operates out of Trianon Theatre on Calle Linea, has premiered over 40 plays in the last 15 years and has become a Havana institution.
His work also includes the short stories "The Wolf", "The Forest and the New Man", and "Strawberry and Chocolate" of Cuban writer Senel Paz, which Diaz developed into plays, emphasizing the sensuality, expressiveness, and Cuban-ness of the stories. The play was then adapted into a film in 1994, starring the same actor Vladimir Cruz
.
As for plays not written by Cubans, Carlos Diaz tries to work with material that has a certain connection to Cuba. In 1985, at the Ensayo Theatre, and again in 2007 at the El Publico Theatre, Diaz directed the Jean-Paul Sartre
play The Respectful Prostitute
; Sartre was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Cuban revolution. Still more Cuban, the production also offered Cuban rum to audience members, and invited them to dance on stage in a conga line at the end of the play. Diaz also directed Federico García Lorca
's play The Audience which Lorca began work on in Cuba in 1929. Its opening in Havana in 1994 caused scandal as is portrayed homosexual scandal. Diaz chose to perform the controversial play a second in 1996 and then again in 1998.
Despite its Cuban emphasis, El Publico has found success during its trips to Ecuador
(1994), Spain
(1997), Colombia
(1998), and Venezuela
(2000). It has also toured throughout Cuba and is currently performing in a temporary location at theatre Adolofo Llayrado Theater on Calle 11, while its usual theatre El Publico is renovated.
Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
theatre director. Diaz studied dramaturgy and theatre at Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
's Superior Institute of Art (ISA). He started his career as a theatre and art critic and only later took on the role of director. His work is often described as unique and unexpected.
History
After founding a theatre company called Teatro El Publico in 1992, Diaz's first production billed "North American Theatre Trilogy" featured two plays by Tennessee WilliamsTennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
(The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire), and one play by Robert Anderson (Tea and Sympathy). His company, which operates out of Trianon Theatre on Calle Linea, has premiered over 40 plays in the last 15 years and has become a Havana institution.
His work also includes the short stories "The Wolf", "The Forest and the New Man", and "Strawberry and Chocolate" of Cuban writer Senel Paz, which Diaz developed into plays, emphasizing the sensuality, expressiveness, and Cuban-ness of the stories. The play was then adapted into a film in 1994, starring the same actor Vladimir Cruz
Vladimir Cruz
Vladimir Cruz is a Cuban actor who has appeared in a number of feature films, television series, theatre works and shorts. He has also directed films and theatre works....
.
As for plays not written by Cubans, Carlos Diaz tries to work with material that has a certain connection to Cuba. In 1985, at the Ensayo Theatre, and again in 2007 at the El Publico Theatre, Diaz directed the Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
play The Respectful Prostitute
The Respectful Prostitute
The Respectful Prostitute is a French play by Jean-Paul Sartre, written in 1946, which observes a woman, a prostitute, caught up in a racially tense period of American history. The audience understands that there has been an incident on a train with said woman involved, but also a black man of...
; Sartre was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Cuban revolution. Still more Cuban, the production also offered Cuban rum to audience members, and invited them to dance on stage in a conga line at the end of the play. Diaz also directed 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...
's play The Audience which Lorca began work on in Cuba in 1929. Its opening in Havana in 1994 caused scandal as is portrayed homosexual scandal. Diaz chose to perform the controversial play a second in 1996 and then again in 1998.
Despite its Cuban emphasis, El Publico has found success during its trips to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
(1994), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(1997), Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
(1998), and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
(2000). It has also toured throughout Cuba and is currently performing in a temporary location at theatre Adolofo Llayrado Theater on Calle 11, while its usual theatre El Publico is renovated.
External links
- Video interview of Carlos Diaz the cuban theater Director on Havana Cultura
- http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2007/06/26/4078/passion_pardon_fill_havana_stage.html
- http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/art/teatro.htm
- http://www.cubanow.net/pages/loader.php?sec=12&t=2&item=3715
- http://www.fundarte.us/page.aspx?pageid=3048
- http://www.cubaheadlines.com/relationships_and_circumstances.html
- http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs909.html