On Her Shoulders Presents: COUNT PARTINUPLÉS by Ana Caro
COUNT PARTINUPLÉS by Ana Caro
Translated by Harley Erdman
Directed by Lynn Marie Macy
Dramaturgy by Melody Brooks
Saturday, November 6 to Wednesday, november 10, 2021
On Her Shoulders is pleased to present a virtual reading of El Conde Partinuplés (c. 1640) by Ana Caro, translated by Harley Erdman, and directed by Lynn Marie Macy. Melody Brooks provides dramaturgy via The Play in Context, which situates the script in its historical time and place. The broadcast begins at 2:00pm on Saturday, NOVEMBER 6th and will be available through midnight on NOVEMBER 10, 2021. Admission is by Donation.
COUNT PARTINUPLÉS was written sometime around 1640; it was first printed in 1653 after Caro's death. The script uses an "invisible-mistress" plot as a parody (and subversion) of certain elements of the typical "wife-murder" drama popular at the time. The script is part of the Spanish comedia tradition - one of the defining features of Spain's legendary Golden Age of literature - which grew out of the more improvisational Commedia dell'Arte but these were more artistically rigorous works. The play is further classified as a comedia de apariencias or a “play of appearances”, a genre calling for magical happenings and special effects.
Read a brief bio of ana caro here.
ANA MARÍA CARO DE MALLÉN was born between 1590 and 1600 and is one of the first professional women writers in Europe as records exist of payments to her for specific pieces. Her birth year is unknown as she was a morisco slave (child of parents who had been forcibly converted to Christianity from Islam) and was likely 9 or 10 when she was adopted by Gabriel Caro de Mallén and his wife Ana María de Torres. Her adoptive family was a prominent one; they were hereditary Councilors to the Court and thus were able to give Caro a first class education and an elite lifestyle, regardless of her beginnings. With few exceptions, Caro published only under the name Ana Caro; her first book of poetry and some "relaciones" (commentaries on major public events considered to be a precursor to journalism ) were published from Seville in 1628. She later moved to Madrid and established her reputation as a writer of note. Many of her male counterparts, including Juan de Matos Fragoso and Luis Vélez de Guevara, praised her works. Caro was also a close friend of novelist Maria de Zayas. El conde partinuplés (Count Partinuplés) and Valor, agravio y mujer (The Courage to Right a Woman's Wrongs) are the only two full-length plays by Caro that are still known today. She died of the plague in November 1646 and was buried in Seville.
HARLEY ERDMAN (Translator) is a dramaturg, playwright, and scholar whose work focuses on adaptation and translation. He is the author of five books and translations, including Women Playwrights of Early Modern Spain (ITER, 2016) which won the Josephine Roberts Award for best scholarly edition in the field of early modern women and gender. He is a winner of the Association for Hispanic Classic Theater's Translation Prize, and has also been a Fulbright Fellow. He is the author of three opera librettos and numerous plays, including The Scarlet Professor, which won the 2017 American Prize in opera for composer Eric Sawyer. Erdman is chair of the Department of Theater at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. http://www.harleyerdman.com/
LYNN MARIE MACY (Director) is a playwright and actor in addition to her work as a director. Her most recent directing projects are a staged reading of her new script Doubt & Deliberation at Theatre For The New City and Zoom readings of Shaw’s Overruled for Theater 2020; Gabriel by George Sand (also script translation and adaptation) and The Necessity of Divorce by Olympe de Gouges for NPTC's On Her Shoulders program; and Uncle John and The Men's Room by Maxine Kern for Cosmic Orchid. She also directed her own script: Northanger Abbey, A Romantic Gothic Comedy for Theater 2020. Ms. Macy previously directed staged readings of Sappho by Estelle Anna Lewis, Dulcitus by Hrosvita and Ordo Virtutum by Hildegard von Bingen for On Her Shoulders. Other directing credits include Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends All for Theater Ten Ten, As You Like It for Minnesota Shakespeare Company, and her own scripts The Thrice Three Muses and Innocent Diversions, A Christmas Entertainment with Jane Austen & Friends for Distilled Spirits Theatre and Theater Ten Ten.
MELODY BROOKS (Dramaturg) is an award-winning producer/director, founder and Artistic Director of NPTC. Brooks leads NPTC's Women’s Work Project, which develops short and full-length plays by 12-16 members per year, and produces ON HER SHOULDERS, serving as a regular Director/Dramaturg for the program. She has developed and directed numerous award-winning and acclaimed original and classic plays for NPTC and other companies. Brooks was honored in 2018 as a Trailblazing Woman of Theatre for Artistry & Vision by RhythmColor Associates, received the "Spirit of Hope Award" in 2015 from Speranza Theatre Company for her support of women theatre artists for more than 25 years, and was named a "Person of the Year" by NYTheatre.com as a co-founder of 50/50 in 2020: Parity for Women Theatre Artists. She is a board member of the League of Professional Theatre Women.
Cast
SHEILA-JOON AZIM* (Empress Rosaura) first appeared in OHS in Anna Cora Morratt's "Fashion" directed by Judith Shakespeare's Joanne Zipay in 2013, then again in January of 2020 in Sappho of Lesbos by Estelle Anna Lewis directed by Lynn Marie Macy. Onstage SJ's been seen at The Duke, 59e59, Primary Stages, APAC, New Perspectives, Fringe NYC, George St. Playhouse and The McCarter Theatre, etc. With a dozen indie films under her belt and a few TV spots, SJ's work has had a focus on gender and race since her early days with Judith Shakespeare playing many of the bard's boys... to Cheryl Davis's masterpieces: Carefully Taught and Maid's Doorexploring new territory; she believes theatre can change lives and broaden minds, one story at a time. www.sheilajoon.org
CYNTHIA BASTIDAS*' (Aldora) credits include: PlayOn! Shakespeare Festival (Classic Stage Company), Original Sound (Cherry Lane Theatre), #nowall (Eugene O'Neill Theater Center), The Mecca Tales (Sheen Theatre/Crossroads Theater), SHE SHE SHE (New Ohio Theatre), Informed Consent (Gulfshore Playhouse), Just Like Us Denver Center Theatre), The Why Me Pen (Public Theater), Kita y Fernanda (Mo’olelo Performing Arts Co), Lost/Not Found (Up Theater), The World’s Fair Play Festival (Queens Theatre), The Golden Drum Year (Radical Evolution), Jackson Heights Trilogy (Theatre 167), Zero (Public Theater), Anna in the Tropics (Lehman Stages). Television: Ramy S2 E6,Homeland S6 E6. Training: MFA Theater-Brooklyn College, HB Studio, Labyrinth Master Class, Andrew Wade-Royal Shakespeare Company. (www.cynthiabastidas.com)
DEANNA GONZALES* (Emilia, et. al.) has worked professionally as a performer, choreographer, producer and co-creator of various innovative theatrical productions in New York City, as well as throughout the US. Currently located in Texas, she has performed with New Perspectives Theatre since 2001. She was last seen in Slaves in Algiers and is happy to continue to be a part of NPTC and its productions.
TATIANA GREY* (Lisbella) is a critically acclaimed and award nominated actress of stage, screen, and the audio booth. She has her degree from NYU Tisch and is a member of AEA. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. www.tatianagrey.com
ARISAEL RIVERA* (Gaulin) is an actor and writer based in New York City. He received his MFA in Acting from The New School and is excited to continue to work with New Perspectives Theater Company on another On Her Shoulders project. Selected theatre credits include: Ned Allyn in Shakespeare in Love, Gully in This Sinking Island, Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, and Stephano in The Tempest. Follow him on Instagram here: @arisael_riv
MARIO SOTERO*: (Federico of Poland ) has performed professionally as an Actor's Equity Actor, Singer and Dancerin various National and European tours in plays and Musicals for most of his life including singing on Broadway Cast Albums Like SHERRY! and BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. He has added many other talents along the way including writing musicals and plays: (A.L.I.C.E. , FunkyFresh Tales! and Birds Of Prey, Regards from the Upper West Side.) Directing, Puppeteering (MARIOLIO AND THE HIP HOPPETS), and he's currently using his character acting talents in commercial voice overs. He is a multi faceted performer and equally adept high comedy and serious drama. He is proudly Latinx and is excited for more Latinx and LGBTQ Representation in the ARTS! Thanks to the whole Partinuplés cast and crew for all the wacky fun and magic!
FEDERICO TRIGO* (Count Partanuplés)is a graduate of the New School for Drama and a Member of NPTC's Acting Companie, for which he has performed in multiple productions and concert readings since 2010. Notable credits include the off-Broadway production of References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (dir. Pippin Parker); The Quarrel (dir. Robert Walden), as well as Millicent the Magnificent: An Origin Story; Silva Vicarro, 27 Wagons Full of Cotton; John, The One Hundred Most Beautiful Names of Todd; Demetrius, A Midsummer Night's Dream (dir. Austin Pendleton).
Jomack Miranda (Eduardo of Scotland, et. al.) was born and raised in Brooklyn, and is a passionate storyteller in the crafts of acting and playwriting. He received a classical acting training from the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland and has returned home to achieve his dreams. He is very excited to join New Perspectives and On Her Shoulders for this reading.
Jordan Laroya* (Roberto Of Transylvania, et. al.) graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA with a BFA and interned at the Milwaukee Rep in 2009. He now works at regional theatres as an actor, fight director, and teaching artist. He also produces short films and teaches filmmaking.
*Actors’ Equity