In Shanley Pavilion, a new student production is brewing.
LUX VARGAS: Well, my play is called “La Ventanita”, um, which means the little window.
That’s director and playwright, Sophomore Lux Vargas.
VARGAS: I started writing it in my intro to play writing class, Winter of my freshman year when I it was really cold here and I was really missing home, which for me is Miami, Florida. And so I kind of started writing my play about just this young girl who was like moving away for college and spent her last summer in Miami working at a ventanita, and it kind of evolved into being really Cuban, which I’m really Cuban, so that’s a good thing, I think. And it’s kind of a story of like Miami and Cubans and also of like the Patria y Vida movement, which is like the Cuban movement for liberation. So, yeah!
What started as a 30-page class project evolved quickly. Lux submitted her script to the Vibrant Colors Collective – also known as VC squared – which selected it as their spring artist-in-residence production. That’s when the production team started to form.
VARGAS: They kind of asked if I was thinking of having someone else direct it, but I really loved directing. So, then I asked if I could direct it, and they said, yes – which is really kind, because that’s not a thing that happens a lot in Stuco – so I feel very lucky.
Yumi Tallud is the producer for “La Ventanita” – and she says taking on the role has been a surprisingly good time.
YUMI TALLUD: Honestly, like, everything I’ve heard about producing has been, like, a horror story. Everybody’s always, like, I’ve never producing again. Like, that was the most stressful thing I’ve ever done, like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I realized I was like, it’s just a bunch of like, sending emails. I was like, wait, awesome. So it’s been really fun. I’m a Gcal warrior, so like, all I do is like send out my GCal invites and send my emails and like, make my appointments.
Junior sound designer Paris Bozzuti has more experience under her belt, but she said she’s just as excited about the play.
Paris Bozzuti: Once we, you know, once the show was pitched to us and selected, I was really excited and I think I texted Lux like two weeks after and was like, hey, if you need a sound designer, I want a sound design. And that’s how she said yes. And so I’ve been working on it ever since. Sound design-wise, there’s so much music that’s going to be really fantastic. We have Latin music ensemble, so it’s going to be really fun to mix them. Cues-wise, there’s a lot of like cool soundscapes. We go from Miami to Cuba and there’s like a lot of interesting locations. And yeah, I think it’s just a really unique play.
For some of the cast and team members, “La Ventanita” is more than just a play. It’s personal.
ADRIAN AYALA-PEREZ: I’m Adrian Ayala-Perez,
ROGELIO MUNOZ-FRANCO: and I’m Rogelio Munoz-Franco.
Both cast members grew up in Miami, and it’s part of what drew them to the show.
AYALA-PEREZ: So, my sophomore year, I was hanging out with Lux, who was a freshman at the time, and she mentioned that she had this idea for a play. We’re both from Miami and I got super excited and when she had everything ready to go for auditions, I was like, I have to be there.
MUNOZ-FRANCO: I actually never auditioned for the play. I had a different circumstance, but I was there for the original reading of the play, and I’m also from Miami. But then someone in the play who was playing Valentine originally ended up dropping, so Lux called me and asked if I was still interested, and I said, yes immediately, because I thought this play was an amazing play.
Learning lines, blocking, and choreography was a steep learning curve, especially since it’s both of their first times in a show. Adrien shared more:
AYALA-PEREZ: This is my first time in theater, so I’ve never seen the production side of it, so it’s been very exciting and at the same time, very nerve racking because they’re like just doing things you’ve never been used to doing. But I’ve had a lot of support with the production team and my cast members. It’s been great.
The team started load-in a week early – a rare luxury in Shanley – and Yumi shared that they used the time to build and adjust to the space.
TALLUD: We have a lot of like non-theater majors on the team as well, which was also great for the extra time because we had a little bit more time for people to get like situated and figure out what was going on. People in the cast who aren’t theatre had more time to get familiar with Shanley and sort of like spend that time like in the space before starting to like do Q2Q.
Now well into tech week, the cast and crew are excited to show off their hard work this weekend.
AYALA-PEREZ: “La Ventanita”, Friday 7 p.m. 10 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m., 7 p.m.
MUNOZ-FRANCO: Exactly what he said.
For WNUR News, I’m Ella Barnes.
