Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Planet Connections Interview - Oscar A. Mendoza of "The Father"

By Byrne Harrison

Name: Oscar A. Mendoza
Play:   The Father
Relationship to production: Director
Website: http://www.oscaramendoza.com/
http://www.themush-roomtheatre.com/

How did you first get involved in theatre?
I got involved in theater in 1988 during a college production of Salome by Oscar Wilde in Caracas Venezuela. Since then I work on my own stuff at least once a year.

Who are your biggest influences?
Richard Foreman, Elizabeth Albahaca, Igmar Bergman, John Cage, Eugene Ionesco, Jesus Soto among others.

What is your show about?
The theme of the play is a woman’s driving her husband to insanity by making him doubt that he is the father of their child. The dramatist goes to work immediately, shows the man’s ideas and habits, then the woman’s, and proceeds to show how she accomplishes her purpose.

What inspired you to direct it?

I am directing this play inspired in the universe of Strindberg and also this historic context of expressionism.

Why was it important to you to be part of an eco-friendly theatre festival?
This is a small venue. Small enough to see and share works. Rousseau said once that democracy is only possible in small communities.

Planet Connections donates a portion of the box office for each show to a charity.  What charity has your production chosen and why?

We have chosen CEDARS because the play has implicit the theme of a broken family.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?
We will produce two playwrights: Fernando Arrabal and Richard Foreman.

And finally, if your play was food, what kind of food would it be? Or if you'd prefer something a little less oddly whimsical - If you could get any person, living or dead, to see this show who would you choose and why?

This piece is rare meat!!

I would have liked Bergman to see this show. He would see what anybody in scenic arts wouldn't.

The Father
Saturday, June 11 at 12:00PM
Monday, June 13 at 6:30PM
Sunday, June 19 at 1:30PM
Tuesday, June 21 at 6:00PM
Friday, June 24 at 8:45PM
Saturday, June 25 at 2:00PM

The Robert Moss Theatre
440 Lafayette Street

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