Money at the bottom of that well?
Between casting, rehearsing and of course, directing, Ruben Polendo sniffs and hunts down the sweet smell of green – “da money”. If that isn’t quite a workout already, Polendo makes time to speak to a class of Baruch students regarding both his production of Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas’ Blind Mouth Singing, as well as the workings of his non-for-profit theatre organization.
Imaginative and haunting, The National Asian American Theatre Company’s elegant delivery of the play had its New York Premiere at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. In the play, Reiderico, the shy and insecure protagonist incessantly visits his best friend and counterpart, Lucero. Lucero, who seems to possess all the confidence lacking in Reiderico, lives at the bottom of a well. No one else can see him, including Reiderico’s mother, his aunt Bolivia or his brother Gordi. The dysfunctional family prepares for a hurricane, while individual characters cope with personal issues – whether it’s the mother’s emotional struggle with her husband’s abandonment, the aunt’s controversial occupation as a treater of syphilis, or Gordi’s maniacal descent to violence. Reiderico and Lucero trade places as the hurricane shakes the family’s island home and brings much needed changes into the characters’ world.
The hottest question to ask Polendo involved his unique set, particularly the horizontal well. The evocative set is dominated by a large hand-operated industrial fan and a long, narrow trough of water that stands in for the well. Musician Adam Cochran also vividly brings the set to life with amplified echo effect in and around the well. When asked why the well is not a traditional vertical well, Polendo explained that he wanted to involve the audience – that the audience should be able to see “both the top and bottom of the well” simultaneously. He called theater the “art of suggestion” and this idea is applied thoroughly (even with the tiling of vertical wall patches being placed on the stage floor horizontally) entrenching the play with magical realism.
Special kudo must be given to Kate Ashton who controls all the stage directions. Her watchful eye constantly peers over both the blanking and tech scripts and she makes sure that the hundreds of command prompts are executed perfectly. In essence, she makes sure that the “show goes on.” The actors contribute by thoroughly rehearsing for four weeks before opening night. Polendo described the rehearsals as a wonderful opportunity to interact with his actors and collaboratively bring new ideas to the execution of the play. Actor Alexis Camins, who plays Lucero, spoke about the chance that the actors got to brainstorm and throw different items into the well. He also chimed in, however, that “[Polendo] doesn’t really let me improvise at all with the words.”
As a non for Profit Company, Polendo spends just as much time, if not more, collecting funds as he does preparing for the show. He breaks down the task into three distinct parts: an “education componenent” of teaching at various schools such as NYU, a “research component” and a “community outreach program” that brings theatre to culturally undernourished people. He constantly writes proposals for grants and individual donors. It was clear that Polendo and his crew live hand to mouth in this production that cost less than a hundred thousand dollars. When playfully asked what he would do if “the play ever reaches Broadway,” Polendo was sure to answer, “get a bigger horizontal well.”