CreArte Latino Cultural Center presents “MADENUSA,” September 16-17 at 8:00 p.m., September 18 at 5:00 p.m., and October 14 and 15 at 8:00 p.m. Written by Claudia Soroka, “MADENUSA” is a fun sight and fresh. the immigrant experience that delves into the complexities of adapting to another culture. The comedy is directed by Carolina Franco, president and artistic director of the CreArte Latino Cultural Center. The show will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles.
The playwright will follow the performance on September 17 with a bilingual Q&A after the performance. Tickets are $20. To purchase tickets, visit www.creartelatino.org. CreArte Latino Cultural Center is at 8251 15th Street East, Airport Mall Plaza, Suite 1, Sarasota. The show is sponsored, in part, by a $3,000 grant from Bradenton Area Arts & Culture.
Mabel and Osvaldo, longtime US residents, invite friends from Argentina for a visit. What happens when the world left behind by Mabel and Osvaldo suddenly returns? With skill and sensitivity, Soroka has created a fun, fresh and engaging play that highlights the immigrant experience and delves into the complexities of adapting to another culture. The story repeatedly evokes the dilemma of those who left, as well as the impact of their decision on those who stayed behind. “MADENUSA” is an invitation to reflect and rejoice in remembering past choices and celebrating the freedom to make them.
Claudia Soroka immigrated to the US in 1982, settling in Houston with her family. The playwright says that, as an immigrant, she was able to “collect tons of observations that led me to write this work. With humor and sensitivity, I tried to explain different feelings in the four characters. I believe that anyone in the audience will be able to identifies with one of them”.
Soroka adds that it’s important for “my text to travel and be interpreted, directed and interpreted by different groups to take on a different form within its content. It’s an energizing experience to see different casts and directors take my play to their hands and It was a huge surprise when I was approached by CreArte Latino just one year after the first production of ‘MADENUSA’ in my hometown of Houston.This is the first time I have given the rights to another theater company. .”
Soroka began working in theater in 1987 and, in 1995, co-founded Gente de Teatro, a Houston-based group whose mission is to make Latin American and Spanish plays more popular. Since then, she continues to serve as executive director, acts in each of the company’s productions, and has written plays since 2011.
This show, which will be shown in Spanish, marks the first time CreArte has offered English subtitles. “Subtitles aren’t available for every show, so it’s a special case,” says Carolina Franco. “It’s always exciting to perform in our mother tongue, but this time the community at large can fully understand what is being said. It brings us joy and a whole new sense of hospitality; this show is perfect for that because it represents different scenes some Latino. /Hispanic immigrant experience. Personally, each character reminds me of the emotions I felt during my 18 years in the United States.”
