Regarding a conference on the visibility of theater writing Spanish Theater XXXI Exhibition from Contemporary Writers Guillermo Heras deserves some consideration. Theater is also read as this or that is read, but the main goal is the possible (or often not impossible) representation of theatre. Or that the work could be published earlier, or rather later.
That’s the problem. To be or not to be. What is better for the soul, to unsheath the pen whose fate is uncertain, or to sheath it and remain silent? These are two options. Despite everything, the first option is preferred. Maybe despite everything, because there are possibilities but they are not. There are more or less publishing houses, but the door to the hunting ground is quite closed. It doesn’t matter what is written. The same thing often happens when an attempt is made to publish a text through someone else’s production.
Customers were already seated and handing out the menu. The uninvited person appears and there is no chair or space left at the table. So roll up your sleeves and do the installation yourself and seek support. If you have the patience to ship the originals to one place or another or get the necessary plug to power them, you’ll get a reward. So publish (not just on your own) and represent.
Promoting and disseminating new works or unreleased theater of one genre or another, one trend or another, and theme can be an impossible task that ultimately benefits no one. It’s not even for theatrical purposes. It is not difficult to put a work in the air, but it is difficult for it to land happily on the ground. Some pages of contemporary Spanish theater that not everyone sees. With all its consequences.
The problem is not very new in this square. This was already being talked about in 1977 and before. To give just one example, I will quote an article by the veteran writer Jerónimo López Mozo from September 2001, or a journey through space on the topic “The invisibility of the current Spanish theatre”, which can be read on Virtual. Miguel de Cervantes Library. It remains valid.
“Health is often attributed to an increase in box office revenue, not to a better quality of unspoken shows,” writes López Mozo. And he adds: “Global figures are presented that fail to reflect the multitude of theatrical formulas available and therefore the degree of acceptance of each.”
The threat affects, first of all, one part of the theater. “What determines the true state of the theatrical culture of a country”, furthermore, “there is a part of our theater that lives outside the prevailing mood of triumph and is doomed to extinction.” Over the years, some playwrights have made occasional appearances in alternative circles or are conspicuous by their absence. The story continues in similar ways. The eternal existence or absence of Prince Hamlet.
It is true that there are many writers. And it’s not easy to uncover everything. Or, as I mentioned above, there is the reality of writing, producing, directing and acting, which is not a matter of now. This possibility is developing as almost the only option, which means putting all these conditions into play. This happens frequently in the programming of the exhibition.
Having everything under control, of course, encourages creative expansion and the ability to give birth to what would otherwise remain in the dark. There is a tendency in less commercial or stage-oriented research groups for the process of dramaturgy not to be carried out in privacy by the author alone. In all cases, authorship alone must be claimed. But the versatility and teamwork that Shakespeare and Molière already practiced as men of the theater dictate their course of advancement. The important thing is to foster talent that drives cultural and social progress. Neutralize the reserved right of acceptance, at least to a certain extent.
The Contemporary Theater Exhibition presents its exhibition in Alicante with four thematic tours until the 11th. Namely “Against Power”, “Between Generations”, “To Meet” and “After Readings”.