Characters, actors bond in tale of jilted lover’s obsession
Entire cast has pitched in to help direct play
As laughter echoes off the lobby walls and rapidfire conversation shifts from one to another, it becomes clear that the women in “Enfrascada” at Teatro Paraguas are just about as loyal and close as the characters they play.
Well, at least some of the characters.
“Enfrascada,” which runs Thursdays-Sundays through March 12, revolves around Alicia (Roxanne Tapia), who is strong, happy and headed into a future of marriage and children — until fiance Diego informs her that he’s backing out. That throws her into a tailspin as she sees her plans crumble around her.
In some ways, it’s more a matter of hating being left than of wanting to keep Diego, of wanting that future family life more than actually wanting him, Tapia said. “She was not ready to give that up.”
So she moves in with her cousin Lulu (Liza Frolkis) and Alicia’s friends, Yesenia (Juliet Salazar) and Carolina (Alix Hudson), rally around her. But they dismiss her efforts to heal through yoga and therapy — her friends figure that’s white people
stuff, Salazar said — and lead her into some traditional Hispanic healing arts. But that’s something they may come to regret as Alicia spirals downward into an obsession with getting Diego back.
But don’t expect a trite sexist tale of a woman who can’t live without her man. When you watch it, Hudson said, it doesn’t feel sexist at all.
“I feel it’s a commentary on what drives people,” Frolkis said.
Maria Cristina López, who portrays one of the traditional healers in the play, said she found herself wondering at first why Alicia was so set on getting a guy back who didn’t treat her all that well in the first place. But that drive sets up the tension that keeps the audience engaged, she said, adding that she really grew to appreciate the subtlety of playwright Tanya Saracho’s writing.
“Her dialogue is so good,” said Tapia, who explained that the theater originally was looking at doing another Saracho play, “Fade,” but it was being produced on Broadway and wasn’t available to other theaters.
“None of the characters are stereotypes,” Hudson said. “They are very funny. They are advocating for the power of friendship and the power of traditional beliefs. It has powerful, funny language — in two languages.” Spanish, English (and Spanglish) — and even a little Navajo — are interspersed in understandable ways for non-Spanish speakers, she said.
Tapia originally was planning to direct “Enfrascada” until problems arose in filling the role of Alicia. So she took it on and the entire cast more or less took on the task of directing scenes that they weren’t involved in. Stage manager Miquela Villa-Kelly keeps an eye on the overall presentation.
“It does work,” she said. “So far, it’s coming along really well.”
“Because we’re doing it this way, the actors really have agency over their own characters,” Frolkis said, explaining that they take responsibility for probing and developing the roles they’re playing.
And it helps, the women said, that they are all friends.
“It struck me that I know and like all these women,” Hudson said, adding of their approach, “You can’t be an egotist at all.”
“It’s kind of a fun challenge,” said Frolkis, adding that she has worked in collaborative theater troupes before, particularly in the Bay Area. “The more creativity and diversity, the better the outcome.”
“We really do work well together,” Salazar said.
And, yes, except for two crew members, this is an all-female play.
And none of those females will say whether Alicia gets her guy back or how it’s all resolved.
But, Frolkis promised, “It’s a satisfying ending.”