VIDA performs plays in spanish

The theater group VIDA chose its name not only because the letters stand for vision, identity, drama and art, but also because the word “vida” is also Spanish for life, and that is an important message the members of this group want to share.

The members intend to pour all their efforts into their performances so the audience takes home both an entertaining evening and a life lesson from the plays.

This year’s VIDA was Oct. 27 to 29 at the Bloomington Playwrights Project and will be Nov. 4 at the Indy Fringe Festival in Indianapolis.

The group was founded in 2006 by Marda Rose, a doctoral student in
linguistics.

The project’s objective is to perform a theater show in Spanish so students and faculty from IU, as well as members in the Bloomington community that have an interest in

Spanish language, are able to practice it in a fun, dynamic and different way, current director and doctorate student Teresa Parmer said.

VIDA has one big production during the fall, presenting shows in Bloomington and Indianapolis.

Parmer has been a part of VIDA since its second year. As group director, she said she is the one who chooses the plays.

Each year the group presents three different plays with one uniting theme.

“I look for scripts that will be enjoyable but also have this common thread uniting them,” Parmer said. “I really love theater plays, Spanish and literature, so it’s three things I love combined.”

This year’s show is entitled “Transformaciones” (“Transformations”), which was the common thread mentioned by Parmer.

The first play, “Ventanilla de patentes” (“Patenting Destiny: A Tale of Two Shoes”), was originally written by Spanish playwright Charo González Casas.

The story revolves around an inventor who creates different pairs of shoes that will impact the course of a person’s destiny.

Students Jennifer Burch and Kelly Adams and Spanish instructor Israel Castro were part of the cast in this presentation.

“’Ventanilla de patentes’ is about using different mechanisms to transform your destiny and way of living”, Burch, an undergraduate student in bioanthropology and Spanish, said. “I think the moral the play gives is ‘don’t mess with destiny.’”

The second and third plays were titled “La Historia del Hombre que se convirtio en Perro” (“The Story of a Man who turned into a Dog”) and “Novios de Internet” (“Internet Dating”), written by Argentinian Osvaldo Dragun and Spaniard Jose Cedena, respectively.

These two plays also share the theme of transformation; in both plays, there is a physical and psychological change in the
characters.

VIDA’s performances are open to whoever wants to audition, according to
Parmer.

The group consists of about 40 people, counting the cast and others involved with the play.

Auditions are usually seven weeks before the first performance and are open to the IU and Bloomington community.

“The most important thing is people’s desire to participate,” Parmer said. “The Spanish level they have is not as important. We can accommodate people with different levels of Spanish.”

Adams, a sophomore majoring in Spanish and linguistics, is participating in VIDA for the second time.

“This year I couldn’t take any Spanish classes, so VIDA was an opportunity to practice the language,” she said. “I like that I get to learn new vocabulary and practice my Spanish pronunciation.”

Castro, a lecturer in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, has been with VIDA since its creation.

“Many students in the department find this project interesting,” he said. “I talk to my students about it in my classes, and some of them are very eager to practice the language this way.”