Extras - Biblioteca Nacional

Last Friday we went to the Biblioteca Nacional and saw a play called Extras. There were only two actors performing the play (Sergio Galliani and Giovanni Ciccia) and it was amazing.

Both actors had to represent different characters they had like 7 each one or maybe more. You could see all the hard work of the actors because they had to create different characterizations with different voices, face expressions, gestures, centre of energy and movements. I noticed that sometimes the actors couldn’t change of character very quickly and sometimes they took a little bit longer to enter in the character. Maybe a little bit more of work on how to change from one character form another could have helped. However, they did a great job and I was able to identify the different characters.

They only used 2 huts and a big black bag as props, the other ones were imaginary. Again, the actors were very imaginative because they didn’t have anything but we, the audience, were able to identify which object or prop they were using.

They had no scenery but the cyclorama was a big screen like in a cinema where images representing scenery were projected. Also some videos were shown. This was a great idea because it helped a lot with the scenery and with the development of the scenes. The lighting also helped with the development of the scenes. When the actors changed the location, from the set to the bar for example, the lights turned blue and a little bit of red and these helped to create the illusion as if it was a bar. Sometimes, lighting was very dim and sometimes a very bright light was focusing just on one character.

Both actors used the same costume but one with a red in the hips an the other one with a green one. They used sandals which helped to express the idea that they were poor, because they were just the extras of the film.

The play was very funny and I spent a good night in the theatre. As I’ve said before, I liked the way in which the actors changed from one character to another. However, I think that they could have done it better with more preparation.

So, to what extent do we need to prepare in order to make a clear change from one character to another?

Concierto Olvido - Yuyachkani

Last Friday we went to Yuyachkani and watch a play called Conciero olvido. I liked this play because it was a play where the actors expressed their emotions and feelings instead of having a structured story. In this play the actors showed, apart from the good acting, that they are very talented musicians and singers as well.

In the middle of the stage there were some chairs in a row. The actors were sitting there and each one of them had some instruments around them. The instruments used in this play were: drums, guitars, saxophones, a trombone, a trumpet and a violin. It was very exciting watching them because I really didn’t expect them to be very good singers or even good musicians. I was very surprised when the play finished.

Because this play was full of musical pieces, from my point of view, the acting focused on showing and transmitting to the audience the feelings and emotions that the characters were having.
One of the things that I liked the most was the effect they made when one of the characters died. While one actor was on the floor, the other drew his shape around his body with a white chalk. Then, the “dead character” stood and the others were talking to the drawing on the floor. It was amazing.

These are the reasons why I liked it but the truth is that I couldn’t understand the play very well. Although it had a lot of fantastic and innovative ideas, their stories are very strange and it is difficult for me to understand. It is the same with all these plays. The only play that I could understand from Yuyachkani was “Los Músicos Ambulantes”.