By John Hayden
Drama! Pathos! Tension!
South Florida is about to get all those and more as a new theater troupe bows this month. Latiné Theater Lab is preparing its debut presentation of Mud, by María Irene Fornés, at Empire Stage.
“Our onus is wanting to be a platform for latin voices, latin stories, and South Florida in general,” founder Alex Gonzalez told OutClique. “There’s so much talent in the 305 and 954 as well now. I want to be a platform for them to put on some cool and experimental work.”
Gonzalez is Cuban-American who was born in Hialeah and grew up in South Florida. A theater kid from the start, he didn’t see himself reflected in local theater. But he says it wasn’t for a lack of solid material.
“There’s a whole canon of work from really prolific Latin American playwrights. I always felt there was a need for one theater company [where] that is what we focus on, that is the lens in which we look at what we produce.”
Gonzalez believes this is the right time for this project both personally and professionally. After working in the entertainment world, he left and had a successful career working in Human Resources. But the pull of the stage, the lights, and the artistry has brought him back.
“I’m at a time in my life where I’m wanting to build my path as a director. Everything just merged and it was a moment of [realizing] if I want to produce my own things and be a director and feel there is a need, why not tie it all together. That’s how Latiné Theater Lab was born.”
Showtime!
Choosing the right production for a troupe’s premiere can be crucial to long term success. Gonzalez says landing Mud was a happy accident.
“[Author] María Irene Fornés is prolific and someone who really pioneered the off-off-Broadway movement. This play found me. This show has been haunting me for ten months. I kept seeing images and I always wanted to come to it. This was the right opportunity.”
Mud is described on LTL’s website as “a psychological thriller that delves into the tangled web of sex, power, and survival. In a desolate landscape where hope feels out of reach, the only escape lies in the pursuit of education. Tense, thought-provoking, and unflinchingly raw, this is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”
Like Gonzalez, Fornés is Cuban-American and queer. The play is highly experimental, which fits in Gonzalez’s wheelhouse. “I like telling stories in a highly theatrical, high stakes environment. And that’s what this play is. It’s brutal, it’s a little scary.”
The play is an intense 75 minutes with no intermission. Mud is a challenge Gonzalez says he’s ready to accept. “I’m swinging for the fences right out of the gate with the first show.”
In order to put the “community” in community theater, LTL offers Thrifty Thursdays, with tickets only $15-$25.
Empire Stage is located at 1140 N. Flagler Drive in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are available at LatinéTheaterLab.com.
