Walking Still: Rompiendo Barriers y Building Puentes.
Location
Kimball Hall Seelos Theater
Start Date
25-4-2017 5:00 PM
End Date
25-4-2017 6:30 PM
Description
Since its creation in 2014, Holy Cross’s bilingual theater troupe, Uni2ACT has performed everything from a 17th Century Spanish play, Juan Rana, mujer, by Jerónimo Cáncer y Velasco, to the contemporary, Su tabaco, gracias, by Diana M. de Paco Serrano. Uni2ACT has consistently worked to create projects in which the arts intersect synergistically: Árboles / Trees (a mash-up of poetry, song and dance inspired by the Stickwork Sculpture, “Just off the beaten track,” by artist in residence Patrick Doherty) was performed at Holy Cross as well as at landmark parks in Worcester for the community in collaboration with Park Spirit of Worcester, Inc.); Latidos / Beats for Venezuela (a fundraiser for a music education project in Venezuela founded by Brooks Scholar, Teresa Murphy, that featured Hispanic music, dance, and recitations of oral histories). Another hallmark of Uni2ACT is our interdisciplinary, collaborative focus. We commissioned History Professor Rosa Carrasquillo to write Salsa santa / Holy Salsa, about Puerto Rican salsa star Ismael Rivera. In the Fall of 2017, we will collaborate with Professor Ed Isser, Chair of the Theater Department, on the mainstage production of Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega. Uni2ACT students also pen their own plays which include ¿Quién soy yo? (a series of personal monologues performed at the Sigma Delta Pi initiation ceremony) and ¿Qué hora es? (a comedy staged for Noche latina). Our current student written project, Walking Still: Rompiendo Barriers y Building Puentes dialogues with one of the pieces currently shown at the Cantor Art exhibit, The Last Frontier, to address current political issues around immigration from a student perspective.
Uni2ACT is a haven—a safe, creative space for Holy Cross students to explore, appreciate, and fully express themselves. Every Friday afternoon, mentored by Professors Lokos and Freear-Papio, students and FLAs unite in a co-curricular community that fosters the exploration of their cultural and linguistic selves while delving into issues of identity and social justice. Students of Spanish language hone their linguistic skills almost effortlessly, benefitting from a judgement-free zone and the conversation and companionship of their Spanish speaking peers. Hispanic students experience the pride derived from sharing their language and culture. The result? A miraculous alchemy of language, culture and confidence.
Beyond the obvious pedagogical, linguistic and cultural takeaways from the Uni2ACT experience, students develop critical skillsets necessary for their current studies as well as their future lives as professionals and community members. The writing of original bilingual scripts fosters critical thinking skills and teamwork. Creative, improvisational stage work cultivates cognitive flexibility and the ability to think on one’s feet. First-time, often reluctant actors, transform into confident performers with excellent public speaking skills and stage presence. The exposure to the many varied Hispanic cultures, helps to prepare our students to be citizens of a global world and marketplace. Many of the most critical skills required in the boardroom, in the courtroom, in the operating theater and within families and communities, are cultivated during the meetings and performances of Uni2ACT. Perhaps most importantly, students in Uni2ACT truly live Holy Cross’s mission, becoming Aliados / Allies, “men and women for and with others.”
Uni2ACT members:
Director: Robert Haemmerle '71
Assistant director: James Conor Recio '18
Nicholas Jones '19
Laura Buján FLA
Efraín Lozano ’19
Nicole Bambara ’17
Cassandra Kobelski ’17
Marygrace Pier ’20
Javier López Seoane FLA
Elizabeth Hallahan ’20
Katie Santoro ’19
Ana Guibert Ruano FLA
Natalia Luna ’20
Angel Carrillo ’19
Marily González ’17
Bioribel Castillo ’19
Lara Bonilla FLA
Walking Still: Rompiendo Barriers y Building Puentes.
Kimball Hall Seelos Theater
Since its creation in 2014, Holy Cross’s bilingual theater troupe, Uni2ACT has performed everything from a 17th Century Spanish play, Juan Rana, mujer, by Jerónimo Cáncer y Velasco, to the contemporary, Su tabaco, gracias, by Diana M. de Paco Serrano. Uni2ACT has consistently worked to create projects in which the arts intersect synergistically: Árboles / Trees (a mash-up of poetry, song and dance inspired by the Stickwork Sculpture, “Just off the beaten track,” by artist in residence Patrick Doherty) was performed at Holy Cross as well as at landmark parks in Worcester for the community in collaboration with Park Spirit of Worcester, Inc.); Latidos / Beats for Venezuela (a fundraiser for a music education project in Venezuela founded by Brooks Scholar, Teresa Murphy, that featured Hispanic music, dance, and recitations of oral histories). Another hallmark of Uni2ACT is our interdisciplinary, collaborative focus. We commissioned History Professor Rosa Carrasquillo to write Salsa santa / Holy Salsa, about Puerto Rican salsa star Ismael Rivera. In the Fall of 2017, we will collaborate with Professor Ed Isser, Chair of the Theater Department, on the mainstage production of Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega. Uni2ACT students also pen their own plays which include ¿Quién soy yo? (a series of personal monologues performed at the Sigma Delta Pi initiation ceremony) and ¿Qué hora es? (a comedy staged for Noche latina). Our current student written project, Walking Still: Rompiendo Barriers y Building Puentes dialogues with one of the pieces currently shown at the Cantor Art exhibit, The Last Frontier, to address current political issues around immigration from a student perspective.
Uni2ACT is a haven—a safe, creative space for Holy Cross students to explore, appreciate, and fully express themselves. Every Friday afternoon, mentored by Professors Lokos and Freear-Papio, students and FLAs unite in a co-curricular community that fosters the exploration of their cultural and linguistic selves while delving into issues of identity and social justice. Students of Spanish language hone their linguistic skills almost effortlessly, benefitting from a judgement-free zone and the conversation and companionship of their Spanish speaking peers. Hispanic students experience the pride derived from sharing their language and culture. The result? A miraculous alchemy of language, culture and confidence.
Beyond the obvious pedagogical, linguistic and cultural takeaways from the Uni2ACT experience, students develop critical skillsets necessary for their current studies as well as their future lives as professionals and community members. The writing of original bilingual scripts fosters critical thinking skills and teamwork. Creative, improvisational stage work cultivates cognitive flexibility and the ability to think on one’s feet. First-time, often reluctant actors, transform into confident performers with excellent public speaking skills and stage presence. The exposure to the many varied Hispanic cultures, helps to prepare our students to be citizens of a global world and marketplace. Many of the most critical skills required in the boardroom, in the courtroom, in the operating theater and within families and communities, are cultivated during the meetings and performances of Uni2ACT. Perhaps most importantly, students in Uni2ACT truly live Holy Cross’s mission, becoming Aliados / Allies, “men and women for and with others.”
Uni2ACT members:
Director: Robert Haemmerle '71
Assistant director: James Conor Recio '18
Nicholas Jones '19
Laura Buján FLA
Efraín Lozano ’19
Nicole Bambara ’17
Cassandra Kobelski ’17
Marygrace Pier ’20
Javier López Seoane FLA
Elizabeth Hallahan ’20
Katie Santoro ’19
Ana Guibert Ruano FLA
Natalia Luna ’20
Angel Carrillo ’19
Marily González ’17
Bioribel Castillo ’19
Lara Bonilla FLA
Comments
Conference Kick-off with Uni2ACT in Seelos Theatre Walking Still: Rompiendo Barriers y Building Puentes Reception immediately following performance. Free and open to the general public.