2005-09-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

LandScapes
PUENTE Theatre Newsletter

Dear colleagues and friends:
It is with great pleasure that we introduce our Newsletter LandScapes to share with you some of the successes achieved by PUENTE in the past year as well as the exciting news for the rest of 2005.
As you know, PUENTE Theatre Society was founded in 1988 by Chilean -born Director Lina de Guevara to serveas a Bridge between cultures in the larger Victoria community.

Among its goals, PUENTE aims to:

Give expression to the experiences of immigrants in Canada;
Use theatre to explore social issues;
Create a multi-ethnic network of immigrant artists and resources; and, build community through collaborative projects.

PUENTE also offers workshops, training courses and mentorships for immigrant community organizations, women’s groups, schools and universities.
For more information please contact :

Lina de Guevara,General Manager

pts@victoria.tc.ca

Phone: (250) 592-4367

Paulina Grainger, Assistant General Manager

rpgrainger@shaw.ca
Phone: (250) 721-5828

PAST EVENTS AND NEWS

* Several months ago, we applied for and received a Charitable Tax Number, so that we can now access funds from Foundations and Gaming Money, as well as issue Tax Receipts.
Thanks to the operating grant we received from the CRD last year, we’ve enhanced our fiscal system by contracting the services of Pat O’Brien, an experienced Theatre Accountant.

July
* Lina and Paulina attended the PACT (Professional Alliance of Canadian Theatres) in Banff, Alta. PUENTE has been a member since 2004.
* Lina was invited to teach Theatre of the Oppressed at the Instituto de Teatro, Teatro Visión, in San José, CA. Very successful workshop!
* In July 12 –16, 2005, PUENTE sent Mercedes Batiz-Benet to a an exciting workshop with Run Away Moon Theatre in the Okanagan , to work on the Institute of “Spectacle”, practicing the following skills:
+ Rhythm/Percussion, + Ancient Chinese Ribbon Dancing
+ Giant Puppet making and manipulation; + Lantern making
+ Earth Orchestra
+ Stilts, + Balkan Singing, and + Ensemble Movement
Her skills will be very useful when PUENTE takes part in Luminara, Folk Fest and other public and street performances.

August
* Lina received two First Prize Awards in the project: “Building Bridges: The civic and political participation of Latin-American-Canadians” organized by OISE, in the categories of Life Story for “Civic Participation through Theatre” and Drama with “Canadian Tango”.

September
* Presentation of three sessions of Theatre Forum for International Students at the University of Victoria.
* “Long Ago and Far Away”: A Multicultural storytelling series which takes place the Third Saturday of every month at 2:00 pm at La Run Theatre (1983 Fairfield Rd.). Mark your calendars for our start day: September 17 and more stories on the following days: October 15; November 19, December 17, 2005; January 21, February 18,and March 18, 2006.
* PUENTE Board Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 21 at Lina’s house 6 PM.
* New Performances of “Uthe/Athe”, a one-woman show written and performed by Raji Basi based on her life story. Date: TBA.
* You are invited to Theatre of The Oppressed Workshops which will be offered September 24 and 25 with Lina de Guevara (Image Theatre and Forum). Space is limited so please contact Lina or Paulina to reserve your place.

October
* October 1 and 2: Theatre of The Oppressed Workshops with Victor Porter (Rainbow of Desire, Cops in the Head). Space is limited so please contact Lina or Paulina to reserve your place.
* October 8: Theatre Forum for Peer Connections Students at Camosun College.
* We are pleased and proud to announce the visit of Chilean Aboriginal Poet Elikura Chihuailaf to Victoria in late October (17-27). Don’t miss this unique opportunity to listen to this excellent poet and social activist from the Mapuche Nation. Elikura follows the great tradition of well-known Chilean poets, Nobel Prize winners Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda. Sessions will include Poetry Reading and a Conference on Mapuche Culture. Elikura honours the culture and language of his people. Please read biographical notes on Elikura below.

November
* PUENTE’s AGM .
* Third Salon and Fund Raiser at Indigo (Uvic). Date: TBA.

More events (dates TBA)

* Production of “Patriot without a Country”, a one-woman show written and performed by mezzo soprano Grace Chan, directed and dramaturged by Lina de Guevara. This is being produced thanks to a grant from the Canada Council for “Flying Squad”, an operating grant from the CRD, BC Arts Council.

* World Play Series of staged readings.
* “Izabobo”, Comfort Ero’s play about African celebrations of life; produced in Vancouver. Presented and hosted by PUENTE for Black History Month (February 2006).

Storytelling Our Lives Goes on TOUR!
We are very excited about this opportunity to expand our horizons! Thanks to a grant from Legacies 2010: Arts Now Projects, Story telling Our Lives goes on Tour!
March 24: Rehearsals Begin.

Performances:
March 31: Campbell River
April 6: Workshop in Duncan
April 7: Performance in Duncan
April 8: Performance in Nanaimo
April 12: Performance in Victoria

Brief Biographical notes on Elikura Chihuailaf
Elikura is from the Mapuche Nation in southern Chile. In his language of mapuzugun, “mapu” means land and “che“, means people. He is a poet and an “oralitor”, who according to him, is a special kind of writer, one who stays close to the source of his writing, the oral culture of his elders. He is a professor at Universidad Mayor in Temuco Regional Campus in Chile and a member of the ARCIS University in Santiago. Elikura is also in the Editorial Committee of “Rocinante”, a magazine of art, culture, and society, and he is the General Secretary of the “Indigenous Languages Writers of America Association”.
Elikura has numerous books and publications and his work is being translated into English. Some of his most notable contributions to the Chilean and international writing landscape are: “El invierno y su imagen,” 19977 (Winter and its image); “De sueños azules y contrasueños, 2000 (“Of blue dreams and counter dreams”), and “Recado confidencial a los Chilenos “ 1999 ( “Confidential Message to Chileans”).
Some of his poems have been translated and published in Italian, German, Dutch, Croatian, Hungarian, English ,Swedish, and Flemish.
Elikura has also been honoured with distinguished awards:
* Best Literary Work Prize (poetry) of the Consejo Nacional del Libro y la Lectura,, Santiago, 1994.
* Municipal Literature Prize (poetry) awarded by the Illustrious Municipality of Santiago in 1997.
* Municipal Literature Competition, Mention (essay), Illustrious Municipality of Santiago, 2000.
* Best Literary Work Prize (essay) of the Consejo Nacional del Libro y la Lectura, Santiago, 2000.
Some of Elikura’s texts have been set to music groups and some o f his work has been adapted for theatre as well as used in contemporary dance groups. Elikura has worked internationally in France, México, Colombia, Holland, Italy, and Sweden.

Last but not least, it is with great pleasure that we share with you the two awards recently granted to PUENTE from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) for the project: “Building Bridges: the Civic and Political Participation of Latin American-Canadians”.
The winning pieces were “Canadian Tango” (Drama), and "Civic Participation through Theatre" ( Life History). These texts will be published in different venues and non-printed venues such as radio and theatre for the dissemination of the contributions. We believe it is imperative to promote and support this type of activities and initiatives taking place in Canada for we all know that the broader the horizon, the ampler the view!
On behalf of the PUENTE members, I thank you for your continuous support and interest in our activities. We welcome your comments and look forward to hearing from you. We will keep you posted about other exciting events.
Sincerely,
Lina de Guevara
Artistic Director

Puente Theatre Society