When first looking at the dramatic symbolism, each swift shift in mood, and the political and cultural overtones in La Turista, one might think this is simply an allegory. What interested me about the play, however, was the more character driven, the more subtle story imbedded within the text. At this point in our political climate, and state of live art ? the dual nature and challenge of this play is palpable. Very simply put - every play is about real, if misguided, people trying to make connections with each other; in La Turista, however, Shepard writes them blindly connecting and unknowingly misconnecting over a backdrop of two cultures that seem to be entirely and intrinsically different from one another.
To that end, the design team, the actors and I continuously challenged ourselves by asking how we could make each moment honest emotionally, and complex metaphorically. What does it mean that the American's live in a plastic world, and are over exposed in the rich authenticity of Mexico? Who is The Boy, and what is he looking for from Kent and Salem? Are either Kent or Salem really sick? Each person in this play could have been seen as an arch-type. The overbearing, arrogant, colonizing American; the spooky, ancient time, potion brewing witchdoctor; the hyper germ sensitive, over diagnosing American doctor are all part of the play. But, to tell the real story of misconnect on a personal level, I don't think the symbolism is enough.
I find it interesting that this little known work of Shepard's has begun to resurface right now. There is a little buzz around this play and people are reexamining the play's relevance in today's political world. On a symbolic level ? the statement the work makes about American culture, how it appropriates others, has an insatiable need to fix things that aren't broken, and has trouble seeing other cultures as complex and worthwhile is clear. Shepard didn't pull any punches when he explicitly made the second act (the act set in America) play on a plastic set. His point of view on "American culture" is
vividly drawn. This view of Americans is an old tale in the art world, however, and still rings true on some levels I think it would have been a disservice to the play to simply make this piece a political statement, as it would have been to leave politics out entirely. For, while Shepard writes the American characters as the proverbial bad boy, he also allows one of them the ultimate transcendence. He knowingly writes them as likeable, slightly confused, people who throughout the play prepare to break from their own stereo-type. We endeavored to ask those hard questions, tell a personal story, and allow the play complicate, breath and take on new meaning in our world right now.
I hope you enjoy our production of La Turista.