Dallas director brings apocalyptic play to UNT Theatre

Friday, October 18, 2013 - 20:51
Category:

What: The University of North Texas Department of Dance and Theatre presents Marisol, a story about a New York woman who loses her guardian angel to a fight against God and navigates the apocalyptic times facing humanity. Guest directed by Christie Vela. Guest scenic designer is Scott Osborne.

When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31, Nov. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9; and 2 p.m. Nov. 3 and 10

Where: University Theatre in the RTFP building, 1179 Union Circle, Denton

Tickets: Cost is $7.50 for students, UNT faculty and staff and seniors and $10 for adults. Group rates are available for parties of 10 or more. Contact the Box Office at 940-565-2428 for tickets or information.


DENTON (UNT), Texas -- A city turns into a smoldering urban wasteland. Angels are warring, and God has grown old and senile. Men are bearing children, an indication that end times are near.

That is the premise of Marisol, which chronicles the story of Marisol Perez, a 26-year-old Puerto Rican woman living in the Bronx who must navigate a terrifying war zone after her guardian angel leaves her to fight in a revolution against God.

The University of North Texas Department of Dance and Theatre will present the play Oct. 31 through Nov. 10 at the University Theatre.

Christie Vela, an acclaimed actress and director in North Texas, is guest directing Marisol, which was written by José Rivera and won the 1993 Obie Award for playwriting.

Vela is a member of the Brierley Resident Acting Company and master teacher at Dallas Theater Center, where her credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, God of Carnage and Henry IV.

Vela said she is drawn to great plays and great actors.

"I do not see my cast as a group of college students. I see them as young professionals with a fresh perspective on a piece that has become somewhat of a classic," said Vela, an artistic company member of Kitchen Dog Theater.  "Our cast and stage management team are full of talented, passionate, open, interested and interesting people, who bring their own life's experiences to the piece. They are ready to learn, to be vulnerable and honest. That's all a director can really hope for."

Weaving together elements of comedy, fantasy and theater of the absurd, Marisol features eccentric and terrifying individuals, including a golf club-wielding madman and angels who have traded in their wings for Uzis and leather jackets.

Portraying the play's title role is Flor Campillo, a UNT theater major and junior, who fell in love with the play's vibrant dialogue and poetic script.

"This is a strange, crazy, beautiful, poetic play," said Campillo, a junior from Querétaro, Mexico. "Marisol is a character who goes through life wearing blinders. She sees only what she wants to see, and in some sense, we all do the same."

Scott Osborne, an award-winning designer who has worked in theater in Texas and New York, is the guest scenic designer.

The play runs 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31, Nov. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9; and 2 p.m. Nov. 3 and 10 at University Theatre in the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building, 1179 Union Circle. Cost is $7.50 for students, UNT faculty and staff and seniors and $10 for adults. Group rates are available for parties of 10 or more. Contact the Box Office at 940-565-2428 for tickets or information.

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