What: The Siege of Numantia (El Cerco de Numancia),a play presented by the University of North Texas' Department of Dance and Theatre, focuses on a Spanish village when it is taken over by Romans in 133 B.C. The play was written by Miguel de Cervantes and guest directed by David Lozano, artistic director of the Cara Mía Theatre Company in Dallas.
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10-12 (Thursday-Saturday); and at 2 p.m. Nov. 13 (Sunday).
Where: Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building (RTFP), Studio Theater.
Cost: $7.50 for students, UNT faculty/staff and seniors and $10 for adults. Audience members can purchase tickets at the box office, which is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and one hour before each performance at the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building. For more information, call 940-565-2428 or visit the box office window during regular hours. Visit the Department of Dance and Theatre online.
Parking: Due to recent changes in parking regulations, patrons are encouraged to park in the parking garage in the Union Circle. Please see the Transportation website for more information.
DENTON (UNT), Texas - The University of North Texas will present the classic play, The Siege of Numantia (El Cerco de Numancia) by Miguel de Cervantes, with some innovative twists.
The Siege of Numantia, presented by the Department of Dance and Theatre, will run at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10-12 (Thursday-Saturday) and at 2 p.m. Nov. 13 (Sunday) at the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building (RTFP) Studio Theater.
The play depicts how villagers react when the Roman Army comes into their Spanish town of Numantia in 133 B.C. The play is directed by David Lozano, artistic director of the Cara Mía Theatre Company in Dallas, who is interpreting this particular adaptation of Cervantes’s play with an emphasis on movement and mask performance.
He is also flipping gender roles for many of the characters. For example, sophomore theatre major Cecy Lozano portrays Escipión, the general of the Roman army.
“I'm more than delighted to have the opportunity to play Escipión as a woman,” Cecy Lozano said. “Women today are full of power and worth of a higher status and I have a feeling Escipión brings out those characteristics.”
The play is written in a way that calls for very imaginative staging, David Lozano said, noting that it will include a dream, a ritual and séance in which the Numantians call a spirit to speak through a fire.
“We’re going to see the set, music, movement and shadow play to create a spectacle and represent these heightened moments of action,” David Lozano said.
Although the play was written in the 1500s, the theme and its archetypal characters are universal today.
“We see the struggle for the simple, small group of common people to survive against the onslaught of the militaristic power,” David Lozano said.
Senior theatre major Courtnie Alvarado, who plays Teogenes, the chosen leader of Numantia, said the villagers have pride for their community.
“I think this is what drives her – protecting her people,” she said. “I think eventually when she realizes that isn’t possible, it’s a matter of how do we hold on to our pride. The message of how far a community will go to protect their nationality is strong in this play.”