La tras escena.

Video excerpts of this play. We see the backstage of a theatrical production. They are planning to do a rehearsal. The play shows the tensions and conflicts within the creative group as the debut approaches. They are staging a play about the conquest of America. Some of the actors seem to be very frustrated with the play and with their career. The play also shows the connections between theater and political interests and pressures (the group is the National Company of Theater). The director hires a group of Indigenous people to perform as Indians from the time of the Conquest. They refuse to perform without being paid and so the play becomes a mess. This is the first in a series of disturbances (most of them associated with political issues) that interrupts and threatens to ruin the rehearsals and the debut of the piece. This play represents an exercise in meta-theater by this experienced theater group, a fast-moving mixture of comedy and a rather serious consideration of the relationship between art and politics. La Candelaria (www.teatrolacandelaria.org.co) was founded in 1966 by a group of independent artists and intellectuals who came from experimental theater and the broader Colombian cultural movement. Directed by Santiago García, La Candelaria is one of Colombian theater's most innovative agents, modernizing national drama while addressing popular audiences. By means of an ongoing exploration of national folklore, situations and characters, they have created some of Colombia's most compelling plays, some of them through the method of 'creación colectiva' ('collective creation'), addressing the acute social and political problems of their society. At the same time, they fostered the creation of Corporación Colombiana del Teatro and have developed a number of theoretical works that reflect upon dramatic creation, its methods and languages. Still nowadays, La Candelaria is committed to repertoire, experimentation, and discussion as fundamental elements to artistic creation. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics