Thursday, November 7, 1996
MIMES:
Group’s multi-media production comments on the Zapatistas’ fight
for their landBy Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Contributor
On Jan. 1, 1994, the Zapatistas of Chiapas, Mexico took over
seven of the region’s towns. This revolt was the indigenous
peoples’ response to the government’s increasing intrusion upon
village lands, marked by the implementation of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Friday, at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse,
the San Francisco Mime Troupe remembers this two- week siege in
their free, multi-media production, "13 Dias/13 Days."
Incorporating music, theater and four film screens, the show
revolves around the lives of many characters from varying social
backgrounds. Acoustic guitars and instruments battle against a
surging synthesizer section, representing the agrarian farmers’
struggle for rights within a growing big business, first-world
economy. The collage of background film clips are abstract images,
like hypnotically glowing candles or an exotic rain forest bird, as
well as actual concrete footage of the Zapatistas uprising,
revealing both the complex and clear issues at hand.
"It highlights land rights issues and natural resources issues,
but it’s not like the issues can be separated out," explained Yuki
Kidokoro, second- year urban planning graduate student and director
of the Environmental Coalition. Her organization is responsible for
inviting the San Francisco Mime Troupe to perform.
"There is an environmental and human rights factor there,"
Kidokoro said, citing the group’s reason for involvement in the
production. "It’s focused on the indigenous people’s control of the
land. A lot of it’s been privatized, put in the hands of land
owners who will use very destructive methods of agriculture. People
lived on lands and fed themselves, now the lands are being bought
out and used for export crops."
"13 Dias/13 Days" is just one in a series of the San Francisco
Mime Troupe’s plays on aspects of the world economy. The last
production, "Offshore," focused on the relationship between
Japanese computer chip marketers and U.S. rice growers. This work
focuses more directly on the effects of NAFTA, while all shows deal
with issues of multi-culturalism in an emotional and insightful
way.
"I think that the theater is a great medium because you can show
a lot of the sensitivity and emotion that you can’t do through a
paper or a lecture," said David Rice, a fourth-year
geography/environmental studies student and member of the
Environmental Coalition.
Founded in 1959, the Troupe has always believed in showing
"socially relevant themes." Originally playing only controversial
park shows to local Bay Area crowds, the Troupe has since expanded
to touring around the world, even adding a Tony to their list of
awards. Yet, they’ve never let their fame destroy their dedication
to social change.
"We took AT&T’s Tony award money and told them in our
acceptance speech to get out of South Africa at the awards
ceremony," said "13 Dias/13 Days" director Dan Schumley. "It was a
great way to politicize the moment."
Essentially, this rebel attitude runs through each of the
organizations varied productions. "13 Dias/13 Days" is no different
in its anti-establishment themes, yet takes the social revolt to a
new level.
"The Zapatistas had exhausted all of their legal means," said
MEChA’s internal vice chair, Hugo Maldonado, a fifth-year
psychology and Chicano studies student. "They wrote letters, had
demonstrations, and contacted people. They were met with
infiltrates and assassinations, and so it escalated to a level that
went beyond just civil protesting."
Yet, the struggle for indigenous people’s control over rapidly
depleting lands is not a new problem, nor did it end with the
negotiations held at the termination of the 13-day siege. The
Mayans and Mexican government continue to disagree over
agricultural, economical and social affairs, while foreign
interests continue their exploitation of the land.
"The same dynamic is happening in a lot of places," Kidokoro
asserted. "In Chiapas, they’re uniting against these negative
forces."
"They decided to take matters into their own hands," continued
Rice. "I think it’s empowering."
This sense of community involvement lies at the heart of the San
Francisco Mime Troupe. They specialize in performing commedia dell
‘arte, an Italian theater form which questions social status, with
an emphasis on excess comedy. Though the group does speak on-stage,
they display exaggerated mimics of reality that are reminiscent of
traditional pantomime.
"We saw that the definition had to do with slapstick and
physical approach," Schumley explained. "We’re imitating people
more body- based, but not Three Stooges-like. It’s more
intellectual, like Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin."
"13 Dias/13 Days" is no different from any other troupe’s
productions in its use of comedy to explore social issues. Rich in
its integration of actors, film and music, this production is sure
to captivate audiences, while sending out a message.
"I think initially this can raise some consciousness about what
exactly is happening in Chiapas and what’s going on in the ongoing
struggle," Maldonado says.
THEATER: The San Francisco Mime Troupe will perform "13 Dias/13
Days" Friday at 7:30 at the Freud Playhouse. Admission is free with
a student ID. For more info, call 206-4438.
Mark Estes
Indian villager Xun (Alex Torres) and market vendor Eulalia
(Monica McMurtry) watch Zapatista Hortensia (Keiko Shimosato)
tackle a problem in "13 Dias/13 Days."