After a pandemic-induced hiatus of live, in-person discussions with artists or staff from their productions, guests from Geva Theatre Center will once again visit the SUNY Brockport campus as part of Stage Whispers: Conversations with Theatre Professionals. The first of this year’s talks will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 27, in the Tower Fine Arts Center Black Box Theatre, 180 Holley Street. It is free and open to the public, and will feature Maria Cristina Posada Slye, currently starring in Geva’s production of Somewhere.
Slye will talk about the play, which is about one of many Hispanic families living in the San Juan Hill area of Manhattan, which was razed to make way for Lincoln Center. The neighborhood was simultaneously serving as a filming location for the first movie version of West Side Story. When one particular family is forced to uproot itself, issues become increasingly complex as some family members wish to appear as extras in the movie.
During her appearance, Slye and her Geva host, Associate Director of Education Lara Rhyner, will talk about the displaced/marginalized (both in terms of the play, but also as minorities on stage), being a working Latinx actor, as well as combining musical/choreographic elements in what is, in essence, a straight play.
The Stage Whispers series is sponsored by SUNY Brockport’s Department of Theatre and Music Studies as part of their alliance with Geva Theatre Center. The series gives community members insight into the process of professional theatre artists. For more information, call 395-2496.
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