Every year there is a special night in the south of the Buenos Aires suburbs, in which the doors of the theaters open and offer free performances for a very diverse audience, in different neighborhoods. “The Night of the Theaters” This meeting is called, organized since 2011 by the South Theater Network -collective of artists, venue managers, teachers and other cultural workers-, whose ninth edition will take place this Saturday, with 35 shows distributed in 17 spaceslocated in Lanús, Lomas de Zamora, Esteban Echeverría and Almirante Brown. “They will be 60 kilometers of theater with free admission“, announces the statement presenting the action.
“This is a transversal, collective, community event that gives identity to the region. A unique fact. All the theaters are filled with audiences from the neighborhood, an audience that may have never been to an independent theater, that may not even know that there is a theater in the neighborhood. That fact, that moment, is wonderful; the grain of sand that we artists offer to our public. The work is a lot, but the satisfaction is greater,” he defines Raquel Pardoactress and member of the Network, which to carry out the event has support of the Provincial Council of Independent Theater, the Cultural Institute of the Province of Buenos Aires and the Municipalities of Lomas de Zamora and Lanús. “More than 300 artists will take the stage, and between 50 and 60 people hold the rooms. We are almost 500 artists mobilized to toast this opening night,” completes Mariana Ortiz Losadaactress, playwright and director, member of Dispa, Lanús room.
The Red Teatral Sur was formed in 2010. This Night, which was conceived in an assembly, was one of the first important actions designed by the collective. Inspired by the Night of the Museums, she sought to bring the public from the southern suburbs closer to the rooms she had just steps from her home. Due to its proximity to the capital, the region’s theater artists always had to battle with the emigration of spectators and the prejudices that the best options were in the City. Currently “The Night of the Theaters” is a well-known and established eventa ritual that crosses the commitment and militancy of the artists with the interest of the local community in coming across scenic experiences in their own area. From 17 shows in 2011 to 35 for this upcoming edition: This is how its growth, its relevance, is graphed. “It also grew in the number of rooms. And with more rooms there are more spectators,” highlights Pardo.
“The Night of the Theaters” is also, of course, a window to what is produced in the region. Diversity and variety have always been its hallmarks. “In this edition there will be different genres: children’s, classical theater, improvisation, stand-up… It is broad, encompassing. The good thing is that people can decide which theater to go to, at what time, and enjoy the shows that interest them the most. like it,” he says Gonzalo Rodriguezdirector of the stand-up school “More humor please.”
Losada adds that the programming “accounts for many ways to produce theater“. “That is the most genuine thing about the event. Professional companies participate; casts made up of young people who are just coming out on stage – there are many groups that are the result of the experiences of drama schools and teachers from the suburbs -; many vocational casts, made up of people who do theater after leaving work, who seek in that space the joy of meeting and doing something with others. There are also casts made up of groups of students with very particular pedagogical experiences (musical theater, humor); very distinctive collective experiences of the region such as varietés; and others of social or political theater,” he summarizes.
The works that will be presented are: Terracitaby Ortiz Losada; dystopian theatrical galaby José Salerno; To the lands of Ivaschukby Natalia Sismonda; To the fishfrom Cultivando Varieté; Dracula, a different story, adaptation by Mabel Orlando; Bernarda Alba’s houseby the Sentir Arte Group; Peter Panversion by Micaela and Daniela Viviani; What is not forgivenfrom the group Los Cuatro; It’s just three o’clockby Gabriel Rampoldi; devil landby Sol Figueroa; the OtherWorld Variety.
Also Interrupted storiesde Leandro Arancio; The castingby Stand Up Comedy; The shipby José Luis Pineda Servin; Chip Chipby Federico Negri; three womenon texts by Sylvia Plath; Heirsby Damián Domínguez; The word necklaceby Gladys Heredia and María de Leonardis; A bad day to dieby Manuel Luchetti; Blend Fortuitofrom Colectivo Blend; Hedda Gablerfree adaptation by Jorge Cabral; We are thisby Gabriel Faya; Sonescenasfrom the Somosonosomos Group; Timothy and Dorothy on the rooffrom Enenco Stable; The accompanimentby Carlos Gorostiza; Shredsof Poxigámicas; The hide and seek, where are you?from Ellas to the South; Alice in Wonderlandby Grupo Impulso; Wake upfrom La Toma; First vulgaritymade by students from the Lomas de Zamora School of Dramatic Arts; and Improstores “a different show”by Miguel Escalante and Esteban Márquez.
The complete program can be seen on the Instagram account of South Theater Networkwhere there are also the synopses of the shows. Each room has its own ticket reservation method. Among those participating are El Dispa (Lanús); Horizonte Theater (Lomas de Zamora); Theater of the Noble Beasts (Temperley); and La Rueca (Monte Grande).
“For this edition we prepare in a particular way, being aware of what culture represents this year. We are giving everything to make it a regional party,” says Rodríguez. Ortiz Losada says that “what all the experiences and formats that make up ‘La Noche…’ have in common is that they are done in a 100 percent self-managed way. State support comes to drive visibility, the possibility of weaving networks and make connections so that later continuing walking is not alone. The outlook is difficult: “State aid is becoming less and less: we are still cared for by subsidies from the Province, but very little came from the Nation. The National Theater Institute has changed its perspective in this administration.”
“At this particular moment in the political, social and economic reality of Argentina, and especially from the specific attacks that the field of cultural workers received – this Government basically intends to exterminate us as a language and space for the construction of thought. critic-, these nights of performances are the complete opposite: a commitment to conversation, listening, exchange of glances, empathy and commitment“concludes the artist.
