Ha! by Rich Orloff

Dr. Gilbert Martinez's stage production students showcased "Ha! By Rich Orloff," this past Friday, May 4, and Saturday, May 5, 2012, at 8 p.m. in the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Theatre. This was the first play offered at Texas A&M International University that has been produced, acted, and directed by students.

TAMIU now offers a Minor in Theatre; as a result, the stage production course was offered for the first time. It is important that students participate directly in a public production in order to analyze the reaction of the audience and media. Space, time, monetary help, and production will be easier for the company and the students to generate more plays at the theatre and continue cultivating this art at TAMIU and in Laredo. Depending on the work put into this play and the results, the board members will provide further help for future plays.

Dr. Martinez's students have been preparing since the beginning of the spring semester. They were able to learn various aspects of theatre through the process of setting up this play. The company's name was selected among all the students with a democratic vote. Students had to audition in order to know what characters they would be portraying. They also had the opportunity to select whether they wanted to act or be part of the production crew. As soon as they had the play, students were ready to be assigned their roles and investigate what they would be working on. The majority of the students had never been involved in any theatre production before; therefore, this class gave the opportunity to those that wanted to experience how a theatre company works.

"Ha!" is a production of three plays combined in one, that tells the story of the creation of the world. Throughout the play, God is portrayed as a woman that goes through a line of various cultures and time frames. This includes the Russia of 1905 and at the end acknowledges that it was part of a science project. The students used a globe to represent the creation of the world and took an important part in the play. The audience applauded this comedy that in fact, contained many physics jokes. With a combination of religion and scientific acts, the theatre production students worked for themselves and for future generations in TAMIU theatre. Finishing with a generous vow, the production team, actors, and actresses came out on stage and showed their family, friends, and the public the effort they had made for the entire spring semester of 2012.

The production team consisted of Cynthia M. Ramos and Gilberto Martinez Jr. as directors, Edgar Quiñonez, stage manager; Robert J. Medina as his assistant; Christina M. Medina  in costumes; Sandy Lugo and Edgar Quiñonez as scene designers; and Krisanapol Maroongroge and Wing Yin Dora Wong, in charge of light and sound design. Also, participants got help from Adalberto Chavarria, a technical director who was in charge of the set construction, and Bob Batey, a sound technician.

The cast members in "Oedi" consisted of Mario Joseph Davila as Oedipus, Christopher Garcia as Tiresias, Jose Gonzalez performing Creon, Mariaelena Hernandez as Jocasta, and Robert Medina as the Town Crier. The play "The News from St. Petersburg," consisted of Jose de la Rosa as Fyodor, Victoria Young in the role of Anya, Rene Castillo as Sasha, and Juan Morales as Nikolai. The last play, "The Whole Shebang," consisted of Gabriela Sanchez as the Student, Judith Rayo performing The Dean, Wendy San Miguel as Professor A, Andrea Quintanilla portraying Professor B, and doing two acting pieces Jose de la Rosa as Harvey Doe, and Victoria Young as Edna Doe.

With only less than one week of practice on stage, all the theatre classes did their best and recognized all those who helped on the play. As a reward for his contribution, the theatre class presented Adalberto Chavarria with the globe used in the play as gratuity for his contribution to the play. These students found the love for theatre and many of them will continue acting or participating in the production team. About $800 were collected for the next production and hopefully more donations will come for future performances.

For more information, the public may contact Dr. Gilberto Martinez at gilberto.martinez@tamiu.edu or (956) 326-2787.

(Sandy Lugo may be reached at sandylugoespinoza@dusty.tamiu.edu)