Moving On

It’s fitting that the final play of Teatro Abanico’s 2002-2003 season is about endings. El Celador del Desierto (The Guardian of the Desert), an original work by Cuban composer and writer Ernesto Garcia, is a meditation about what can happen to man when he loses everything. In a world that has been destroyed by greed and insensitivity, only a few survive. They are then responsible for transmitting the history, knowledge, and wisdom of civilization to future generations. This philosophical drama tells the story of these wise men, their predecesors, and their inevitable destinies. The play ends the company’s residency at its Coral Gables performance space. Actress and producer Lili Renteria deems the transition “bad news which will ultimately bring good things.”

The owners of the current space refuse to provide Abanico with anything more than a month-by-month contract, so the company directors have decided to move out. Renteria is looking for more stable digs. “To have any kind of continuity a company needs to own its space,” she explains, adding she plans on creating an arts-based charter school that can double as a permanent home for Abanico.

Meanwhile the show will go on. Garcia’s Spanish-language work is the most experimental of Abanico’s productions. “El Celador del Desierto is an homage to theater and its most fundamental components — the performer and the text. It is minimalist in production values, but rich in content,” says Renteria. “We want to push audiences who might come for high comedy or drama to also acquire a taste for something more experimental.”

El Celador began as a rock opera, then became a screenplay. When Garcia realized he didn’t have the resources to produce a film, he transformed the script into a play. “Like all artists, Garcia has learned the skill of survival,” Renteria says. “If you have the color blue, you don’t say, ‘Let’s do a painting in red and yellow.'” Despite sellout crowds and critical acclaim, the company may not have a place to perform next season.