An interview with Nelda Reyes, director of "Jardín de Sueños"

Miracle Theatre Group is pleased and thrilled to welcome Nelda Reyes as a new director of Miracle’s MainStage. Originally from Mexico City and Miracle audiences will remember from this year’s Day of the Dead show ¡Viva la Revolución!, Nelda has been hard at work as director of Miracle’s original Spanish language production Jardín de Sueños. An enchanting story that intertwines contemporary themes with Latin-American folktales, Jardín de Sueños follows the story of one young woman’s quest for her dreams. Nelda, who has lived everywhere from Guadalajara to Tijuana, and originally moved to the Pacific Northwest to complete her MA in Theatre Arts, has a long stage history that has taken her from dance, to music to theatre. We recently got together with Nelda to bring you an exclusive in-depth artist interview on her past present and future artistic endeavors. — Susy Chavez, Marketing Assistant

Susy: When did you discover the theatre? How long have you been acting?

Nelda: I started on stage at age 7, trained as a classical dancer I had the opportunity to perform in professional theatres and venues since then. Later on in my college years I started doing amateur and professional theatre and decided to pursue this career professionally.

Has your heritage and language influenced the work you do in theatre? 

Yes, all the time, from the moment I approach a project. You can never deny who you are when relating to art. So much of what we do as artists is to interpret works, and your cultural background, interests, language, corporal language, values, vision; all of who I am comes into play when I practice any form of art. I believe that much of what audiences look for is for new perspectives, so embracing yourself really plays a part in giving to audiences a unique opportunity to see things differently.

Have you collaborated with Miracle before?

I started at Milagro as an intern while in graduate school, I was working on a research project on Super/Subtitles in the theatre and on how to operate them. Later on I was offered the opportunity to become the Assistant Director of MainStage and Teatro Español (back in those days it was the company that did plays in Spanish). I supported Olga Sanchez directly.

Since 2007 I have acted in several Spanish and bilingual productions, including Rosalba y los Llaveros, Entre Villa y una mujer desnuda, Bodas de sangre, Day of the Dead celebrations, La Luna Nueva Festivals and even a pastorela! Throughout the years, I have also served as an acting instructor for several acting workshops, as director of a of couple stage readings, I was also an assistant director for La Carpa del Ausente and theatre director and educator for two of Miracle´s residencies at Roosevelt High School. Other work has included doing dramaturgy for La Carpa del Ausente and acting as a volunteer member on the play selection committee.

Miracle has also been a great collaborator in some of my own projects including supporting a benefit concert for Grupo Condor, Leyendas de México, which is the name of a project I collaborate on with musician Gerardo Calderón. Miracle will also be supporting the release of our new book and CD, Legends of Mexico. We will be participating in the activities of this year’s Luna Nueva Festival.

You’re getting ready for Jardín de Sueños, can you tell us a little bit about that process?

It is a challenging process, in a good way. Our playwright Sofia May-Cuxim has adapted the original text of the 2002 production into a rehearsal draft that we are currently using to guide the play´s blocking. At the same time, the cast and I reflect on the text and continue the adaptation. Our daily activities in rehearsal include a warm-up, reading the scenes, improvising, revising pieces of the text based on improve and the input we get from the rehearsal work, working on the blocking of the scenes, and running. We have a team of two interns helping us to incorporate the continuous changes in the text, a stage manager and an assistant director. It's great!

What are some things that you are doing to prepare?

I have done a lot of things, from meeting with each designer beforehand to get acquainted with them, their work, created a production timeline, supported the playwright in the creation of the rehearsal draft, lots of research including first hand interviews with undocumented families and youth and experts, lots and lots of reading. The whole team has been working on design concepts, and our technical crew has started to build our set. It’s really a team effort.

What have you found most challenging so far?

Working with a text in development. You need to be willing to explore, revise, rework; you need to facilitate the process for the actors so they know it’s all part of the work. Getting the team motivated when it just isn´t happening, when a scene is just not making sense just yet. You have to keep high expectations as a director but you also need to be flexible enough to move on.

What have you most enjoyed?

The beauty of working with fully invested actors that are passionate, that believe that what you want them to say with their own work is important. The beauty of having the opportunity to shape an artistic piece with such a giving cast and crew.

Finally what do you understand is the message of Jardín de Sueños as a whole? What do you hope people take away from watching the show?

I want them to be inspired, to question, to evaluate the current situation of undocumented youth and their opportunities to continue advanced education in our community. 

Tickets for Jardin de Sueños are already on sale. Visit www.milagro.org or call 503-236-7253.