In Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes the stage act is seen as a “healing process”

The processes that underlie stage creation are, in general, as fascinating as they are unknown. In the case of Teatro de Certos Habitantes, one of the most solid companies in Mexico, with 27 years of existence, they have to do with aspects as profound as the expansion of consciousness, self-knowledge and even healing, maintains its director. , Claudio Valdés Kuri.

The playwright will address this topic in the inaugural session of the conference series Contemporary Stage Creators at the Cenart: A look at the contemporary stage panorama in the voice of its creators, which will take place on April 17 at 7 p.m. in the José Vasconcelos auditorium of the National Center of the Arts (Cenart), with free entry and broadcast on the site interface.cenart.gob.mx.

Recognized as one of the Latin American artists with the greatest global presence and awarded in 2023 with the National Prize for Arts and Literature in the field of Fine Arts, the musician and filmmaker also assumes that reflection on the processes in scenic creation is an aspect that is little explored.

Generally, as creators we think all the time about our stage speeches, but there is little communication with audiences and students about the underlying processes.he points out.

So, a cycle like this is very important so that people know a little, above all, about processes like the ones we do in this company, which are laboratory, very long, taking a year and a half or two of tests, but There may have previously been many years of research on the topic to be worked on. Knowing how a project is cooked seems fascinating to me and it is essential to talk about it.

Projects with personality

In an interview, he assures that Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes has paid a lot of attention to disseminating what their creative processes are like, for which they use all the materials they have on hand, such as books, documentaries and disassemblies.

Accept that each group and creator works in a different way and that there may be many points of convergence, but, in general, when you see projects with a lot of personality, it is because there was already a lot of it in the process.

It’s very personalized; that is, tailored to what is being seen. In our case, we call it self-knowledge of the processes, because the notion of self-knowledge, personal development or inner search has become increasingly present in the company’s discourses and themes.

In recent years, according to Valdés Kuri, the group’s work has been permeated by the idea of collaborate in the expansion of consciousness from different bastions.

That means addressing self-knowledge. Our maxim is to talk about expansion of consciousness, which implies many things. At first, it was a necessity to contain ourselves as a group, because when working with great intensity for long periods and with tours, you have to get the tools to function efficiently and cordially.Explain.

From tools to themes

“There began the need for this approach to personal development tools. Then, little by little, they became part of the content of some works, as main or guiding scenes, and in recent times they ended up being the total discourse, as in the most recent, From the magician to the madman, a tarot revelation, where the issue of self-knowledge and so on is frontal, it is already the theme.

“These paths have had various nutrients such as transpersonal therapy –he is a transpersonal therapist, as are several members of the group–, hermeticism, alchemy, meditation, mindfulness; that is, several paths that converge towards the same thing: knowing oneself.”

–Is the scenic event used as part of an ontological process?

–Absolutely, and it is curious, because it is a process that, first, I try to make the actor-interpreters experience. That is also why the processes are long. One of the reasons is to train in the artistic disciplines that the speech will require: acting, singing, instrumental interpretation, dance…

“But there is also a very strong study part that they must undergo. It is a process in which, in addition to this artistic training, there is preparation in terms of the contents of the works in which they must go through the themes that they are going to present.

“They are the first to go through that initiatory transition of entering into knowledge; They subject themselves to these courses, tests, new knowledge, because they are going to be the bearers of that to the public.

It would be very cosmetic if they only said it through lip service, in a text. All the texts that the actor-performers have said in the plays, they have experienced firsthand, in the rehearsal room and outside of it. I always say that it gives them authority or dignity of office.

–It seems more like a desire for healing than just theater.

–No one had told me that frontally, but that’s the end. I always say that, if these healing processes occur in this group of creatives and performers, since I am the one who causes that experience, I can feel satisfied and happy, because what follows is the healing process that must be shared and spread through stage speeches.

Not all projects have this component, sometimes it is also necessary to lighten or contrast; Let’s say that they are only the most profound works, but there are others that contrast more lightly or you also have to think about what audience they are aimed at.