Norwich area students get out of their comfort zones, performing in English and Spanish

You may be familiar with the Lewis Carroll story "Alice in Wonderland," but have you heard it performed in English and Spanish?

Act 1, Act Tú, a collaboration between The Chestnut Street Playhouse and The Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut, will present two plays performed by local youth. One is "Life is a Dream," a classic Spanish play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and the other is a modernization of "Alice in Wonderland" called "Alicia." They will be performed on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 11 and 12, at 7 p.m. at the playhouse. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students.

Act 1, Act Tú, in its second year, has students perform plays in English and Spanish as a way for local youth from Spanish-speaking cultures to retain the language and the cultural connection, said Marisabel Huarca Eguizabal, the director for "Life is a Dream."

The beginning of Act 1, Act Tú

Eguizabal originally started Act 1, Act Tú when she met Claudio Melendez-Cooper, who was the acting director of Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut, when she went to the office to ask about other programs, she said.

Last year, student only performed scenes from a play called "The Hispanick Zone," and a scene from a play Eguizabal wrote called "Tú Puedes." This year, the two plays are full short plays, with a run time between a half hour and an hour each, said Karli Sawnson, director for "Alicia."

The goals of the program are getting youth to speak both English and Spanish, and having students not cooped up in their rooms and online all the time, but instead get them out and working with their peers, Eguizabal said.

The students also learn confidence, teamwork, adapting from mistakes, and public speaking, Swanson said.

“Even if this is their first and last show, they can at least take this experience with them, and take these skills with them,” she said.

Meet the cast

The girl playing lead roles in "Life is a Dream" and "Alicia" is Gia Denizard, a seventh-grade student at Integrated Day Charter School. While she had done some acting before, this is her first time in Act 1, Act Tú.

Denizard was excited to try theater for the first time, but was nervous about speaking Spanish.

“I could read lines, but I couldn’t get them out on my own,” she said.

Through the month of rehearsals, Denizard went from speaking English at home to speaking Spanish at home, she said.

Students were also shy at first, but as the program went on, they grew more social and became a family, according to Norwich Free Academy senior Hannah Henry, who was also in the program last year.

“Everyone didn’t want to talk to each other, but now it’s hard to get us to be quiet,” she said.

While some students joined independently, others joined with their siblings. One of these sibling groups is brothers Jeremy and Jeffery, and sister Jendy Zapata. Through their time at Act 1, Act Tú, they have gotten over their nervousness and have loved acting.

“Everyone is super nice and super cool, and you get to act, and they teach you if you don’ t know how to act,”  eldest brother Jeremy Zapata said. “I recommend it.”

“It helps you come out of your comfort zone and be less shy,” younger sister Jendy Zapata added

It seems the current students aren’t waiting for next summer for an opportunity to act again. Eguizabal mentioned a Christmas play, and many of the students are eager to join, Jeffery Zapata said.

For the plays this weekend, the theater is expecting to be busy during both shows, Swanson said.

“I know people are busy in the summer, but I’m looking forward to having a sizeable audience,” she said.

Swanson hopes Act 1, Act Tú becomes an annual tradition. She recommends parents to get their children into the program, whether they speak English or Spanish, and whether they want to act, or build sets and help with other parts of production.

“There are plenty of opportunities,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Act 1. Act Tú brings bilingual theater to Norwich youth, community