KANSAN.COM
ARTS & CULTURE
7
From left, Cassidy Ragland as Maritza/Hilda, Samantha Foreman as Carmen/Candida, Alejandra Villasante Ramos as Johanna, and Becca Huerter as Juanita/Pat.
JESSICA LARSONKANSAN
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"Johanna: Facing Forward," the first bilingual play to show at the University, is the story of a young woman surviving domestic violence, a journalist's ethical boundaries and a recovery story. It debuts Friday night.
The playwright and director, Tialok Rivas, said he was moved by the survival story of Johanna Orozco, a nationally recognized survivor of domestic violence. In 2007, Orozco's life changed. Orozco is from Cleveland, Ohio and suffered gunshot wounds after she tried to break up with her then-boyfriend.
The young Latina became known for showing her wounds to the public, becoming the face for the movement against domestic violence. Rivas was haunted by Oroz-
co's story and thought theater would be the best platform to present it.
"What I like to say about the theatre is that it gives voice to the voiceless." Rivas said. "There is an unspoken conversation that takes place between audiences and actors on stage and there is also a community sort of witnessing that happens when a live audience sees a show like that."
Rivas received his undergraduate degree at University of California-Santa Cruz, then went on to receive his graduate degree at the University of Washington in Seattle where he got his Master's in directing. He has been directing plays for 20 years.
Rivas, who is originally from California but now teaches at the University of Iowa, was asked by University theatre instructor Jane Barrett, to bring the show to the Kansas.
Rivas plays with a lot of different themes but said performance explores what a healthy relationship looks like, the role of family and access to guns for violence offenders.
"Somewhat related is what constitutes a healthy relationship, especially when you go to college and how to navigate those waters when you are going to an environment where sexual assault is happening on campuses," Rivas said. "I want to create a show that can not only be performed at colleges but at high schools because of the subject matter."
Becca Huerter, one of the cast members playing Juanita Orozco and Pat London, said with Rivas as the director, the actors were able to connect with the issue threaded throughout the script.
"Having the playwright as our director is a great way for all of us to accurately and
honestly connect with our characters and Johanna's story in general," Huerter said. "Sexual assault is so prevalent in today's society and this piece informs and gives understanding to a topic that people forget about or don't want to address because when it isn't happening to you, you don't care as much."
"Based on what I was told about Johanna, I felt like I could really identify with her, not from the experience itself because I haven't gone through anything as traumatic, but just based on what I was told about her life and the incident," Vilasante said.
Villasante is a junior from Peru and came to the University of Kansas in August of 2013. After she auditioned, she spent
Alejandra Villasante, who is playing Johanna, is making her debut with this show and said she thinks it's a powerful story.
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time doing research on Orozco and her story by reading articles and watching videos regarding the case.
"I feel like it's something I can honor and I feel like it's a really powerful story to tell and it's worth it," Villasante said.
"What I like to say about the theatre is that it gives voice to the voiceless."
TLALOC RIVAS Playwright and Director
Villasante said does her best to get into character by using her compassion and empathy to connect with characters on a deeper level.
Villasante said she is able to put herself in the place of the
character and work her way from the inside out, which gives herself the opportunity to find more natural ways to portray the character, their objectives, actions and obstacles.
"With Johanna, even though this isn't something that I have directly experienced, I kind of connected with her through the fact that we as human beings, especially women, all suffer from some kind of assault or form of harassment," Villasante said.
She also is able to identify with the amount of support Orozco's family offered her during the time of the shooting.
"I won't be able to exactly be her, but I want to be able to portray her faithfully as a character and most of all, the ideas that she has, what she wants
SEE PLAY PAGE 8
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