Legends of Wind and Fire

Express Childrens Theatre
446 Northwest Mall, Houston Texas
Phone 713-682-5044

PATRICIA SILVER
Executive Director
www.expresstheatre.com

Presents

LEGENDS OF WIND AND FIRE

(L-R) Nicholas Lewis, Noel Rodriguez and Nayeli Escamilla perform in LEGENDS OF WIND AND FIRE at Express Childrens Theatre located at 446 Northwest Mall, Houston Texas. Photo courtesy of Express Childrens Theatre.

Legends of Wind and Fire

Saturdays April 20, 27 through May 4, 11 and 18, 2013 at 2:00pm

Written by Edith Pross

Directed by Detria Ward

Interview with the Cast of Legends of Wind and Fire

Express Childrens Theatre

Interviews conducted by Eli Key-Tello e.keytello@gmail.com
And Theresa Pisula Theresa@HoustonTheatre.com
April 20, 2013

Legends of Wind & Fire, is a bi-lingual (English/Spanish) retelling of classic Argentinian and Brazilian fables, told by Millartray and Mapú, two rambunctious Native American youth. Together, the spirited cousins take audiences on a journey through the Southern Cone of South America. The cast transforms into a lively cast of animal characters, to illustrate four myths: How Winter Was Born, The Legend of Treng-Treng & Kai-Kai, Why Penguins Do Not Fly and The Quest for Fire. Rich with culture, music and fun, these classic fables not only satisfy age-old curiosities, but also explore the timeless values of cooperation, sharing, selflessness and the value of friendship.

The Tehuelche legend of How Winter Was Born is the story of the powerful hero Elal and his council of the self-proclaimed "speediest Patagonian ostrich," a soft-spoken Patagonian hare and a sensible but exceptionally slow tortoise, working together, to decide just how long winter should be. The Legend of Treng-Treng & Kai-Kai is the story of how Treng-Treng, a huge South American serpent saved the Mapuche people from the mischief of fellow serpent, Kai-Kai, who is using his long tail to stir the waters and flood their native land. The Tehuelche legend of Why Penguins Do Not Fly, brings light to how the penguin lost its ability to fly, but gained a multitude of friends, while swimming with the fish! The Quest for Fire is a popular legend, common to the Wichís and Matacos natives, which tells the tale of The Great Papa-Mirí and Curorrú the frog working together to outsmart the selfish jaguar, which is hiding all of the fire from the cold and hungry native people.

Legends of Wind and Fire was written by Edith Pross and directed by Detria Ward. The talented cast includes: Nicholas Lewis, Nayeli Escamilla and Noel Rodriquez. The stunning set was created by Samatha Calkins. Costumes were designed by Shirley Whitmore and the animal masks were created by Richard Solis and Rebecca Narrowe.

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Eli Key-Tello: Please tell us about the part that you’re playing…..

Nicholas Lewis: Actually I play several parts. The main part is a little Indian boy named Mapu. He is the cousin of Millartray and they are the two that are telling the stories from the Southern Cone. They’re about the ages of maybe 9 or 10 so they’re at each other. They go back and forth so there’s a little banter there. I also play Treng-Treng, one of the evil snakes as well as the jaguar and Mara the hare. I play several characters, at least four.

Eli Key-Tello: What inspired you to be an actor?

Nicholas Lewis: Well, several things, it wasn’t just one. I’ve always been very expressive. I’ve always been into the arts. I guess the thing that inspired me to do it was my high school teacher Yvonne Dupree because I was always interested in it. I was always around it in Middle School. But it wasn’t until High School that I got really serious about it. She pushed me to do competitions. She was a theatre teacher but she didn’t teach high school theatre. She taught at a college level. She really brought you into it. She made you think. She made you become a thinking actor.

Eli Key-Tello: I can sort of understand that. And she pushed you to do competitions?

Nicholas Lewis: I started out doing poetry and prose UIL, reciting poetry, stories and things like that. Later on I got into one-act plays. It got real serious there. I love telling stories. I’ve always loved telling stories and what stories can do for people. It can teach people certain lessons. It can teach me certain lessons.

Eli Key-Tello: Are you from Houston originally?

Nicholas Lewis: Yes I am a native Houstonian. I was born here at Saint Joseph Hospital. I grew up in the third ward area. But I now stay in the southwest part of Houston.

Eli Key-Tello: What would you like to tell the Houston audience about this play?

Nicholas Lewis: One defining feature is that it is bilingual. It is a collection of stories from the Southern Cone. If they’re not familiar with the Southern Cone, it’s parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, all those places. And these are stories that they told from generation to generation. Like stories of how winter came to be and how fire came to man and why penguins can’t fly, you know (laughs). Some of them are funny but they’ve been passed down from generation to generation.

Eli Key-Tello: You know it’s interesting because I’m sort of doing some of that in my writing class in high school. We’re doing similar things like how did a giraffe get its long neck.

Nicholas Lewis: Or why things are the way it is today. Yeah. The best thing about the show is that it’s very colorful. The costumes are very elaborate.

Theresa: Where did you learn to speak Spanish?

Nicholas Lewis: I didn’t really. Actually, I had a very good teacher in a lady that came up and helped us with our Spanish bring the show together named Ms. Dominguez. And she helped me so much (laughs). One of the funny stories I always say, one of the Indian tribes where the stories come from is the Mapuche Indians. And you change one letter in the Spanish word and it totally changes the whole meaning. And I tried not to say “Mapaches”, which is like “Raccoons”. I don’t want to call these people raccoons.

Eli and Theresa: (Laughs).

Nicholas Lewis: That’s one of the funniest things because I would always say “Mapaches” instead of Mapuche (laughs). I don’t want to say that about the Mapuche tribe of the Southern Cone. That one little thing changed the whole line. I’m so scared I don’t want to call these people raccoons and they’ll be mad!

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About the Legends

Patagonia (in the Southern Cone of South America) is known for being a place where mysteries and strange things often happen. Argentinian Patagonia is rich not just in history but also in myths and legends, transmitted as an oral tradition passed from generation to generation.

The ancient inhabitants of Patagonia – mapuches, tehuelches, onas and yamanas – wanted to leave a testimony of the most significant moments of their history and the nature through stories which narrated important moments as the creation and the appearance of their gods but also how the rain, the snow or the wind was born. These are the protagonists of these latitudes.

Odysseys, stories, anecdotes from those who habited these lands are part of tradition and a chapter in the formation of the Patagonians memories.

The Tehuelche people are a collective name for some native tribes of Patagonia and the southern pampas region in Argentina and Chile. “Tehuelche” is a Mapudungun word meaning “Fierce People”. The Tehuelche people have a history of over 14,500 years.

The Tehuelche legend of How Winter Was Born is the story of the powerful hero Elal and his council of the self-proclaimed “speediest Patagonian ostrich,” a soft-spoken Patagonian hare and a sensible but exceptionally slow tortoise, working together, to decide just how long winter should be.

The Legend of Treng-Treng and Kai-Kai is the story of how Treng-Treng, a huge South American serpent saved the Mapuche people from the mischief of fellow serpent, Kai-Ka who is using his long tail to stir the waters, and flood their native land.

The Tehuelche legend of Why Penguins Do Not Fly, brings light to how the penguin lost its ability to fly, but gained a multitude of friends, while swimming with the fish!

The Quest for Fire is a popular legend, common to the Wichis and the Matacos natives, which tells the tale of The Great Papa-Miri and Curorru the frog working together to outsmart the selfish jaguar, which is hiding all of the fire from the cold and hungry native people.

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Eli Key-Tello: Can you please tell us about the part that you’re playing?

Nayeli Escamilla: I play four characters in this play. The main one is a little Indian girl from South America. Her name is Millartray. I also play Elal who is the chief commander of the animals of the people of Patagonia. I also play the whale. Lastly, I also play a turtle. The turtle is from the first story when they were trying to figure out how long winter should last. Those are my four characters.

Eli Key-Tello: What inspired you to become an actress?

Nayeli Escamilla: Ever since I was a little girl, I always knew I wanted to be an actress. I used to pull out dramas that would make my mom…..you know, these drama fits.

Theresa: (laughs) drama queen.

Nayeli Escamilla: What I like best about acting is that you can become a different person or animal or thing by just using your imagination. I like that fact about acting that you can become just whoever you want to if you want to play a doctor or a lawyer. Also it gives you the opportunity to bring out your inner child like in this play. It’s for children’s theatre and my character is a little girl. I think we all have a talent within us to allow our inner child to come out, the ability for us to do that.

Eli Key-Tello: Are you from Houston originally?

Nayeli Escamilla: Yes, I’ve lived here all my life.

Eli Key-Tello: What would you like the audience to know about this play?

Nayeli Escamilla: It’s a very fun play for everyone to enjoy, not just for children but adults alike. You should come! It’s a very fun play. It’s very visual. My fellow actors are very good. Nic plays a jaguar and Noel plays a snake. They both play snakes, but you know. It’s very colorful and you’ll have fun. So you should come and see it!

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About Express.... Express Children’s Theatre is Houston’s oldest and largest performing and arts education organization dedicated specifically to children and families. We are celebrating our 22nd year of creating and presenting professional, culturally diverse performing arts designed to educate, entertain and enrich young lives.

This season includes a wonderful array of innovative programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of Houston. With stories that excite the imagination and raise the spirit, these adaptations of classic tales bring our favorite fictional characters to life in outstanding theatre for children and those who are children at heart. Created and performed by Houston’s finest theatre artists, Express productions teach life lessons by looking at familiar themes in new ways. We strive to honor the curiosity and complexity of young minds and seek to engage and excite them as they learn and participate.

Express Theatre was founded in 1991 with two shows, four actors and a shoestring budget. Since that time, we have been the proud recipient of two Austin Circle of Drama Awards, three B. Iden Payne awards for children's theatre, and a cover story in Stage Directions magazine. The Children's Hilltop Theatre Festival produced at Miller Theatre each summer was named the 2010 Best Theatre Production for Children by the Houston Press. This season we will present over 300 performances reaching over 75,000 children in venues throughout Texas.

Express offers weekly performances at its 90 seat theatre in Northwest Mall (located between Hempstead Road and 18th Street, just off 610 Loop in Northwest Houston). Our Touring Series brings the magic and excitement of quality theatre directly to children in their schools and communities. We also present performances at Houston Community College's Heinen Theatre, and free performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre, as well as numerous Public Libraries and Community Centers.

Express Children’s Theatre is funded in part by Houston Endowment, Inc., The Meadows Foundation, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, The Wortham Foundation, Inc., The Brown Foundation, Inc., The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation, The Humphreys Foundation, Kinder Morgan Foundation, BBVA Compass, Target, Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance and Miller Theatre Advisory Board.

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Eli Key-Tello: Can you please tell us about the part that you’re playing?

Noel Rodriguez: Sure! I play four different animals. The first one, in chronological order, is a Pantagonian ostrich. Then it’s a snake called Treng-Treng. Then it’s a penguin. My last character is a frog. And then I make one tiny little appearance in the end as “myself” to come out and just say goodbye to the kids and bow. And that’s it!

Eli Key-Tello: What inspired you to become an actor?

Noel Rodriguez: I think it was my natural love and enjoyment for the written word. It started to morph and translate into speaking new words out loud and really finding not just my voice as a writer but my voice as a person.

Eli Key-Tello: Are you from Houston originally?

Noel Rodriguez: No, I’m originally from the exotic lands of South Texas, Brownsville particularly.

Eli Key-Tello: What would you like to tell the Houston audience about this play?

Noel Rodriguez: First of all, it’s a lot of fun. It’s for children of all ages whether you’re 5 or 55. Anybody regardless of whether they speak Spanish solely or if they speak English solely, the play is written in a way that anybody can understand it and anybody can come out and have fun with us.

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Express Theatre at Northwest Mall

Saturdays, April 20, 27, May 4, 11 & 18, 2013 @ 2:00pm,

For additional performance dates, please check the website www.expresstheatre.com

Miller Outdoor Theatre

Free performances

Tuesday, April 16 & Wednesday, April 17, 2013 @ 11:00am

Touring throughout the greater Houston area

April 1 - May 25, 2013

Express Theatre

446 Northwest Mall, Houston Texas USA

713-682-5044