Radio Aluna Teatro

When you’re making a story that’s meant to be for community, I think it’s important that they’re also involved in the development process of that so they can also respond to what’s being made - Cheyenne Scott    Welcome back to Caminantes! In this series you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go.  This week’s episode will feature 3 artists participating in the upcoming Weesageechak Begins to Dance: an annual development festival of new Indigenous work produced by our festival partners, Native Earth Performing Arts.  Listen to talented performer-creators Cheyenne Scott, Joelle Peters, and Brefny Caribou speak about how they approach developing new work - especially how joy and humour can be hard to find, but necessary!   Check out the Weesageechak Begins to Dance Festival, now in its 34th year! The festival will be presented virtually, and feature multiple artists exploring land-based cre

I think there’s been a lot of ‘it’s so good to be a perfectionist’ and actually, the toxic side of it that I came to in the last few years is that what you’re trying to cover a kind of shame, never wanting to appear wrong, or never being misunderstood. So it’s actually more about trying to not be something than to be something.   - Rosa Labordé    Welcome back to Caminantes! In this series you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go. The next series of episodes will feature artists who have been part of past CAMINOS festivals, and their insights on new work development!  This week features playwright, screenwriter, director and actress Rosa Labordé. We talk about her essentials for developing new work, her love for audiences, and she shares insights on producing the first theatre show at one of Toronto’s newest theatres (inside the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health!).  Catch the last t

There’s a piece of me that lives in poem and it won’t be translated, so it translates to pictures.   -  Sof Rodriguez   Welcome back to Caminantes! In this series you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go.    In this week’s episode we talk about playing with time and technology with Ximena Huizi and Alejandra Higuera, and what happens when cultures connect and split with Sebastian Marziali and Liz Der and Sof Rodriguez from the Mala Collective.    Learn more about their presentations in CAMINOS:  The Mermaid Project from Ximena Huizi Caminos Series Oracle Cards from Alejandra Higuera  Quiero-Estar-Contigo from the Mala Collective (Liz Der and Sof Rodriguez) Se Forman Grietas // Crack Form from Sebastian Marziali  See the whole 2021 CAMINOS Festival line-up! Theme music is ‘Dejaron Huellas’ by Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music. Listen to the full track here!     All Radio Alu

When we speak the truth there is incredible creative energy in that, that sometimes we don’t even realize as artists until we actually have the courage to stand in that truth and breathe it and say ‘this is what I got, this is me’. Then everything starts sparking because we’ve taken the lid off.  - Anita La Selva    Welcome back to Caminantes! In this series you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go.  In this week’s episode we talk about the gifts of vulnerability with Anita la Selva and Sofía Ontiveros, and their dreams for the future with Jord Camp, Claren Grosz, Margarita Valderrama.     Learn more about their presentations in CAMINOS:  12 litres / 88 steps from Anita La Selva Universo de textos, pt. 1 - 6 from Sofía Ontiveros  PARTYPEOPLE from Jord+Liz  I love the smell of gasoline by Claren Grosz  One Perfect Day / Un Día Perfecto by Margarita Valderrama  See the whole 2021 CA

As Latinx people, we just live a different world. Our world is lush, our world is colourful, our world has vibrancy  - Heath V Salazar     Welcome back to Caminantes! In this series you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go.    In this week’s episode we talk about creating in secret languages with Heath V Salazar and B’atz ’Recinos, and feature a special convo between 3 of the festival’s Salvadoran artists, Aracely Reyes, Jessica Zepeda and María Escolán.   Learn more about their presentations in CAMINOS:  HAVOC from Heath V. Salazar  TAOS 2.0 from B’atz’ Recinos  Muñeca by Aracely Reyes  Sinvergüenzilla in First Kiss from Jessica Zepeda  La Mujer Fragmentada from María Escolán  See the whole 2021 CAMINOS Festival line-up!   Theme music is ‘Dejaron Huellas’ by Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music. Listen to the full track here!     All Radio Aluna Theatre episodes are in Spa

If the box is open and everything is awful and the world is awful, then, what do you do with that information? Do you hide, or do you doom scroll until your eyebrows fall out? Or do you choose to be hopeful sort of in spite of everything? - Lorena Torres Loiza    Welcome back to Caminantes! In this series you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go.    In this week’s episode we talk about the creative process, queer love, and performing live post lockdown with artists Yago Mesquita, Maria Paula Carreño, Renato Baldin, Lorena Torres Loiza and Martha Chaves.   Learn more about their presentations in CAMINOS:  A

We want to ask, 'what is dying?' As well as, 'what is emerging, and what will be born?' - Coman Poon, Triangle Collective Welcome back to Caminantes! In this series you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go.  In this week’s episode, we hear from festival artists Yulissa Campos, Olga Barrios, Coman Poon, Janis Mayers and Rhoma Spencer.  We’d also like to make note that in this episode, we discuss femicide and xenophobia.  Learn more about their presentations in CAMINOS:  Art & Life in Times of COVID from the Triangle Collective  Trapped from Yulissa Campos and Ay Caramba! Theatre  Login Password and Log Out from Rhoma Spencer  Park Life from Janis Mayers  See the whole 2021 CAMINOS Festival line-up!   Theme music is ‘Dejaron Huellas’ by Beny Esguerra and New Tradition Music. Listen to the full track here!     All Radio Aluna Theatre episodes are in Spanglish, English, or Spani

“At the end of the day we’re artists, and so we are creative people and that we can  absolutely come up with creative solutions to pretty much whatever we were faced with.” - Elizabeth Staples   Welcome to the first episode of Caminantes! Each week you’re invited behind the curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival and into the creative minds of this year’s ‘Caminantes’, those who are making the path as they go.  This week we hear from festival artists Sofi Gudiño, Elizabeth Staples, Brefny Caribou and Bruce Gibbons-Fell.    Learn more about their shows in CAMINOS:  TAURA from Inamorata Dance Collective  PARTYPEOPLE by Jord+Liz A Redacted Communist Manifesto for Children by Bruce Gibbons-Fell  Savage is a Word in the English Dictionary by Brefny Caribou  See the whole 2021 CAMINOS Festival line-up!   Theme music is ‘Dejaron Huellas’ by Beny Esguerra and New Tradition. Listen to the full track here!    "Al final del día, somos artistas, somos personas creativas y podemos encontrar soluciones creativa

“Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar… Wanderer, there is no path, you create it as you walk…”  - Antonio Machado   An all new season of Radio Aluna Theatre starts next week! From September to November, we’ll be bringing you behind the live and digital curtain of the 2021 CAMINOS festival, and into the creative minds of this year’s Caminantes. ‘Caminantes’ means wanderers, or those who are making the path as they go. As we prepare for the festival opening night, you dear listeners are invited into conversations between some of the brave pathfinders and path creators - the artists, the audience, festival staff, our community members. We will be releasing mini episodes every week, starting Wednesday September 6th.    So join us for Season 6 of Radio Aluna Theatre - the CAMINANTES edition! New episodes every Wednesday, from September to November.   Learn more about the 2021 CAMINOS Festival!    “Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar…”  - Antonio Machado ¡La próxima semana comie

"Translation is an exercise in not having the right answer.”  -Paula Zelaya Cervantes   In this Conversatorio, we explore translation and adaptation of language in a 2021 context. We invited Paula Zelaya Cervantes, a Mexican translator, adapter, and writer, to reflect on 2 case studies of contemporary multi-lingual theatre from the Aluna archives - Aluna’s 2016 Interpretation Lab, and our recent Studio Series presentation of Clean / Limpia.    In order of voices you will hear, the speakers are:   Maria Constanza Guzman -  translator, translation scholar and Associate Professor in the School of Translation and the Department of Hispanic Studies at Glendon College, York University. Paula Zelaya Cervantes - Mexican playwright, director and translator. Translation and adaptation for Clean / Limpia.  Annike Andre-Barrett - Multilingual Communication Facilitator, and dedicated language professional with over 12 years in medical, legal, and community interpreting.   Elena Basile - poet, artist, translation

“A couple of years ago, we viewed opportunities as ‘they’re doing us a favour, you’re so kind to let us perform’. We’re now getting to this point where we’re like ‘hold on a minute, we’re the ones who fill your whole club.’ …Those spaces are for us, and that’s it. We are the party.”   - Miss Velvetine   This week’s guest is Miss Velvetine, “the Purple Diamond”, a classic Mexican beauty with modern pop sensibilities who is here to rock your world and cumbia their way into your heart. She is a drag queen, singer, dancer, actor, comedian, and icon.    In this interview we talk about her experiences as a drag artist in Monterrey Nuevo León, how important it is to get paid for being the party, and how she created her new music genre, Dragteño!    Show Notes:  Follow Miss Velvetine on Instagram, and subscribe to her amazing YouTube channel!  La Más Draga, a drag reality competition show streamed on YouTube and based on the format of the show RuPaul's Drag Race, adapted to Mexican pop culture. Aesthetic in

“¿Cómo regresa uno a un país que ya no te quiere?”   Bienvenidos al Studio Series: experimentaciones narrativas de audio creadas por algunos de los artistas de teatro más interesantes de nuestra comunidad TransAmericana en Canadá. Esta presentación también está disponible en Inglés.    Es un placer presentar El Retorno / I Return, una obra de teatro escrita y adaptada para audio por Mariló Núñez.   "En 1979, una familia chilena, viviendo en exilio político en Canadá, viajó a Europa del Este con sus hijas  pequeñas en busca de  prepararse para “El Plan de Retorno”, un esfuerzo internacional para derrocar la dictadura de Pinochet. El Retorno / I Return es una obra que explora la familia, el exilio y la revolución y viaja al corazón de la historia de América Latina.”   El Retorno / I Return se desarrolló con el apoyo del Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, y el Riser Project de Why Not Theatre.  Esta grabación fue producida por Aluna Theatre.   Margarita Valderrama como Marisol Francisco Tru

“How does one return to a country that doesn't want you anymore?”   Welcome to the Studio Series: experiments in audio storytelling from some of the most exciting theatre artists from our TransAmerican community in Canada.    We’re proud to present El Retorno/I Return, a play written and adapted for audio by Mariló Núñez.    In 1979, a Chilean family, in political exile in Canada, traveled to Eastern Europe with their young children to prepare for The Return Plan, an international effort to topple the Pinochet dictatorship. El Retorno/I Return explores family, exile and revolution, and journeys into the heart of Latin American history.   This presentation is also available in Spanish.   El Retorno/I Return was produced with the support of the OAC, Toronto Arts Council, Riser Project (Why Not Theatre). This version was produced by Aluna Theatre.    Margarita Valderrama as Marisol Francisco Trujillo as Jaime Marilo Nunez as Veronica Sofia Rodriguez and Carolina Augusto Bitter as Chinito

“You have to allow yourself to be a bad writer to become a better writer. That’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned.” - Mariló Núñez   This week’s guest is Chilean Canadian playwright and director, and Aluna’s playwright in residence, Mariló Núñez! Mariló is based in Hamilton, Ontario, and is the 2018 recipient of the Hamilton Arts Award for Established Theatre Artist. She was the founding Artistic Director of Alameda Theatre Company, a company dedicated to developing the new work of Latinx Canadian playwrights, and is currently obtaining her Ph D. in Theatre & Performance Studies from York University. She is also the writer of our next Studio Series presentation, El Retorno/I Return, a play that explores family, exile and revolution, and journeys into the heart of Latin American history.    In this interview we talk about Latinx identity in North America, the creation method of María Irene Fornés, writing race as a playwright, and her insights on developing a writing practice  Aluna Theatre’s Artistic

"So this concept of the class clown versus wanting community ... it’s this joy to want to connect. And I think that people who experience that when they’re younger go on to work in culture and arts.” - Aba Amuquandoh   Our guests this week are the hosts of Nostalgique, Aba Amuquandoh and Ben Sosa Wright!   Nostalgique is a podcast where Ben and Aba reminisce about (and sometimes drag) the pop stars of our youth. If you love pop, nostalgia, and kikiing, then this is the pod for you! Aba is an actress, writer, stand up comedian and sketch performer. Ben is a stand-up comedian, writer, and improviser from Toronto, and a self-identified “Taurus Icon”. Together they make a hilarious podcast you should absolutely check out!    In this episode, we talk about the power of nostalgia, how gossip can be life-giving, the most shocking celebrity fact they’ve learned while doing their podcast, and they also drop some awesome advice on getting into comedy.    Monica recorded an episode all about Selena Quintanilla o

“Se me había olvidado cómo era mi mundo, el de verdad. Porque soy la encargada de que el Paraíso sea perfecto” Bienvenidos al Studio Series: experimentaciones narrativas de audio creadas por algunos de los artistas de teatro más interesantes de nuestra comunidad TransAmericana en Canadá. Esta presentación también está disponible en Inglés.  Limpia es una obra en proceso de Christine Quintana, con una traducción y adaptación de Paula Zelaya Cervantes, en colaboración con Neworld Theatre. Este episodio ha sido adaptado al español. Cuando Limpia, la obra de teatro sea producida será presentada en un formato bilingüe, en Inglés y español. "Los recuerdos, las fantasías y la realidad se mezclan en una noche lluviosa en un resort de Cancún. Adriana, la gerente del hotel, todavía está afrontando la noticia de la muerte de su padre. Sarah, una invitada a una boda hospedada en el hotel, está siendo atormentada por eventos del pasado. Cuando un  incidente fortuito las conecta, los ecos de sus pasados y futuros imagi

‘You are not my fucking friend.’ Welcome to the Studio Series: experiments in audio storytelling from some of the most exciting theatre artists from our TransAmerican community in Canada. This presentation is also available in Spanish.  We’re proud to present Clean, a work in process written by Christine Quintana, translation and adaptation by Paula Zelaya Cervantes, in collaboration with Neworld Theatre. This episode is an experiment: it has been adapted for an English audience. When produced, Clean will be performed onstage in both English and Spanish. Memories, fantasies, and reality mix on a rainy night at a Cancun resort. Adriana, a hotel floor manager, is reeling from the news of her father’s death. Sarah, a visiting wedding guest, is haunted by events from the past. When a chance incident connects them, the echoes of their pasts and imagined futures collide with the present, in the false paradise of the resort. Clean was developed with the support of Neworld Theatre (Vancouver, BC), the Tarragon Th

“We’re all treaty people. I do believe that, because all of our ancestors signed this agreement together. So it’s our responsibility, it’s not a one sided-agreement, to learn about the treaties and to be able to speak about them.”  - Falen Johnson   In this Conversatorio, we present a discussion on performance, interpretation, and making treaty from the 2014 RUTAS International Multi-Arts Festival. Originally part of a festival conference event called Restaging Treaty: Embodied Memories, Written Records, and Living Archives, the event started with a reading of a new play commission by Falen Johnson on the subject of Treaty 9, and was followed by this panel discussion.   In order of voices you will hear, the panelists are:   Sasha Kovacs - artist, performance scholar, core/founding member of Ars Mechanica, and Ph.D. candidate at University of Toronto. Reverend Grafton Anton - Wolf Clan from the Onaida of the Thames First Nation, former Elder in Residence at the University of Toronto’s First Nation House,

“This blood embodied work is to say that there is so much creativity within you that if you slowed down, went back to the earth, did land creation methodologies, work will come to you. For me, I want to conjure from that place.” - Kim Senklip Harvey   This week’s guest is Kim Senklip Harvey, a proud Nation member of the Syilx, and Tsilhqot'in Nations with Ancestral ties to the Dakelh, Secwepemc and Ktunaxa communities. She is a Fire Creator, Indigenous Theorist and Cultural Evolutionist who uses a variety of modalities including playwriting, tv writing, blog and podcasting to work towards the equitable treatment of her peoples. In this episode we talk about Kim’s Fire Creation and Salish Earthing creation methodologies, her thesis work, healing lodges, and what it means to be a cultural evolutionist.    SHOW NOTES: Kim’s podcast, The Indigenous Cultural Evolutionist   Kamloopa: An Indigenous Matriarch Story by Kim Senklip Harvey. The published play is available at Talonbooks!   Want to learn more abou

"Would you still love me if I had a really dark thing inside of me?"   Welcome to the Studio Series: experiments in audio storytelling from some of the most exciting theatre artists from our TransAmerican community in Canada. First you’ll hear a work in process, then a short talk by the artist on their creative process.    DiablaDivina is about a young girl (Niña) and her tumultuous relationship with the Virgin Mary (Maria). Maria guides Niña through her memories to shed light on Niña's shame filled past. Niña learns that there is more to Maria than the woman who lives in the painting in her bedroom. Content Warning: Mature Content, Physical and Sexual Abuse.   J & A Collective is founded by multidisciplinary artists Jeysa Caridad and Adriana Moraes-Mendoza. They create and share original, culturally inspired stories engaged by female narratives. As a collective, they were residents of Factory Theatre’s Foundry where they completed the first draft of their co-written play, DiablaDivina. This piece