News Releases

Maria Antonia brings a world of mythical Afro-Cuban culture to Little Carib

For Release Upon Receipt - March 11, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – The Department of Creative & Festival Arts (DCFA) of The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine invites you to enter a dark and exotic world; a place where shadowy dangerous characters live; an island within an island from which you will never be able to leave. This is the world of Maria Antonia, being staged at the Little Carib Theatre from April 4 to 7, and 12 to 14, 2013 with 8pm nightly shows and Sunday shows beginning at 6pm.

As part of the requirements for the BA in Theatre Arts, Production II students of the DCFA are brought together as a company to perform in and produce a full-length play. Marvin George, part-time lecturer and co-lecturer for the course Production II said, “We are very fortunate to have Dr. Jorge Morejon – a Cuban-American dance lecturer at our department working on the production as both translator and director.” Under the guidance of Morejon, who translates, dramaturges and directs the play, Maria Antonia, the 1967 Cuban classic written by Eugenio Hernandez Espinosa will truly be brought to life.

Maria Antonia is the tragic story of an Afro-Cuban woman who defies the men, women, and traditions of her community in search of self and meaning. Through her trysts with men, her defiance of religion, and her thirst for change, she presents the struggles of a post-revolutionary Cuba – one where women are forced to re-evaluate their roles in society. It employs Afro-Cuban culture – for example Santeria, a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin; and Rumba dance – as part of its aesthetic. The play, therefore, presents itself as an opportunity, not simply for the teaching and honing of necessary skills in theatre, but for students to be exposed to Cuban culture and familiarize themselves with the history of the Caribbean region.

Syntyche Bishop and Tafar Lewis will share the the title role of Maria Antonia, with a supporting cast that includes Robert Noel, Kareem Durity, Ketisha Williams, Daniella Johnson, Dernelle Smith, Merlisia McIntosh, Khadein Benn, Lequacia Renee Quash-De Suze, Jarell Akini Alder, Adam Pascall, Lalonde Jay Ochoa, Marvin Dowridge, Ion-Iee Farmer, Marcus Waldron, Shanice James, Simeon Chris Moodoo, Kirsten Shade, Candace Sturge Dunbar, Gabrielle Jade Le Gendre, Alana Ash and Ruzanne Gustave.

General admission tickets are currently available for $100 with special rates for tertiary students with students ID at $50 and secondary students, $40 with student ID.  For further information and bookings call 663-2222, email mariaantoniauwi@gmail.com or follow the production on Twitter @MariaAntoniaUWI.

 

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About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

 

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