Madi then shared printed lyrics of “Noche de paz” (“Silent Night”). The lyrics were typed in both English and Spanish, but everyone was encouraged to try singing both versions as a group for the final sharing. Immediately, I saw some apprehensive faces and worried that people would lose interest in participating. Thanks to Madi’s guidance on pronunciation and the strong trust we’d fostered with each other, even those who had expressed reservations sang softly under their breaths. Others simply hummed along, and one of the group members, a teenage boy, shared his guitar skills with us and learned the chord progression for the song. In the span of about thirty minutes, we had learned (or reviewed in some cases) a song in two different languages and formed new friendships along the way.
Once we were confident with our offering, Madi brought us back to the lobby to reconvene with the other three groups. Nervous yet excited to see if the “performance” would come together, we found seats in the theatre. The lights dimmed, and Oscar Franco, the “receptionist” (who was really the director), gave an opening speech. The actor/facilitators shared the Indigenous origins of La Pastorela in Tenochtitlan, Mexico, and how performances were exploited by Franciscan friars who forced them to perform their plays in Spanish with Christian sentiments. Then, actor/facilitator and high school theatre teacher Juan Leyva called upon his acting group. The audience roared in support of their fellow community members who put on costume pieces and accessories. Juan read parts of the story of La Pastorela while the group acted according to Juan’s readings. The dance group followed, and next came the singing, and finally the art group placed the ornaments on the set while the singing group continued to hum “Noche de Paz.”
On the night I attended, a facilitator selected me to present a monologue to reflect on the evening. They invited me to fill in the blanks, “Including tonight, I have seen ____ versions of La Pastorela…” and to think about how it felt to participate and witness loved ones participating in the production. I shared how moved I had felt seeing community members engage in discussion despite language barriers. I shared, “Getting to watch the community, our community, share the Pastorela together tonight was heartening and inspiring.”
Teatro Vivo offered its audience the space to explore and construct knowledge together.
In this production, Teatro Vivo offered its audience the space to explore and construct knowledge together. I was surprised by the extent to which audiences were willing to engage in collective theatremaking without warning and with little prior experience. While not everyone may have been comfortable with this level of vulnerability, the script emphasized letting go of perfection, which fostered a natural willingness from the majority of the community. The facilitators prioritized interactions between audience members before working on the performance so that we felt comfortable learning and practicing in front of one another. They also referred to the final presentation as an “offering” to Baby Jesus, which reinforced togetherness as opposed to focusing on an individual’s performance.
Meanwhile, being in a supportive space gave audience members the opportunity to share talents that perhaps weren’t celebrated in other spaces. It was remarkable to see that shy teenage boy walk away so proud to have shared his gift with his parents and new friends, his community. I can only imagine that such a joyful, encouraging experience may have motivated other audience members to share their gifts in their own lives. La Pastorela 2022 was the true gift, from Teatro Vivo to the community, from the community to one another. I walked away feeling full and inspired.
