Shipwright Sessions – Santiago Guzman

From published dramatic poetry to still-in-development musicals, the Shipwright Sessions give you the opportunity to hear excerpts of these works from the playwright themselves combined with an up-close look at the writer through mini-interviews led by Ship’s artistic director Richie Wilcox. This season, the Shipwright Sessions, which are free to the public and entirely online, will feature Santiago Guzman, Sharon King-Campbell, and Jiv Parasram.

Santiago Guzmán (he/him/they) is a writer, performer, director and dramaturge originally from Metepec, Mexico, now based in St. John’s, NL. He is the Artistic Director of TODOS Productions, the Artistic Associate for Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre and General Manager for Neighbourhood Dance Works in St. John’s, NL.

Santiago’s work aims to put local, under-represented narratives and characters on the frontlines, whilst inviting audiences to appreciate the vibrancy of Newfoundland and Labrador from a diverse perspective.

He is a member of Playwrights Canada Press’s inaugural editorial committee.

Santiago’s work is very gay, very brown, and very real. Santiago believes that representation matters.

Title: La Tlanchana (Working Title)

Synopsis: After a long bureaucratic process, the cities of Metepec, Estado de México and St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador have finally become sister cities. To celebrate this milestone in NL’s history, the CEO of the provincial art museum, Mr. R. Whitbourne, decides to buy and import the sculpture of La Tlanchana, an emblematic piece of art about a pre-Hispanic deity that resembles a mermaid, which has adorned Metepec’s downtown plaza for decades.

On the day of the inauguration, local activists Marina and Lisa rally against the purchase of the sculpture due to its significance to the Mexican community and culture, but Mr. R. Whitbourne stands confident in his decision to acquire it and reveals… that the La Tlanchana has gone missing!

What would happen if the spirit of this pre-Hispanic Mexican goddess still lives inside the sculpture? How will this affect the relationship between Metepec and St. John’s? And most importantly, where is La Tlanchana?

This is a dramatic essay about the playwright’s relationship to the lands he currently lives in, and the lands that saw him grow.

https://www.facebook.com/events/532929025056713/