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By Josh Perry
Hometown Weekly Staff
The Brown Box Theatre will be bringing its newest night of short plays to the Atlantic Wharf in Boston at the end of February. The new series, “BOXER SHORTS II: From Water to Dust/DeAgua al Polvo” features four plays from Latin-American playwrights and each will be performed in English and Spanish.
The theatre is working with its sister company, Icaro Teatro from Queretaro, Mexico, to produce the four plays and will eventually bring the production to Mexico for performances this spring.
Needham native, and 2009 Needham High graduate, Talia Curtin has been working with the Brown Box Theatre Company, which has bases in Boston and in Maryland, since being hired as marketing and literary director in the summer of 2014.
Curtin, who studied theatre at Connecticut College, was drawn to the company’s mission of bringing theater to communities that may be lacking access to it.
“We produce free performances in unconventional spaces,” she explained. “It has been incredibly rewarding to tour with this company and meet the communities that are so appreciative of our work.”
She has also relished the opportunity to work on the new production and creating a performance out of four different plays that, according to Curtin, deal with themes of memory, repentance, and the afterlife.
“We have taken four independent plays and combined them into one theatrical event, which has provided a very exciting opportunity for collaboration between directors, designers, and actors, as we are creating an entirely new piece,” Curtin said.
Curtin has a long history with theater stretching back to her first performance as a munchkin in a production of “The Wizard of Oz,” which was staged by Needham Community Theatre. She also performed in school productions and the St. Joseph’s Summer Theatre.
It was not until college that she found her passion for directing.
“I took a directing class and fell in love,” she said. “From there, I knew that I wanted to direct and I have been lucky enough to have some wonderful opportunities to do so.”
BOXER SHORTS II provides a unique set of challenges for the director. Not only are four plays being integrated into one performance, but it is also being performed in two languages. Despite the actors being bilingual, there are still some hurdles for Curtin to navigate.
“This piece in particular demands a great deal of creative problem solving,” she remarked. “I need to seamlessly integrate four plays into one cohesive piece, replicate it in Spanish, and fit it all into a few suitcases!”
While it may be difficult, Curtin sees a number of positives coming from the effort.
“In working with both languages, we have had the opportunity to enhance our understanding of the script in a more complex way,” she said.
“As we continue to work and integrate more Spanish into the rehearsal room, I am looking forward to continuing these discoveries, and I am excited to be able to transcend language lines and share this work with such a wide audience base.”
Brown Box Theatre will open its Boston performances on Friday, Feb. 26. For the full list of free shows and for more information about the plays being performed, visit www.brownboxtheatre.org.
Josh Perry is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
