Cal State East Bay Department of Theater & Dance to Stage Original Work May 1-2; May 8-10
Image by Daniel Banatao
- April 24, 2015
California State University, East Bay's Department of Theatre & Dance will stage "A House Divided: La Casa de Bernarda Alba," an original dance theater production May 1-2 and May 8-10. The May 1-2 and May 8-9 performances will begin at 8 p.m.; the May 10 performance will be at 2 p.m. All performances will be in the University Theatre on the Hayward campus.
"A House Divided: La Casa de Bernarda Alba," is based on a play by Spanish author Federico Garcia Lorca. Themes of intergenerational conflict, society vs. individual, and the nature of love and longing run throughout the performance.
"Anyone who has experienced love and loss and the desire to break from tradition to follow their heart will find powerful territory in this production," said Associate Professor Nina Haft, who is directing and choreographing the production in partnership with Katrena Cohea, a senior dance student serving as assistant choreographer. Additional choreography has been created by students Charles Williams, Megan Briceño, and by all of the dancers. Music will include classic flamenco, Spanish guitar and other selections.
"A House Divided: La Casa de Bernarda Alba" incorporates contemporary and flamenco dance, physical theater, and excerpts from the original play. It is based on one of Lorca's most famous plays, the last in his "Rural Trilogy," which critiques Spanish bourgeois society and challenges the traditional roles set for women, as well as ideas about class and religion.
The language of the play is direct and raw. It explores the lives of one family of women in rural Spain in the 1930s. Matriarch Bernarda Alba has just declared an interminably long period of mourning for her deceased husband. Her five daughters yearn for love and life beyond the confines of their strict upbringing. Family servants witness the hypocrisy of this wealthy family while doing their best to remain protected from the tragedy that inevitably strikes this household of passionate women.
Lorca, now considered a cultural treasure of his country, was executed in 1936 by Spanish Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War.
Cal State East Bay's production of "A House Divided" is performed by members of the CSU East Bay Dance Ensemble. For more information about the production, call Nina Haft at 510-885-4898 or email nina.haft@csueastbay.edu.
Tickets are on sale at .