@masterraalkivictorieux Master Ra’al Ki Victorieux

Discover the depth of “Los Figurantes” (the extras) by Sanchis Sinisterra! Presented by Arturo Nava 🎭 A play that challenges protagonism in theater. #Theater #Culture 🎉✨ https://wp.me/p3JLEZ-8dT

I originally published the following article in 2006, under the pseudonym Iris México. It was published through “Lengua lengua”, an electronic newsletter and contemporary art blog from arT&+. Documenting previous publications is part of the digitalization of Atma Unum’s archive.

Through “Los Figurantes,” José Sanchis Sinisterra asks us, “Are we condemned to the plural?” Crisis of the protagonists, social catharsis, psychological discourses, existential emptiness and sometimes… theatrical. The direction is by Ricardo Ramírez Carnero and the scenic concept by Arturo Nava. The piece was selected in the 2005 Call for Proposals by the Teatro Salvador Novo and Mexico en Escena, and is currently in the program at the National Center for the Arts.

The fifth lady, the ninth conspirator, three monks, and many other “background” characters are the protagonists who welcome us and take over the play. The dictionary illustrates us regarding the word figurante, figuranta: Theater extra, often used in the masculine form. Sanchis Sinisterra wrote a text in 1981 that he considers the germ of this work: “Who are those anonymous and dark beings that the playwright carelessly throws into the arena of action? Without even bothering to give them a name, number, or voice; he makes them wander as dazed by the plot, opaque lumps, shadows that drift alongside the incandescence of others, the real children of his fantasy: the protagonists (…) Their implacable destiny is forgetfulness, but not just at the end, when the curtain falls, but from almost their very appearance, since their presence has no other remedy than to rise at the border of their absence.”

Being an extra in theater or in life? A deaf or mute witness to great actions and reasons. Perhaps, the actor or actress, or the secretary, the policeman, the street sweeper come close to the stage of art or the everyday life with great dreams that keep them there, as an anonymous janitor, in the stories of the Theaters of the World. It is from this inhabited point, probably filled with frustration, loneliness, envy, that the idea of a rebellion arises so that the gray extras take the theater, lock the protagonists in a dressing room and put their skills to the test to “figure”; to stop being “background” and become “figures.”

However, this idea that extras are gray and incapable of protagonism seems to me not a conclusive fatalism but an easily debunked thesis: To have a leading role, it is not necessary to look like Superman or Britney Spears; there are thousands of gray, ugly protagonists, à la Bukowski. A Kafkaesque bureaucrat is the center of his story, just as a street sweeper in Mexico City can capture Mexican society’s interest in an entertaining film. I once read that “The world begins and ends with me,” meaning that what surrounds us makes sense based on personal experience; it is only a matter of changing the focus of the story and then, who seems insignificant from one angle becomes the brightest light.

Two guards being paid to “hold the spear” entertain the audience with witty dialogues while trying to figure out why the play hasn’t started. Soon after, the audience witnesses the mentioned chaotic rebellion; almost twenty individuals attempt to agree on how to entertain the audience now that the theater is all theirs. Some want to go home with part of the set, others try to have sexual experiences swingers, and a flirtatious page quickly becomes the girlfriend of a handsome actor in jester makeup and playing a guard. The apparent disorder is the play itself, and the audience remains in their seats.

The author of the play, José Sanchis Sinisterra, a Spaniard, has been awarded the National Literature Prize in the category of Dramatic Literature for 2004 for his work ‘Terror y miseria en el primer franquismo’ (Terror and misery in the early Franco regime). The award was granted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. For Ibero-American writers, Spain is a key point to achieve the dissemination of their works. Thus, Sanchis and other Spaniards manage to exert a certain influence on the Hispanic-speaking theater scene. Some believe that the new axes of Latin American culture are shifting from Madrid to Los Angeles and Miami; of course, if we were dealing with a Tex-Mex playwright, the work would have a different character, probably a little less classical. Indeed, Madrid is becoming outdated, as those who dictate what is in are the ones who hold geopolitical power.

Arturo Nava, responsible for the scenic concept, announces that after 24 years of professional career, “Los Figurantes” marks his retirement as a set designer. On the Conaculta page, this statement can be found: “Conditions for making theater in Mexico are becoming increasingly difficult, so I have chosen to close a cycle and leave opportunities for new generations.” When I began this article, I found a link where Nava vented about the lack of professionalism among producers, commenting that often he ends up doing much more than set design, including accounting and production activities; however, now, no matter how much I google, that post does not appear, could it be Conaculta censoring criticism? Haha. For this play, in which Nava invested money and performs the lighting for each function, it is announced in the press; he devised a proposal that combines conventional set design with painted curtains and breakages, to spaces where light, metal structures, and black canvas create a contemporary atmosphere.

Ricardo Ramírez is the director of the play and a member of the National System of Creators. He mounted many works by Carballido in his beginnings. He studied a master’s degree in Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia, and developed a career as a public servant in Mexico. Ramírez comments that in 1996, he went through an unsatisfactory period: “my life wasn’t very organized: I was angry,” and decided to go study at the Fronterizo Theater in Barcelona, where he met José Sanchis Sinisterra and consequently mounted several works by this author: El Cerco de Leningrado, El Lector por Horas, and currently Los Figurantes, establishing a close professional partnership with the Spanish author.

The play lasts longer than an average film, and its rhythm is much slower. The onstage discourse becomes repetitive, as if with the material of a medium-length film, they present us with two films (for the two acts of the play). Among ramblings ranging from Freud blaming the mother for the lack of courage of an elderly man to renew himself, to deeply existentially empty baroque theatrical presentations a la “Lost in Translation”… Everyone wants to be found, although everyone may have to dance in their underwear at the end of the play and seek a “judgment day” effect. Truthfully, I greatly appreciate the underwear scene, as it lightened the excessive pomp and grandiosity beforehand and allowed me to enjoy the anatomy of the performers, well, of one in particular, young and gallant, although with slightly loose undies, haha. For my male companion, the focus was on an actress who, in her underwear, showcased her sexy pregnancy.

In a contemporary society accustomed to the speed of information, art theater faces the challenge of selling quality and renewing fictions in aesthetic and artistic terms. Although “Los Figurantes” is a platform supported by the National System of Creators 2004, Mexico en Escena Program, the Center for the Arts, Conaculta, and the Teatro Salvador Novo 2005 Call for Proposals, allowing students to gain experience with the medium, which is positive, the question remains: is this an example of the best of Mexican theater? Are we still colonized by the castiza pomp and discussing outdated philosophies? My answer is no; I believe that there is current Mexican theater on par with the best international theater; however, institutional awards favor the more conservative strands of the scene.

Original publication:

Iris México. (February 22, 2006) The existential discontent of the extras. Lengua lengua, electronic newsletter and blog on contemporary art. ArT&+

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