Austin based playwright, Raul Garza, penned Dos Pocitos, a bilingual comedy that is running for the last weekend and ends today. Set in 2026, the land we now know as South Texas is a territory known as "Texaco" in the future.
Several in the cast are local actors cast in previous bilingual productions, including playwright/actor Rupert Reyes and Donato Rodriguez, but Marissa Castanon- Hernandez's character is the scene stealer for me. I do not have her biography to mention what other productions she has been a part of, as I do not recognize her from other recent productions in Austin. She is the one I was more engaged by in this script and for the most part, her lines seemed to have the audience laughing the most. I found some of the lines in her script humorous, but a few were very predictable and a stereotype of what a South Texas strong willed woman is thought to be. Some of those stereotypical lines begin to wear thin and lose their humor.
If an audience member does not have enough of a description of the characters ahead of time or perhaps misses something the actor states, there is opportunity for the audience to get lost. The disconnect I found was with the person who appeared out of nowhere to the two gentlemen conducting research and revisiting their past. Having missed any mention of a lost person previously by someone in the play, I did not remain engaged or understand why the two gentlemen proceeded to behave the way they did regarding his lack of response.
At times, different audience members laughed at lines that I (or others near me) did not find humorous, so the laughter was not consistent across all audience members as the humor may have been intended. It is not clear if this is something from the script or something the director had a hand in.
The play can be seen at the Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Road in Austin. Please arrive early to secure a seat, because a line does form for the small theater. It can be "hectic" in securing a seat close to the start of the show, but the experience should be a welcoming one by the folks in the lobby for everyone, especially patrons and producers of the arts who are making a contribution to support the arts in Austin, cash or check.
Liz Lopez
Cine y mas
Several in the cast are local actors cast in previous bilingual productions, including playwright/actor Rupert Reyes and Donato Rodriguez, but Marissa Castanon- Hernandez's character is the scene stealer for me. I do not have her biography to mention what other productions she has been a part of, as I do not recognize her from other recent productions in Austin. She is the one I was more engaged by in this script and for the most part, her lines seemed to have the audience laughing the most. I found some of the lines in her script humorous, but a few were very predictable and a stereotype of what a South Texas strong willed woman is thought to be. Some of those stereotypical lines begin to wear thin and lose their humor.
If an audience member does not have enough of a description of the characters ahead of time or perhaps misses something the actor states, there is opportunity for the audience to get lost. The disconnect I found was with the person who appeared out of nowhere to the two gentlemen conducting research and revisiting their past. Having missed any mention of a lost person previously by someone in the play, I did not remain engaged or understand why the two gentlemen proceeded to behave the way they did regarding his lack of response.
At times, different audience members laughed at lines that I (or others near me) did not find humorous, so the laughter was not consistent across all audience members as the humor may have been intended. It is not clear if this is something from the script or something the director had a hand in.
The play can be seen at the Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Road in Austin. Please arrive early to secure a seat, because a line does form for the small theater. It can be "hectic" in securing a seat close to the start of the show, but the experience should be a welcoming one by the folks in the lobby for everyone, especially patrons and producers of the arts who are making a contribution to support the arts in Austin, cash or check.
Liz Lopez
Cine y mas
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