LACC Theatre Academy presents The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs by Ana Caro
LACC Theatre Academy revives a lost classic “COURAGE TO RIGHT A WOMAN’S WRONGS”
EAST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA. The Los Angeles City College Theatre Department will perform the work of classical playwright Ana Caro in “The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs”. The performances will be on the outdoor stage at Los Angeles City College’s Camino Theater on Thursday, October 26, Friday Oct 27th and Saturday October 28th a at 7pm with a matinee on Saturday October 28th at 2pm. Admission is free.
The play, an imaginative skewering of the Don Juan myth, sees Don Juan’s former conquest Doña Leonor seeking to restore her tarnished honor. Masquerading as a man named Don Leonardo, she follows him across Europe to enact a risky revenge plan full of passionate poetry, sword-fighting, and cloak-and-dagger scheming.
This charming yet underproduced play is one of only two that survive from playwright and poet Ana Caro. Born a slave in 16th century Spain, Caro rose above her background to become a well-respected playwright in the flourishing theatrical scene of Spain’s Golden Age. Despite her gender, Caro’s work was included in compendiums alongside that of masters like Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderon de la Barca. Courage demonstrates both her rich knowledge of dramatic conventions and her unique relationship to them as a woman bound by the double standards of the time. Though the modernity of her work is striking, the cast is sure that this play will find its place among the greatest writers of the classical dramatic canon. Sam Yang, who plays Prince Ludovico, agrees: “Courage is a timeless story that plays with gender roles in order to challenge the norms of societal systems that oppress those who have no choice but to live in them.”
This delightful and thought-provoking play has been lauded by the Maryland Theater Guide for the “sly and delicate balancing act” it pulls off. “The Courage to Right a Woman’s Wrongs is full of adventure, swordplay, sexy love triangles, and intrigue,” says director Clarinda Ross-Gress. “To me this play is every bit as good in terms of plot and language as the best of Shakespeare.”
The production is adapted and directed by Prof. Clarinda Ross-Gress who directs the third-year Advanced Actors’ Workshop at the LACC Theatre Academy. COURAGE stars students Cara Schell Sandefur as Leonor/Leonardo, Laura Bustamante as Estela, and Lucas Sheppe as Don Juan. The creative team includes fight choreographer Nicholas Kauffman, lighting designer John A. Garofalo, sound designer Rebecca Kessin, set designer Maureen Weiss, costume designer Clint Wells, and dramaturg/stage manager Emma Baker.
