The Argentine Open Theatre was an independent theatre movement in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Argentine Open Theatre was an independent theatre movement in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The theatre in Argentina had developed alongside the nation's emergence as a modern economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Independent and experimental theatre, however, had long endured in the shadows of commercial productions (for which Buenos Aires' Corrientes Avenue became particularly well known). Many of the playwrights prominent in this movement were also politically opinionated, and their plays' left-leaning subtext were frowned upon by powerful figures in the Argentine military and the publishing sector, alike. Increasing repression became a serious threat to artistic freedom in the years shortly before and during the country's last dictatorship. [1] [2]
Intimidation and pressure were eased somewhat in 1980, however, with the support of the relatively moderate Army Chief, General Roberto Viola. Playwright Osvaldo Dragún seized the opportunity to organize a new theatre movement, calling on fellow playwrights Roberto Cossa and Carlos Gorostiza, as well as renowned theatre actors Luis Brandoni, Jorge Rivera López and Pepe Soriano. They purchased a shuttered sparkplug factory on Santos Discépolo Way (a pedestrianized backstreet in the crowded Balvanera district of Buenos Aires) into the "Picadero Theatre." Honored by the presence and support of Nobel laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel and writer Ernesto Sábato, the group announced, in a May 12, 1981, press conference, the establishment of the Teatro Abierto Argentino - the "Argentine Open Theatre." [3] Sensitive both to the repressive climate and to the sharp economic crisis, playwright Carlos Somigliana penned the Open Theatre's mission statement, declaring that:
Being the theatre the cultural and social phenomenon that it is, we shall strive to recover the public at large with productions of great quality and modestly priced tickets. [3]
They premiered their first festival on July 28, 1981, featuring Cossa's Gris de ausencia (Pale of Absence), Dragún's Mi obelisco y yo (My Obelisk and Me), and Gorostiza's El acompañamiento (The Entourage) among the evening's repertoire. During an August 6 performance, however, three fire bombs were set off in the theatre, casting doubts on the company's viability (the incident remains one of Argentina's best-known "unsolved mysteries"). Sixteen prominent Buenos Aires theatres offered them their stages, however, and the Open Theatre relocated to the larger Tabaris Theatre, a Corrientes Avenue landmark known for its revue. The Open Theatre reopened two days later and its 1981 season ran until September 21, featuring 21 directors, over 150 cast and crew, and bringing together some 25,000 spectators. [1] Organizer Osvaldo Dragún declared that "today the open theatre belongs to the entire nation." [3]
The ongoing economic collapse and replacement of President Viola for the hard-line General Leopoldo Galtieri led the company to plan the 1982 season with more precautions. Playwrights were invited to submit works well in advance, and the repertoire was expanded to include works of experimental theatre. Playwright Ricardo Monti contributed to the effort by publishing the "Open Theatre Magazine," a quarterly publication. The magazine provided a forum for potential participants as much as it prudently kept authorities abreast of its developments. Other fund-raising efforts included a coffee-table book, Teatro Abierto 1981, which sold 8,000 copies. None of the participants accepted compensation beyond covering their personal expenses related to the event, and any surplus profits were returned to the struggling company's fund. [3]
The Open Theatre's 1982 season, whose slogan was "winning back the streets," opened in late September with Dragún's Al violador (To the Rapist); Eugenio Griffero's provocative look at gay life in Argentina, Príncipe azul (Blue Prince); and Somigliana's daring criticism of the military, Oficial primero ("Commissioned Officer"), among other works from 30 other directors. Controversy ensued, however, when a number of well-known directors' works were passed over, notably Pacho O'Donnell's; negative national sentiment on the heels of the disastrous Falklands War helped further dampen interest in the season, which closed in November. [1]
The 1983 season was produced in the Margarita Xirgu Theatre amid Argentina's imminent return to democracy, and its featured plays were more politically daring than those of the two previous seasons. Dragún's Hoy se comen al flaco (Today They'll Take the Skinny Guy) headlined the opening night on September 24. Banned by the dictatorship, murgas were included in the season as theatrical works. The carnival-like marches often paraded out of the theatre house, and included banned left-wing themes. [3] Other works included odes to tragedies in Chile and Nicaragua. The season concluded with a murga marching against censorship, and the burning of an effigy of censorship itself ("La Censurona"). [1]
El teatrazo ("The Attack of the Theatre") as the slogan of the 1984 season was thought of by its organizers as way to "share our opinion in the context of liberty." The return of democracy, however, also helped deprive the festival of its status as the leading forum for artistic defiance of a repressive regime; indeed, one of the Open Theatre's leading figures, Carlos Gorostiza, had been appointed Secretary of Culture by newly elected President Raúl Alfonsín. Following the failure of the 1984 season, musch of which was cancelled, the company dedicated its 1985 season to young playwrights. That season featured works from throughout Latin America and, opening on September 21, it was more successful than its predecessor; but a sixth season was cancelled, leaving the Open Theatre a place in Argentine history as "a modest popular resistance and, among the cultural ones, the most visible." [3]
The Teatro Colón is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic, and is acoustically considered to be amongst the five best concert venues in the world.
The culture of Argentina is as varied as the country's geography and is composed of a mix of ethnic groups. Modern Argentine culture has been largely influenced by Italian, Spanish, and other European immigration, while there is still a lesser degree of elements of Amerindian and African origin and influence, particularly in the fields of music and art. Buenos Aires, its cultural capital, is largely characterized by both the prevalence of people of European descent, and of European styles in architecture. Museums, cinemas, and galleries are abundant in all the large urban centers, as well as traditional establishments such as literary bars, or bars offering live music of a variety of genres.
Avenida Corrientes is one of the principal thoroughfares of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. The street is intimately tied to the tango and the porteño sense of identity. Like the parallel avenues Santa Fe, Córdoba, and San Juan, it takes its name from one of the Provinces of Argentina.
Ulises Dumont was a prolific Argentine film actor, credited with over 80 appearances in film and countless others in theatre and television from 1964 until his death in 2008.
The General Urquiza Railway (FCGU), named after the Argentine general and politician Justo José de Urquiza, is a standard gauge railway of Argentina which runs approximately northwards from Buenos Aires to Posadas, with several branches in between. It was also one of the six state-owned Argentine railway companies formed after President Juan Perón's nationalisation of the railway network in 1948. The six companies were managed by Ferrocarriles Argentinos which was later broken up during the process of railway privatisation beginning in 1991 during Carlos Menem's presidency.
Roberto Cossa is a prominent Argentinian playwright and theatre director.
José Carlos "Pepe" Soriano is a prominent Argentine actor, director, and playwright.
Carlos Gorostiza Rodríguez was an Argentine playwright, theatre director, and novelist. His seminal work El puente debuted in 1949 and he garnered numerous awards for his proceeding works. He later was Secretary of Culture between 1983-86.
Osvaldo Dragún was a prominent Argentine playwright and the director of Cervantes Theater.
The Teatro General San Martín is an important public theater in Buenos Aires, located on Corrientes Avenue and adjacent to the cultural center of the same name. It is one of the major theaters in Argentina and offers venues for the representation of stage works and film, as well as art exhibitions.
Inda Ledesma was an Argentine stage, television, and cinema actress who also gained prominence as a theatre director and instructor.
Enrique Liporace is an Argentine actor.
María Rosa Gallo was an Argentine actress.
Buenos Aires is one of the world's capitals of theatre. The Teatro Colón is a national landmark for opera and classical performances; built at the end of the 19th century, its acoustics are considered the best in the world, and has undergone a major refurbishment in order to preserve its outstanding sound characteristics, the French-romantic style, the Golden Room, and the museum at the entrance. With its theatre scene of national and international caliber, Corrientes Avenue is synonymous with the art. It is thought of as the street that never sleeps, and sometimes referred to as the Broadway of Buenos Aires. Many careers in acting, music, and film have begun in its many theaters. The Teatro General San Martín is one of the most prestigious, along Corrientes Avenue, and the Teatro Nacional Cervantes functions as the national stage theater of Argentina. The Teatro Argentino de La Plata, El Círculo in Rosario, Independencia in Mendoza, and Libertador in Córdoba are also prominent. Griselda Gambaro, Copi, Roberto Cossa, Marco Denevi, Carlos Gorostiza, Alberto Vaccarezza and Mauricio Kartun are a few of the more prominent Argentine playwrights. Julio Bocca, Jorge Donn, José Neglia, and Norma Fontenla are some of the great ballet dancers of the modern era.
Mónica Villa is an Argentine actress of stage, screen, and TV, as well as a researcher and educator. She earned a Best Actress award for her role as "Susana" in cult classic "Esperando la Carroza at the 1985 Festival de Cine Iberoamericano, in Huelva, Spain. She won an ACE Golden award for best leading actress in the 2002 comedy "Ojos traidores", a 2004 Premios Trinidad Guevara for best Actress of a Repertoire Company, a Premios Carlos de Oro for her 2011 performance as best lead actress in the theater production "Jardín De Otoño", and in 2015 a Premios Estrella de Mar for Best Female Performance in a Repertoire Company for "La Nona". In addition, she has been nominated for a Best Actress in a TV Special for the 2003 Premios Martín Fierro, making her acting work recognized in all three major media.
Del Parque is a former train station in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was the first railway station in the country, serving as terminus of Buenos Aires Western Railway. The station was located at the intersection of Cerrito and Tucumán streets.
Multiteatro is a theater complex located at 1283 Avenida Corrientes, in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the site of the historical Teatro Smart and Teatro and Cinema Blanca Podestá.
Jorge Rivera López is an Argentine actor of television and film. During the 1980s military dictatorship, López, along with Luis Brandoni, Roberto Cossa, Osvaldo Dragún and Pepe Soriano, accompanied by Nobel Peace Prize winner (1980) Adolfo Esquivel and writer Ernesto Sábato formed a group called Teatro Abierto in an attempt to reinvent independent theater separated from government propaganda and approval. Despite threats, they opened with the declaration that they were against dictatorship and government intervention in the arts. On the opening night, Rivera López read the “Declaration of the Principles” claiming for all the participants their right to freedom of opinion and expression. Three works per day were presented for a full week in the Tabaris Theatre, to an estimated audience of 25,000. The movement continued to perform, despite government disapproval, until the return to democracy, and for several years afterwards presented works critical of the abuses of the dictatorship.
The Story of the Man Who Turned into a Dog is a short play written by Osvaldo Dragún as part of his Historias para ser contadas, a series of short plays. It is the third short play in the series. The original production premiered with the independent theatre group Teatro Popular Fray Mocho in 1957. The Story of the Man Who Turned into a Dog, as well as the other Historias can be classified into many genres of theatre, including Theatre of the Absurd, Metatheatre and Magic realism.
Old Caledonians Football Club was a football club established in Argentina by a group of Scottish immigrants who were employees of British studio Batman, Parsons & Bateman, hired to build the main drainage in the city of Buenos Aires.