High School 10 students participate in theater exercises with the Gertrudis Laboratory

The classic by William Shakespeare, Hamlet (1623) was submitted for review by the student team of the Preparatory School 10 from the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) that make up the group Latent Theatrewho have stood out with their staging Freak show by taking first place in the “A” category High School level in the 32nd edition of the FInternational Summer University Theatre Festival (FITU), which is organized by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

On this occasion, the anecdote involving Mauricio Enrique Rodríguez Maciel, Gisel Edith Cortés Vidal, Jery Emiliano Gómez Álvarez, Ángel Gabriel Hernández Orellana, Ximena Dannae Ruelas Mercado, Alex Venegas Munguía, Josie Sofía Martínez González, Andrea Yamileth Briseño Cedeño, and Ximena Sharai Haro Estrada had an international character: for two weeks They read, appropriated, interpreted, reinterpreted, and adapted the text of the British author to the Mexican reality of the 21st century. 

The exercise was conducted with Govin Ruben, a stage creator, designer, and director based between Kuala Lumpur, New York, and Melbourne. He is also the director of TerryandTheCuz, a Malaysian/Australian company that has created diverse interdisciplinary artistic projects worldwide. 

Govin visited Mexico and intended to collaborate with young people interested in the performing arts; through the Coordination of Dissemination and Extension of the Upper Secondary Education System (SEMS) He even connected with Teatro Latente. 

Teacher Denisse Cecilia Flores Somarriba, coordinator of this department, pointed out that this represents a first collaboration of the SEMS This will be a watershed moment, because the goal is to connect with other countries so that what is done in UdeG high schools can have an impact on the world. 

“This workshop will continue. Theater develops skills and helps us gain exposure. Young people, thank you for dedicating your time to this that fills your hearts,” he said.

The work spent during the two weeks of analyzing Hamlet At the facilities of the Jalisco Experimental Theater, the young people of Teatro Latente, accompanied by their teacher Jorge Alberto Magaña Munguía, created four acts which they rehearsed for two days. The result of the adaptation and writing She performed before a small group at the Diana Studio., last Friday, July 10th. 

Magaña Munguía pointed out that the result can be summarized as the possibility of continuing to create: “While this first approach did not involve a large production or a deep dramaturgical exploration, The real emphasis was on analysis, understanding the text, and imagining the possibilities of a new versionIt was a first stage experience that allowed us to approach a process that is just beginning and still has a long way to go. The children enjoyed the challenge; they were able to engage with one of the most important texts in the history of theater and begin to make it their own through their own questions, concerns, and realities.”

He added that Hamlet, seen from the proposed version called GertrudisIt's not a play that can be put together in two weeks; it's a project that deserves time, research, rehearsal, and development. Nevertheless, he described this first step as confirming that Teatro Latente is on a path worth exploring. 

“Little by little, the members of our group are building an ambitious project that seeks to engage with today’s youth and demonstrate that the great classics remain alive when they are put into conversation with our present,” he stated.

Prior to the presentation by the students of Preparatory School 10, Govin explained that in eThis version imagined Shakespeare's story from Queen Gertrude's perspective., who is the wife of the new king; the version is immersed in the reality of Mexico with regionalized places, specific idioms, and even with the transformation of the truth that they put before the relationships with social networks in between.

Queen Gertrude, after whom the students' summer project is named, is the Queen of Denmark and mother of Prince Hamlet. Her relationship with her son is turbulent, as Hamlet resents her marriage to his father's brother, his uncle Claudius, after Claudius murdered the king (Hamlet's father). Gertrude shows no remorse for her marriage to Claudius after her husband's recent murder, and Hamlet begins to display jealousy toward Claudius. According to Hamlet, she barely mourned her husband's death before marrying his uncle.

For the Coordination of Dissemination and Extension of the SEMS, this type of project creates the possibility of creating a theater company that represents the upper secondary level of the UdeG at the national level, and even beyond borders. 

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Text: Víctor Rivera | SEMS
Photo: Manuel Izquierdo