Explorer West will perform three plays, one by each grade, 6th-8th, May 13 & 14. Pictured left is a character from the 6th grade play, "The Coyote Collection". Pictured right are 8th graders Ari Wernecke and Sam Waller of "Bocón".
Explorer West Drama presents: A Collection of Cultural Myth and Circus
May 13th and May 14th at 7:00 pm.
All 90 students will entertain audiences with a side show circus act, and then perform three, one act plays that are cultural myths in the same evening.
They are: “The Coyote Collection”, a series of Native myths adapted for Explorer West by T. Kent; “The Adventures of Harlequin” a comedic play in the style of Commedia Dell’Arte, written by William Glennon; and "Bocón" a thriller about the mythical La Llorona and disenfranchised people loosing their voice, written by Lisa Loomer.
6th grade will be performing "The Coyote Collection". It is a series of mostly Pacific Northwest native myths about Coyote. They include: how people got fire, how Multinomah falls were made, and how rabbit tricked Coyote.
7th grade will be performing "The Adventures of Harlequin". This is a modern adaptation of classic Commedia Dell'Arte theatre. This utilizes broad comedic form with stock character created by the Italians (c. 1600) and adopted by the French (c. 1700). Our play is about a group of commedia actors in search of a new member (Harlequin, the trickster or fool, aka Arlequino).
8th grade will be performing "Bocón". This is a story about a boy fleeing a Central American regime. Miguel, a boy of 12, is the central story teller (Bocón meaning big mouth); he loses his voice when his parents are taken away from him as he tries to cross to the city of angels. He is befriended by the mythical La Llorona and gains the confidence to cross the border to LA. At it's core Bocón is about finding one's voice in the context of disenfranchised peoples.
