Print detail event | Loco for Love (the world premiere theatrical performance)

Theater with a Mission presents our newest most exciting play yet: Loco for Love, a classic smackdown that pits the eloquence of Cervantes against the dramatic structures of Shakespeare in a knock-down drag-out wrestling match competition about who wins the title of World Champion Storyteller. Four hundred years after the deaths of these two great yarn-spinners (Cervantes and Shakespeare died within a day of each other in April of 1616), Loco for Love lets present-day people take a close, personal look at how telling the same story from two different cultural bases reflect real differences, and occasional similarities between Spanish- and English-speaking views of the 17th century world.

Loco for Love is organized into rounds, which are emceed by a pair of WWE type referees who introduce the audience to the show’s big ideas – historic ideas about what’s fair in love, why love drives people crazy, and who gets to make decisions about which lovers belong together. Each round in the show acts out a different juicy scene from the history of Cardenio, a character so full of drama that Shakespeare stole him from Cervantes to star in his last play. Cardenio’s history could still make headlines today: when his best friend steals his fiancée (the love of his life), Cardenio goes completely crazy for love. The audience will compare how Shakespeare and Cervantes tell the most suspenseful moments from this tale, and then vote on which playwright wins the title of Worlds Best Storyteller. Many will go home thinking about the oddly similar points of contact they’ve just experienced between very different cultures.

Dates & Times

Dates: 2016/10/01 - 2016/10/02

Additional time info:

Come early (11 AM ) and stay late (4 PM ) Theater with a Mission has been awarded a grant from the Florida Humanities council to bring three scholars to give talks and workshops on this world premiere weekend.

Before and after performances, you’ll find opportunities to dig into enduring ideas that are built into Cardenio’s history – ideas about courtship and friendship, marriage and madness, nobility and chivalry, gender and power. In a series called “Interpreting Cultural Connections between Cervantes and Shakespeare,” three speakers offer you a combination of expert talks and exciting hands-on demonstrations to explore these ideas.

Ian Borden will demonstrate Spanish swordplay from the 17^th century, and let some adventurous participants handle wooden swords. Dr. Borden teaches acting at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in the University of Nebraska, directs all over the country, and translates plays from the Spanish Golden Age.

Leah Lowe will show you dramatic differences in the roles that women played in Shakespeare and Cervantes. Dr. Lowe is the Chair of the Department of Theatre at Vanderbilt University, directs performances for colleges and professional companies, and gets invited to lead workshops in places as exotic as Russia.

Keith Howard will connect you with Quixotic characters from Florida’s history and take you deep into the world of Don Quixote with a look at Jews, Moors, and Indians in the work of Cervantes. Dr. Howard teaches Cervantes, Spanish Golden Age theater, and the culture of Spanish Florida at Florida State University.

A full schedule of the scholar series will soon be found on our website www.theaterwithamission.com.

Then the world premiere of Loco for Love and “Interpreting Cultural Connections between Cervantes and Shakespeare” take place at Tallahassee’s unique Hispanic Heritage site, Mission San Luis. Saturday, October 1 features the Blessing of Animals, when normal admission fees to Mission San Luis get waived. Admission on Sunday, October 2, is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for youngsters. Loco for Love performs at 2 p.m. both days, and talks, demonstrations, and discussions occur every hour on the hour from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m.

What can hearing the same story in two different languages tell you about your heritage? Come see!