By Sara Coppler
If you plan your time around what’s happening in Cuenca’s creative community, then this column is for you. Published every Monday, “What’s Happening Under the Domes” highlights the exhibits, concerts, workshops and other not-to-be-missed artistic events scheduled for the coming week. We cannot guarantee a complete listing, but we’ll try our best to keep you informed.
This week:
The XII Edition of the International Stage Theater Festival of the World!
In Cuenca and throughout Azuay Province, from September 26 until October 7, there is great theater presented from nine countries.
An Els Comediants performer.
According to its creator, Juan Andrade Polo, the Festival Escenarios del Mundo 2018,XII edition: “Each year the festival presents the marvel of theater, dance theater and related, always by the hand of sensitive people, intelligent, proactive, wanting to be part of the culture of the world, our audience. People beyond the rhetoric have put money and time, soul and convictions. It is the community that supports the festival, from different fronts… The gathering of national artists, international artists are coming to this corner of the Andes, bringing their talent and creativity to interpret the being and the world, is very encouraging.”
You can get more information and purchase tickets at Libri-Mundi Cuenca and Miguel Illescas Art Gallery. Also, you can go to the festival’s website, includes a complete online catalogue at: http://www.escenariosdelmundo.com
We highlight some of these events below.
Monday, October 1
tattleTALES: Critique Group for Writers of Memoir & Personal Essay
This free critique group is for anyone who wants to tell a life story — to write about lived adventure, adversity, trauma, and/or redemption. No writing experience is needed. Sessions will be held at idiomART Studio (5-92 Manuel Vega y Juan Jaramillo) on the first and third Mondays of each month, 10 a.m. until noon. Coffee, tea, and chocolate croissants will be served.Facilitated by Carolyn V. Hamilton and Kathryn M. McCullough, for more information, email: tattletales@idiomart.net
“Monólogo de la Escoba” y “El Toque del Miche”
Juana Estrella and Carlos Michelena, two giants of the national theater, will present with portions of their works “Monólogo de la Escoba” and “El toque del Miche” respectively. The first one humorously portrays the city of Cuenca and its traditions with ingenuity and fluidity… “El Toque del Miche” immerses us with stories with humor and reflection.
Show starts at 8 p.m. at Teatro Pumapungo on Calle Larga. Tickets available at Libri-Mundi Cuenca and Miguel Illescas Art Gallery.
InkTober Youth Art Classes!
All 5 Mondays in October at idiomART, on 5-92 Manuel Vega y Juan Jaramillo, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Instructor: Daniel Williams, for ages from 13 to 18
What is Inktober?
Inktober is a month-long art challenge created by artist Jake Parker that is focused on improving skill and developing positive drawing habits. Every day for the month of October anyone participating in the Inktober challenge creates an ink drawing. Daniel’s class will focus on using various inking tools (e.g. brushes, markers, pens, etc.) to create finished, inked pieces. Inking is the process of bringing a drawing to a finished state using ink as a final medium.
$15 per session. For more information, email: studio@idiomart.net.
Tuesday, October 2
“Nothing to Lose”
A murder is the starting point of “Nothing to Lose”, a work that is structured in eight successive interrogations. As if it were a great painting, it runs from top to bottom different layers and social strata, in an intense, fun and sharp acting exercise. This show is part of the Festival Escenarios del Mundo 2018.
Show starts at 8 p.m. at Teatro Pumapungo on Calle Larga.
Tickets available at Libri-Mundi Cuenca and Miguel Illescas Art Gallery.
Ticket sales begin for Azuay Community Theater’s production of “The Odd Couple”.
October Performance dates:19th at 7 p.m., 20th at 3 p.m., 21st at 3 p.m. and 28th at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $15 at the following:
Veggie Bar – Tuesdays from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Trivia Night)
Sunrise Café – Thursdays from 10 a.m. – noon
A.C.T. Theater – Wednesdays from 2 – 3 p.m.
Feria at Ribs and More Saturday October 13, from 10 a.m. – noon
Newcomers Luncheon Veggie Bar Monday, October 15 from noon – 2 p.m.
For help or questions about ticket sales, contact Marilyn at r.m.appel65@gmail.com or 099 138 9130
Directed by Paula Keenan .Cast: Bob Fry, Tony Harding, Frank Herndon, Ray Lewis, Derek Hatcher, Rick Hubbert, Lovey Hendon, Margo Moschel
This classic comedy opens in Oscar Madison’s slovenly apartment as a group of his friends are deep into a game of poker. The last of the group, Felix Ungar, arrives late and depressed: he and his wife have recently separated, and he is trying to hold it together. Since Felix has nowhere to go, Oscar invites him to move in with him until he has a chance to figure things out. Hilarity ensues as these two very polar-opposite friends have to figure out how to reconcile their differences.
La Guarida Cultural Center, at Mariscal Lamar y Luis Pauta, presents:
“Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes)”, a film by Werner Herzog with the unforgettable performance of Klaus Kinski. Free.
6 p.m. (English subtitles)
8:30 p.m. (subtitles in Spanish).
This classic film is set a few decades after the destruction of the Inca Empire, a Spanish expedition leaves the mountains of Peru and descends the Amazon River in search of gold and wealth. Soon, they run into great difficulties and Don Aguirre, a ruthless man who only cares about riches, becomes their leader. But will your search take you to “the golden city,” or to your own destruction?
Wednesday, October 3
Can you escape? Dare to try … Cuenca Escape Room is a real game, where the protagonist is YOU. It is the alternative leisure with more growth worldwide and that reaches Cuenca for the first time. Enter a room that will take you to another era, you will have an important mission to solve together with your team, follow the clues, pion to test all your ingenuity …You have 60 minutes to complete your mission. Will you be able to overcome the challenge? For more information, call at 098 288 0462 or www.facebook.com/cuencaescaperoom
Master Class in Acrylic Painting with Alberto Soriano
First 4 Wednesdays in October from 1 to 3 p.m. $30 per 2-hour class at idiomART studio on 5-92 Manuel Vega y Juan Jaramillo.
For more information, email: studio@idiomart.net
Master Class: Artistic Drawing with Maité Eusebio
Every Wednesday, October 3, 10, 17, 24 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., $20 per 2-hour class at idiomART studioon 5-92 Manuel Vega y Juan Jaramillo.
The class series is an academic traditional style instruction in the basics in drawing: figure, perspective, form, shading, etc.
For more information, email: studio@idiomart.net
Thursday, October 4
SOUNDSDELIG
Three centuries of Ecuadorian music (Classical guitar, Contemporary, Popular) will be performed at the Teatro Sucre on Sucre y Luis Cordero.
Performances start at 7:30 p.m.
Vino and Van Gogh
Summer is coming in the Southern Hemisphere at San Sebas Café by Plaza San Sebastián, starting at 5 p.m.
Imagine beautiful, tranquil skies, or, a sunset, puffy clouds, calm ocean effects, or crashing waves, a sweep of sand, shadows, a coconut cart, colorful umbrellas and other beach motifs. Let’s play some beach tunes, put little umbrellas in our vino and create our own paradise.
Vino & Van Gogh, led by Artist Amelia Earl, offers a fun and unique way to uncork your creativity. Enjoy your favorite glass of wine while re-creating a featured painting of the night. Perfect for beginners and aficionados alike, at the end of the night you’ll take home a one-of-a-kind painting and hopefully a newfound talent.
Cost: $29. Go to this link to make your reservation: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/vinovangogh/197615/
Friday, October 5
Art Openings at CVA!
Two fabulous Cuenca-based artists, Janda Grove and Linda Wooten-Green, are opening new shows at Cuenca Visual Arts Gallery (CVA), starting at 5 until 7 p.m. Free.
Janda Grove is a co-founder of CVA, this is first featured show at the gallery, titled “Passages.” Janda’s work is her study into light, shapes, shadows using plate knives or brushes on canvas or board. Her delve into symbolism through natural beauty and personal influences result in work that can be calming but yet raises questions the viewer is silently asked to resolve.
Linda Wooten-Green’s show,”Garden of Earthly Delight”, bursts of color. Her inspiration comes from landscapes and the flora and fauna of her new home in Ecuador. Her painterly abstractions will delight and inspire you.
CVA is located at Calle Larga 3-82 y Vargas Machuca below Santa Canela Bar and Grill. The exhibition will continue until October 27. CVA’s gallery hours are Wednesday thru Saturday, from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Comedy at the Bunker!
The Cultural Center Bunker — Cantina & Gallery, is proud to participate in the XII edition of the International Stage Theater Festival of the World with the presentation of the “Stand-up Comedy of the Russian Maria”. Scenic artist and writer, Irina Gamayúnova was born in Moscow in 1965 and for several years now lives in Ecuador, where she has been engaged in intense cultural activity in the House of Ecuadorian Culture, and her theater collective Guagua Pichincha.
Time: 9 p.m.
Cover: $10 at the The Cultural Center Bunker
Cantina & Gallery is at located Cultura Cosanga L2 y Cultura Jama Coaque in Challuabamba. For more information, email: bunkercuenca@yahoo.com
Batucadas Youth Festival, War Bands and People’s Bands
A contest where musical performance will be evaluated for cash prizes and trophies. It will take place at the Courtyards of the Central Museum Offices Department of Culture Directorate of the Municipality of Cuenca on the corner of Gran Colombia and Benigno Malo. Three Categories: 1- Batucadas; 2- War Band; 3- Village Band
Starts at 8 p.m. Free.
Saturday, October 6 and Sunday, October 7
Jerry Joe Holland Rock & Blues
… will be playing at Common Grounds on Eduardo Crespo Malo y Gran
Columbia. He will perform classics from the 60s- to the 80s. Show starts at 7:30 until 10:30 p.m. No cover charge.
Again, for the weekend, there are several fantastic theater productions showing as part of the Festival Escenarios del Mundo 2018. You can find more information by going to their website at: http://www.escenariosdelmundo.com
Coming soon:
Upcoming Pottery, “Hand Building in Clay”, Workshop with Lynne Zelasko
This 5-week studio course will explore the three basic methods of hand building — pinch, slab, and coil techniques.
Dates: Mondays and Thursdays, October 15 thru November 26 (no classes week of Nov. 12 or Nov. 22 (Thanksgiving), from 2 to 5 p.m.
Workshop fees: $150 (Includes clay, tools, firings, and materials for decorating and glazing.) For more information, email: lbzelasko@yahoo.com
Morlaquia Flamenca
This concert will take place on Friday, October 12th at 8 p.m., at the Pumapungo Theater, showcasing flamenco singing, dancing and guitar. Tickets are available at Opus Art on Av. 12 April y San Salvador.
Art Rocks!
One-Year Anniversary Auction and Fundraiser for idiomART on Tuesday, October 23, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Local artists are painting, sculpting, or otherwise transforming rocks that have been tumbled and smoothed by one of Cuenca’s four rivers. idiomART will be auctioning these art objects as sculptures, door stops, bookends, paper weights, and garden markers.
Go to this link for the Rock Art Auction Gallery: http://underthedomes.org/art-rocks-at-idiomart/
For more information, email: studio@idiomART.net
Superheroes in Crazytown, a Halloween Costume Ball at Fishbon del Sur!
Plan to come as your favorite Superhero, or Nasty Villain, even Hapless Victim. There will be food, dancing, adventures and much more, so put it on your calendar. Tickets will be limited. Write and produce your own Superhero vignette. Fishbon del Sur is looking now for actors, builders, lighting and sound tech volunteers. For more information, email Laura Inks Bodine at laurainksbodine@gmail.com.
___________________
What’s Happening Under the Domes is a weekly column by Sara Coppler. Sara has lived in Ecuador for over 5 years. She is an architect by training, who has worked for more than two decades in the field of international development and poverty housing. She is a co-founder of idiomART, a creative community center in Cuenca. Having admired the creative process throughout her life,she describes herself as a “Head Cheerleader for the Arts.” It’sthis enthusiasm that she hopes to bring to this weekly column. You may contact her at info@underthedomes.org and feel free to check out her Under The Domes website at www.underthedomes.org.
