About Mi Casa es Su Teatro
and her mop. . .
Robin: According to the Mi Casa schedule, you’re responsible for an “Object Theater Drama” that will run continuously throughout the festival–in the treehouse bathroom. What the hell is an “Object Theater Drama” and how is it performed in a bathroom?
Malena: I’ve been reading this crazy book about the secret life of puppets. The author suggests that there was a time in the history of storytelling when everything was about divinity. Now (and as far back as I can remember) it’s always been about psychology. During a graduate school class, my teacher, Annie Baker, asked us to think about what would it be like to make theater that de-centers psychology. I think we’re reaching the end of plots that are always based on human psychology. What kind of storytelling might come next?
Robin: loose rant about how plots are always supposed to wrap up with a psychological explanation of WHY people do bad things. If you’ve ever been in therapy, you know it’s not that simple, blah blah.
Malena: Right, it starts to sound like a lot of jargon. I’m obsessed with this Samia lyric:
I’m really gonna blow with all this empathetic shit/
Understand the thing you did and every reason you did it
Robin: Say I bought a TICKET and I’m at the compound. I climb the stairs and walk into the treehouse–which is where you live in real life, so, as your landlord, I would never do that without giving you 24 hours notice. Anyhow, what am I going to experience in that bathroom?
Malena: In the shower, specifically. You’ll stand in front of the shower, peel back a red curtain* and perform the play yourself, with a series of instructions.
Robin: Wait, so the cast and the audience are the same thing?
Malena: No, there’s objects. And actions.
Robin: Such as?
Malena: It’s not totally decided, but I think one of the objects goes to sleep. And I’m auditioning my mop. It’s an old-school rope mop.
Robin: (pompously) isn’t there some theatrical precedent for mops as puppets?
Malena: (crisply) It’s not that kind of mop. I don’t know, the whole thing might be terrible. But I think it will fit.
Robin: You oughta know–you’re the producer. Can you say more about Mi Casa es Su Teatro?
Malena: Mi Casa is a DIY communal collaborative messy independent theater festival. It’s been in Austin a long time. It gets to the roots of the old austin art scene in which people just made things. and my job has been to curate this list of artists, some of whom I know well and some of whom are new. It’s a real mix of forms that might not have a voice in a more traditional theater space–solo shows, installations, video, a portable maker space shipped in from Switzerland (where Kirk Lynn’s doing his solo show about the Wright brothers)…we even have a music video filmed at White Sands by two kids. I’m really excited about Julia Lopez-Mobilia, who designed the poster. She’s gonna be pulling posters at the party at the end of the day. This might not have a voice in a more traditional theater space.
Robin: what else are you excited about?
Malena: Pouring the whiskey into the hot apple cider for the party. I’m really looking forward to that.