La Capilla turns 70, an exceptional milestone for any independent theater forum
The Teatro de La Capilla, created in 1953 by the writer, poet and playwright Salvador Novo (1904-1974), turns 70 on January 22. To celebrate, the works will be presented Kiwi, Beatiful Julia y Bashir Lazhar.
Located at Calle Madrid 13, in Coyoacan, La Capilla is recognized for being one of the independent stages where national and international contemporary theater works are presented, as well as for opening its doors to stage creators with a long history as well as young playwrights.
In La Capilla there are also acting, dramaturgical, directing, production, voice and theater improvement workshops for teenagers; In addition, it promotes the Textos de La Capilla publishing label, which to date has published more than 110 titles, including the traditional ones. Christmas stories.
In addition, it is one of the few independent spaces with a theater program from Monday to Sunday, which in certain years has allowed, before the pandemic, more than 600 performances to be given a year.
Also in La Capilla, in collaboration with the Hellenic Cultural Center, the International Week of Contemporary Playwriting is presented.
According to Boris Schoemann, who has been in charge of the forum since 2001 together with the company Los Endebles, it is cause for celebration that an independent theater has remained current and active for so many years, since conditions are difficult for any theatrical project. independent lasts.
hotbed of creators
The Chapel scene It has always been a hotbed for new creators, staging their works for the first time and being a springboard to access more important stages. In addition to co-productions and residencies, for two years we have been promoting a comprehensive theatrical training project that lasts seven months, which combines acting and productions.Schoemann explained to The Conference
Have a schedule from Monday to Sunday implies that there are works that are presented once a week and an enormous work of the technicianscommented the also actor.
With the work being done at La Capilla, he added, Nobody becomes a millionaire, not the theater artists, not the companies, not us. Thanks to the support, it has been possible to articulate an extensive program with the lowest possible admission prices for the public..
For Schoemann, “in most of the country’s independent spaces, as well as in institutional theaters, the number of performances has been decreasing in recent years, due to the increase in the theater community; there are more schools and more young graduates, but there are no more spaces to present themselves.
Now the companies present eight performances in one place, and then look for another space, and then another, which allows circulation of a work. On the other hand, official resources have decreased and access to public financing is more limited.Boris Schoemann said.
To celebrate the anniversary, on January 22 at 12 noon will be presented Kiwi, by Daniel Danis, a story suitable for ages 12 and up about a little girl who must restart her life alongside a group of street children who will find a way to get ahead. At the end of the show, a plaque will be unveiled for 300 performances.
▲ The history of the theater goes back to the end of the 40s, when Salvador Novo bought a piece of land in the limits of Coyoacán.Foto CulturaUNAM
At 4:00 p.m. it will be the turn of Beatiful Julia, by Maribel Carrasco, aimed at a young audience that deals with gender identity in adolescence.
At 6:30 p.m. the setting will be mounted Bashir Lazhar, that addresses the issue of migration: A story that speaks with sweetness and humor about life, love and the free transmission and formation of thought.
Salvador Novo was the architect when he bought the land in Coyoacán
charles paul
The history of the Teatro de La Capilla began when the writer, playwright and poet Salvador Novo (1904-1974) bought at the end of the 40s a thousand-meter piece of land that was part of what had previously been a hacienda, on the from Coyoacán, when that area was not yet urbanized; the land kept a small, dismantled and dirty chapel.
Novo, a well-known member of the Los Contemporáneos group, from the beginning conceived this space as a small theatrical forum, for which reason he requested the support of the architect Alejandro Prieto and the set designer Antonio López Mancera to create a project to adapt the oratory as a stage space.
The author of new mexican grandeur He not only left his mark for his literary quality, but also for his participation in the country’s cultural phenomena in the 20th century.
On January 22, 1953, the Teatro de La Capilla opened its doors with the play The president inherits by Cesare Guiolio Viola, which had a season of 142 performances, exceeding the predictions of Novo, who predicted 10 to 12 performances.
After a few years, and after having performed works by authors such as Eugéne Ionesco, Jean Cocteau, Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams and Samuel Beckett, financial problems made the forum unaffordable, and its creator had to close it.
According to the information provided by the La Capilla dissemination area, in the last years of Salvador Novo’s life the property was abandoned and little by little it collapsed.
On the death of the writer, on January 13, 1974, the theater was inherited from the doctor Salvador López Antuñano. Thus, the story of the second life of La Capilla arises thanks to the interest of the actress Jesusa Rodríguez, who spoke with López Antuñano and they reached an agreement to reactivate the space.
The actress and playwright found the theater in ruins and dedicated all her efforts to rebuild it, in such a way that in 1980 she reopened with the play How goes the night, Macbeth? which was followed by the staging 13 ladies y Woman John.
In the 90s, the forum was remodeled to adapt it to the new scenic-technical demands, always preserving the architecture of the 50s, and the original spirit of being an experimental and avant-garde space.
While these remodeling works were being carried out, as a side project, on November 3, 1990, Jesusa Rodríguez opened the El Hábito theater-bar on the same property, with the purpose of presenting proposals for political satire cabaret theater, a place that years later It would remain in the hands of the company Las Reinas Chulas, already with the name of Teatro-Bar El Vicio.
Since 2001, La Capilla has been the headquarters of the company Los Endebles, directed by Boris Schoemann.