RCA Theatre Company
Altar
Santiago Guzmán’s ALTAR focuses on themes of Cultural Diversity, Loss, Familial Relationships and 2SLGBTQQIA+ relationships. Eugenio is a queer young immigrant living in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador. Less than a year has passed since his move from Mexico, but in that time, he experienced deep love and deeper heartbreak when his new boyfriend, Benjamin, inexplicably “ghosted” him. No, Benjamin isn’t dead; he just stopped calling and texting. And the thing is…Eugenio’s still not over it. Looking to the traditional Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (The Day of The Dead) and his father’s previous experience with paranormal activities, Eugenio decides to build an altar (a central part of the Día de Muertos ritual) in the hopes that he will be able to summon his boyfriend’s ‘ghost’ to sort out the end of their relationship once and for all. Through the altar, Eugenio realizes that he has been something of a ghost himself to the loved ones he left behind in Mexico. Will setting up an altar be enough for Eugenio to forgive, forget, and love again? Or enough to help him heal the relationships with his friends and family far away?
A workshop production of ALTAR was presented in September of 2019 at the 4th Annual St. John’s Short Play Festival in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was produced by TODOS Productions, starring Santiago Guzmán, directed and dramaturged by Meghan Greeley, with initial dramaturgy by Robyn Huxter, and stage-managed by Azal Dosanjh.
ALTAR received its Main Stage Premiere by the Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company, (Nicole Rousseau, Artistic Animateur and Laura Williams, Artistic Associate) in the fall of 2021 in St John’s, NL, at the historic LSPU Hall, with some special performances in Corner Brook, NL at the Rotary Arts Centre with the following creative team:
Created and Performed by Santiago Guzmán
Directed and Set Design by Meghan Greeley
Stage Management by Azal Donsanjh
Lighting Design by Ryan Wilcox
Sound Design by Michelle LaCour
With special thanks to María Andrea Guzmán Nájera, Lucero Nájera, Zeferino Guzmán, Nicole Rousseau, Nora Barker, Laura Williams, Alen Dominguez, Carmen Aguirre, Ashley Harding, Vaida V. Nairn, Robyn Vivian, Nina John, Andrea Delgadillo, Lore Reséndiz, Carlos Mercado, Aidan Coleman, as well as the person who showed me what love feels like by breaking my heart.