Review Fix chats with playwright Fred Rohan Vargas about Tide Beyond the Rift,†a new drama currently running at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York City.
For more information on the production, Click here.
Review Fix: What was the inspiration for the production? How dis it all come together?
Fred Rohan Vargas: I started writing this play for my good friend, Gabe Gorce (Artistic Director of Retablo Theatre). We worked together on a play of mine called “Crystal” that he directed in 2000 for Latino Experimental Fantastic Theatre (L.E.F.T). He asked me to write “Tide Beyond the Rift” (‘”Mas Alla De La Marea”) for Latin American Theatre Ensemble in which he would translate into Spanish. Although the play never made it on stage, due to budget cuts, we felt it would have a place somewhere, someday, somehow.
Review Fix: What do you think you’ve learned about yourself through this whole process?
Rohan Vargas: I’ve learned that whatever obstacles I encounter, I find myself thinking of other ways to address them. Wearing both hats as playwright and producer is very challenging and being able to have a strong supportive team is essential to the success of the production.
Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most?
Rohan Vargas: The play is multigenerational. The common core to the story’s theme is love, which transcend beyond any one kind of viewer.
Review Fix: Tell me about the cast; What makes them so special?
Rohan Vargas: The play is a labor of love for them. Three out of the four members have been with the play when it was written five years ago. Each one has helped me shape the characters more to what I intended them to be. However, they have learned a lot too about the nuances of the characters I’ve created and have enjoyed discovering other sides to their roles.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite element of the show?
Rohan Vargas: The humor. Without it, the play would say little and we wouldn’t see the lighter side of these characters. Also, I find the best way to draw people’s attention is not so much the conflict but the moments where they can laugh at the characters and even themselves because they’re able to identify.
Review Fix: Bottom line. Why should someone see this show?
Rohan Vargas: Tide Beyond the Rift touches every generation, especially the elderly. It reminds us of our human frailty with all its insecurities, all the fears of being ignored, of not being wanted or needed, of growing old alone and perhaps dying alone. As human beings, we all have a need that our lives be validated, that we have touched in our journey other lives and that the world has been made a better place because we were a part of it.
Review Fix: How do you want the production to be remembered?
Rohan Vargas: I hope people will be inspired and be able to realize how social we are as creatures and that everyone is a contributing force in our makeup and existence.
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