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 Their
long-running performance seasons in Mexico City have typically
sold out from beginning to end, and the company has organized
several national tours throughout Mexico. Complementary to
each project, Certain Inhabitants' Theatre offers a full range
of residency activities including panel discussions, lectures,
classes, workshops, radio series, TV programs and compact disks.
Teatro De Ciertos Habitantes works with simple principles that
produce positive results. Each project is approached considering
risks and specific questioning. Once these risks and questions
have been solved, the project is deemed ready for launching,
permitting the group to take on another project. They consider
the element of change as the prime instrument for the
development of the artistic spirit. Research work is emphasized
for each project, thus avoiding, as much as possible, the
repetition of former presentation models and previous
discoveries. At the same time, each presentation is "polished"
during long processes to attain maturity, nourished by the
experience accumulated, pertaining to direction, production,
creativity and interpreters. Reliance on scenic work is placed
entirely upon a multidisciplinary artist, actor-musician-dancer,
who will use all of his abilities to the utmost.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR'S BIO
 Claudio Valdes Kuri
Claudio Valdés Kuri, a
prestigious Mexican director, is recognized as one of Latin
America’s artists with the most international acclaim. Founder
and director of the company Certain Inhabitants’ Theatre, his
work includes The Grey Automobile, Monsters and
Prodigies: The History of the Castrati, Becket or the
Honour of God and Where Will I Be Tonight?, all
presented in Mexico (his native country), and in Europe, Latin
America, the United States and the Caribbean. Specialized
critics have given him well-deserved recognition, such as naming
him the best director in experimental theatre as well as best
group theatre director.
Several important governmental
offices have commissioned and co-produced his productions:
National Theatre Company (Mexico), National Autonomous
University of Mexico, International Cervantino Festival (Guanajuato),
Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), Kunsten Festival des Arts
(Brussels) and Wiener Festwochen (Vienna).
 Claudio
Valdés Kuri was selected to develop the Translation and
Contextualization project for Arts International (New York
City) and took part in the Artist in Context program
sponsored by the John Hope Franklin Center of North Carolina’s
Duke University and Arts Management program in the
Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.).
He has received several grants
from Cultural Contact, the US-Mexico Foundation for Culture,
Young scholarship holders and Co-investment projects
from Mexico’s National Fund for Culture and the Arts.
 Claudio
Valdés Kuri graduated with honours as a film director from
Mexico’s Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, specializing in
Documentary.
Claudio’s training as an actor
began at the early age of 11 in 1976, under the tutorship of
Susana Wein. He participated in countless productions with her
company for the next seventeen years. From 1996 to 1999 he was
part of Austria’s Carpa Theater. He has also received
considerable recognition as a versatile set designer and
lighting expert in Mexico and other countries.
He was co-founder and bass voice
of the early music ensemble Ars Nova, dedicated mostly to the
rediscovery of Renaissance and Latin American baroque music.
Over the last fifteen years, this group has toured Mexico,
Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, South America, the United
States, and the Caribbean.
The
monthly publication
Mexican Leaders
has acknowledged him as one of the top 300 most influential
leaders in the country.
2008-2009
TOURING PROGRAMS:
MONSTERS AND PRODIGIES: THE HISTORY OF THE
CASTRATI (MONSTRUOS
Y PRODIGIOS: LA HISTORIA DE LOS CASTRATI)
A Theatre/Opera
mise-en-scène
that undertakes an unprecedented artistic, social and cultural
phenomenon: the history of the castrated, prodigies and monsters
at the same time, children born in poverty who were propelled to
the range of stars in the frivolous constellation of the great
courts of Europe.
Through a dramatized conference presented by a two-headed
Siamese, surgeon and opera columnist, the audience is taken to a
three-century journey, transporting them from the succulent
extremes of the Baroque to the beginnings of the technological
20th Century, where beauty has been annihilated by reason.
With a precise and wild gaze, ironic and reflexive, a group of
virtuoso
actors/musicians, monsters and prodigies at the same time, they
infuse life to one of the most sublime mysteries in History: the
incomparable voice of the
castrati.
A production that has received numerous awards and made
international tours that have granted it great renown.
THE GREY AUTOMOBILE (EL
AUTOMÓVIL GRIS)
The 1919 Mexican silent film
The Grey Automobile
was the biggest hit of its day. Fusing fiction and reality, it
tells the story of "The Grey Automobile Gang" who terrorized
Mexico City during the chaos of the Revolution.
This 21st-century Mexican production juxtaposes this
film classic with live actors and brilliantly improvised piano.
Inspired by the Japanese benshi tradition -using an actor
onstage creating all the voices of the characters onscreen-
The Grey Automobile
takes the audience on an exhilarating ride criss-crossing
languages, cultures and time.
The Grey Automobile
has been presented in all the world, in special versions on the
language of each country.
It is
possibly the most performed Mexican theatrical production in the
world.
RESIDENCY
ACTIVITIES:
MONSTERS AND PRODIGIES: THE HISTORY OF THE
CASTRATI (MONSTRUOS
Y PRODIGIOS: LA HISTORIA DE LOS CASTRATI):
The company offers diverse activities. For information, please
contact Itzia Zerón –
Itzia@ciertoshabitantes.com
THE GREY AUTOMOBILE (EL
AUTOMÓVIL GRIS)
The company offers diverse activities.
For information, please contact Itzia Zerón –
Itzia@ciertoshabitantes.com
 WHAT THE CRITICS
SAY:
MONSTERS AND PRODIGIES: THE HISTORY OF THE
CASTRATI (MONSTRUOS
Y PRODIGIOS: LA HISTORIA DE LOS CASTRATI):
Monsters
and Prodigies is a sophisticated yet good-natured lampoon of
18th-century opera. Despite the textbook data, the show is a
spoof at heart, and it can be quite funny even for those who are
not opera lovers.
The
New York Times
The castrati
moved the audience. An impeccable production. The staging of
Monsters and Prodigies
gathered over 1000 spectators, of which it also got the best
ovation.
Milenio, Jalisco, Mexico
Madmen singing in Brussels.
The strength of Valdés Kuri lies in his capacity to contrast
opposites, foolishness with harmony, violence with gentleness.
These singer-actors are capable of singing the most beautiful
melodies (Gluck, Handel…) but are also capable of pleasurable
nonsense.
Libération, Paris, France
…a well blended fusion of history and fantasy…a devastating
mixture of gravity and irony that provokes the public to view
the cruelties of an age amid Pergolesi and Gluck arias…a swift
review of two centuries of music from ‘bel canto to techno
passing through Claude François and Madonna! A revealing
spectacle, in a sand-like arena, takes the bull by the horns.
Le Soir, Brussels, Belgium
… a picaresque scene, hallmarked with circus-like aesthetics,
which celebrates the theme of the
castrati in an
ironically tender fashion. Using scores from Rameau, Pergolesi,
Bononcini, Handel, this accomplished company portrays three
centuries of the history of music and its fashions.
La Libre Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
TECHNICAL
INFORMATION:
MONSTERS AND PRODIGIES: THE HISTORY OF THE
CASTRATI (MONSTRUOS
Y PRODIGIOS: LA HISTORIA DE LOS CASTRATI):
Important note:
The host will provide the requirements specified with an
asterisk (*)
Total duration
1 act, 105 minutes.
Language /
Translation and subtitling*
The play is presented in Spanish.
Translation to the local language runs on the host.
Subtitling equipment.
Note: translations to English, French and Flamenco are already
available.
Audience
profile and entrance control
For adults and adolescents over 15 years old.
Entrance is forbidden once the show has started.
Stage*
The play is adaptable for different forums:
-Chamber arranged in a half circumference of 16 meters in
diameter.
-Two-fold front curtain (preferably red)
-Black cyclorama or black back
-Orchestra pit (not indispensable)
-Black chamber
-Two-fold front curtain (preferably red)
-4 or 3 sets of legs
-Back curtain
-Black cyclorama or black back
-Orchestra pit (not indispensable)
There are three versions of the show:
a) With
horse and sand (original version).
Stage with sand that allows optimal performance of
equestrian routines.
Silica sand surface, wire netting 40/50, beige colour, wet
for every performance and rehearsal, and 10 centimeters deep.
Metallic perimeter-long structure to contain the sand.
b) With
horse, without sand.
A selection of equestrian routines apt for a theatre stage
is performed.
c) Without
horse.
Version for spaces without availability for horse.
Dressage Horse*
Spanish
Colour: White (preferably)
High School training.
Exercises to perform: pass, jog, and gallop (combined); passage,
reverence, rise and two-trail exercise.
Horse training*
The horse and
the exercise ring must be available to train with the horseman 4
days before the set up.
Consumable props per
performance*
300 small
loaves of breads (buns)
2 bananas
1 carrot
Props*
1 wooden
table: 70 centimeters x 1.20 meters approximately
2 gymnastics mats painted black or covered in that colour.
In case the
play is presented with sand, the following things shall be
needed:
4 boards
90cms x 1.20m that will be used as floor, place behind the
bullpens, due to security measurements needed for the actor who
plays Chiron.
1 wooden
catwalk running from the left leg of the theatre to the middle,
the width is to be 90cms while the length depend on the stage's
size.
1 wooden
board 2.44m x 1.20m.
Instruments*
1 double
keyboard harpsichord (tuned up to 415). It is necessary for
rehearsals and performances.
Bench for the
harpsichord.
Consider the
tuning service for every day of rehearsal as well as every
performance.
Lighting*
We are
attaching an equipment list, yet, we will work on a specific
lighting design after the technical visit or after having
received the of the theatre planes.
14 par 64
15 fresnels
22 ellipsoidal
40°
10 ellipsoidal
30°
1 ellipsoidal
20°
Sound*
1 CD Player.
1 Consol with 12 channels and Phantom
power of 48 volts.
2 microphones SHURE SM91.
4 monitors: 2 up stage and 2 down stage.
Speakers:
-Up to 600 persons 1 system of three ways by side.
-From 600 persons to 1200 persons 2 systems of three ways by
side.
-1 System (1 Subwoofer and 2 Mid high)
Special effects*
Explosive
load for salvo cannon: 1 for general rehearsal and 1 for each
performance.
Technical specifications of pyrotechnics:
Concushion
powder explosion
of 6 grams A
and B Pyropak
material.
Electric matches for 12 volt batteries.
Dressing rooms*
6 dressing
rooms with chairs, mirrors, potable water and services.
Changing areas near the
stage*
3 racks
for hanging costumes.
4 tables to set props.
8 chairs.
Controlled lightning.
Catering*
Water,
coffee, tea, honey, biscuits and fruit.
Set up time*
a) Version
with horse and sand
First day:
sand set up and horse training on stage.
Second
day: montage, lightning and rehearsal with actors and horse.
Third day:
rehearsal and show.
b) Version
with horse, without sand
First day:
horse training on stage.
Second
day: montage, lightning and rehearsal with actors and horse.
Third day:
rehearsal and show.
c) Version
without horse
First day:
montage, lightning and rehearsal with actors and horse.
Second
day: rehearsal and show.
Personnel required for
rehearsals and performances*
2
lightning technicians
2 sound
technicians
4 stage
machinery technicians
2 costume
assistants
1 wig dresser
1 local actor
or actress
1 groom
10 people
(approx.) as extra personnel for the set up of the sand.
Lodging and
transportation*
14 people
travel:
-1 director
-1 assistant
director
-1
coordinator
-1 public
relations manager
-1 lighting
designer
-2 producers
-7 actors
Rooms
2 single
rooms
6 double
rooms
Room distribution:
-Claudio VALDÉS
-Matías GORLERO
-Fabrina MELÓN / Itzia ZERÓN
-Raúl ROMÁN / Gastón YANES
-Javier MEDINA / Luis Fernando VILLEGAS**
-Miguel Ángel LÓPEZ / Carlos LÓPEZ
-Edwin CALDERÓN / Ali Reza PARMAS
-Jorge
VÁZQUEZ / Igor LOZADA
**Note:
Housing for Luis Fernando VILLEGAS must be 4 days previous to
the set up.
Cargo
Description:
4 wheeled
rigid cases
Case I
Height: 74.5
cm.
Length: 122
cm.
Width: 61 cm.
Weight: 55
Kg.
Volume: 0.56
m3.
Case 2
Height: 74.5
cm.
Length: 168
cm.
Width: 61 cm.
Weight: 100
Kg.
Volume: 0.77
m3.
Case 3
Height: 74.5
cm
Length: 168
cm
Width: 61 cm
Weight: 165
Kg.
Volume: 0.77
m3.
Case 4
Height: 144
cm.
Length: 130
cm.
Width: 85 cm.
Weight: 200
Kg.
Volume: 1.60
m3.
Total
weight:
520 Kg.
Total
volume: 3.7 m3.
Custom procedures and cargo
transportation, handling and care*
StagingPlans:
www.ciertoshabitantes.com/index2.php?idioma=ingles&ira=planos&menu_datos_obra=1&id=6
TECHNICAL RIDER:
El AUTOMÓVIL GRIS
Technical Information: THE GREY
AUTOMOBILE (EL AUTOMÓVIL GRIS)
TECHNICAL RIDER
Important note:
The host should provide all the requirements designated below
with an asterisk (*)
Duration
1 Act / Total run: 1:30 hrs.
Audience profile
Adults & adolescents, 15 and over.
Language and Translation
The Grey
Automobile
gives bilingual performances in Spanish and in the language of
the country in which it is being performed. Generally, the cast
learns specific relevant phrases in the specific language and
invites a local actor. At the moment, there are versions in
Spanish, German, French, English, Japanese, Portuguese and Arab.
Stage design*
-
Basically the space needed should be equipped with a screen
for the movie to be projected.
-
Ideally, the screen should be located 2.5 meters upstage of
the proscenium.
The actors remain standing on the proscenium stage during
the entire performance, on the right and left sides of the
screen. The screen should be placed in such a way that the
actors have plenty of space to fully appreciate the
projected film for their interpretation.
-
The piano is generally placed in the centre, but below the
stage (between the stage and the first row of seats), so
that the pianist is seated below the screen and can see the
projection. When there is no difference in height between
the stage and the seats, the piano can be placed to the side
of the screen.
-
The production fits into various staging arrangements: an
empty stage or a black box theatre environment with a film
screen; a movie theatre, an auditorium or any other space
equipped with the listed requirements.
In theatres, the screen should be blackened to the size of
the projection by curtains and other means.
Sound*
-
5 Shure SM-58 microphones or equivalent
-
4 boom pedestals
-
1 desk pedestal
1 graphic equalizer (1/3 octave)
-
PA system serving all the microphones (console, amplifier
and speakers ad hoc)
-
3 monitors (with separate mix)
Lighting*
Although the show
can be adapted to available lighting equipment, the ideal
suggestion would include the following :
-
12 leekos 30° 1000w
-
4 fresnels with flags
-
2 cyclolights.
-
Light board with a minimum of 12 channels, 2 scenes and
memory
-
Color filters for all the reflectors: LEE 201 or ROSCO 3202
Film projection*
-
1 screen (minimum projection, 6 x 4 meters)
-
1 high luminosity video projector (3500 lumens minimum)
-
1 VHS-NTSC VCR
-
1 VCR monitor
-
1 switcher
Instruments*
·
1 upright piano with its accompanying bench for the
pianist (preferably black).
Under no circumstances can an electric piano be used.
Set up time*
-
10 hours are required, provided the space in question
complies with all the requirements described in this rider.
-
It will be requested, when possible, to set up one day in
advance of the first performance.
Technical personnel required for set-up:
-
1 experienced sound operator and 1 assistant
-
1 lighting technician and 1 assistant
-
2 stagehands
-
1 projectionist
-
1 piano tuner
Technical personnel required for performance:
-
1 experienced sound operator
-
1 lighting technician
-
1 projectionist
Dressing-rooms*
Catering*
-
Water, coffee, tea, honey and fruit. Glass water pitchers,
glasses and coffee cups.
Props*
-
3 black music stands (like an orchestra conductor’s music
stand)
-
3 glasses
Miscellaneous*
-
Laundry and ironing service for costumes
Transport and accommodation*
Required for 5 people:
-
1 director
-
1 producer
-
2 actresses
-
1 pianist
Rooming list:
5 single rooms
Names for booking air, train, bus tickets, hotels or official
documents:
-
Claudio VALDÉS
-
Fabrina MELON
-
Irene IIDA NAITO (her artistic name -Akiko- is different
from her official name “Irene Iida Naito”)
-
Ernesto GÓMEZ
-
Jorge VÁZQUEZ
Gym*
-
Since the demanding performances require uninterrupted
training, Claudio VALDÉS should be given access to a fully
equipped gymnasium.
Equipment and Costumes:
-
8 personal travel suitcases that also contain costumes (3
costumes, 1 wig and makeup)
-
1 case containing: 1 VHS/NTSC video cassette, 4 lamps, 3
water-glass bases for the music stands.
Excess luggage
-
None of the luggage pieces exceeds the 30kgs allowed for
international flights. However, in domestic or national
flights some airlines only allow a single piece of luggage
per passenger with a maximum weight of 20kgs. Therefore this
is an issue that should be considered.
StagingPlans:
www.ciertoshabitantes.com/index2.php?idioma=ingles&ira=planos&menu_datos_obra=1&id=5
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