GENTRY: And now Great Arts at Eastern from the Portales campus of Eastern New Mexico University. I’m Jeff Gentry, Dean of the College of Fine Arts here on KENW, your Public Radio Network. Today, my guests are Israel Stacy and Gwen Buchanan. Israel is a Sophomore Theatre Major. And Gwen is a Forensic Science Major at ENMU. Thank you both for joining me today.
STACY: Yeah, of course.
GENTRY: So, Israel, you have become a go to performer in the ENMU theatre. Our listeners may best remember you as Monsieur Arcati from Blythe Spirit, among other rules.
STACY: Yeah.
GENTRY: Are you glad to be performing on a real stage for real people this year?
STACY: Absolutely. It has been so thrilling to be performing on stage again. My first performance at ENMU, was actually online, so it’s been super exciting actually being in the theater space and getting to work with my fellow actors in person.
GENTRY: Great. And tell me a little bit about your role as Tomas in next week, Six Stories Tall.
STACY: So, my character Tomas, he is; Well, he works well. He doesn’t work. He runs Errands for his mom and he runs into our title character Serena, which is played by Gwen and ends up falling in love with her.
GENTRY: And- and Gwen what? What does Serena?
STACY: Sirena. Yes,
GENTRY: Serena. Oh, Sirena. Yes. Think about- about Tomas?
BUCHANAN: Serena thinks that he’s an interesting character. Definitely. Uh, she is. Uh, just curious about what he’s doing and ends up being kind of an awkward situation between them. But in the end, I feel like they come to an understanding and they grow as people
GENTRY: Alright and with the names we- we get a sense that this is a Latino take on some Hispanic fairy tales.
STACY: Yes, it is. And every single piece that's within the show definitely drives into that factor. And it’s super exciting to have a- a show like that because I never have done one that is written by like somebody who is Hispanic or calls for mainly Hispanic actors.
GENTRY: Right. And so, Gwen which of your three characters is most different from Gwen Buchanan?
BUCHANAN: Most different from Gwen Buchanan, I would say, is Marta Elena. She is a teenager. She’s a little tacky. She’s very wants to scare her little cousin. She’s just very silly.
GENTRY: And you’re more serious.
BUCHANAN: And I would say so.
GENTRY: Serious and mature. Alright and so is this play Gwen your introduction to hip hop fairy tales?
BUCHANAN: It is, Yes, it’s not like anything I’ve ever done before, but it’s been a lot of fun working with these different people and doing this sort of more experimental kind of play. I like it a lot.
GENTRY: And your typical audience is primarily adults, but this show is particularly child friendly. Yes?
STACY: Yes, it is.
BUCHANAN: Yes, I think it there’s a lot because the stories are very silly. They’re very outlandish. But there are also serious issues of like poverty or losing parents that I feel like anyone could relate to.
GENTRY: Right. Yeah, some films or place a that there for the entire family when they’re really for kids, but this is for the whole family, right?
STACY: Yeah, this is definitely a piece. That’s for the whole family. And I think that’s definitely one of the things that I appreciate about this piece because I know that with some of our other shows, it’s harder to bring in some of our younger audience members. So, I think it's amazing that we're doing that.
GENTRY: And with six different stories, it’s going to be a fast-paced evening. Yes.
BUCHANAN: Oh yes.
STACY: Absolutely, yeah.
GENTRY: Alright and such with fantastical stories, will the set and props be kind of theater of the mind, or are you going for realism?
BUCHANAN: I think a little bit of both.
STACY: Yeah, I think it definitely ways in the realm of both with the show and I think that really make it really drives the story forward and makes this show really interesting to watch because, there are a lot of interpretive elements and realism elements.
GENTRY: Great. Well, let’s see who’s your author, Marco Ramirez.
STACY: Yes.
GENTRY: Is the playwright. Alright. Well, thank you, Israel Stacy and Gwen Buchanan, Six Stories Tall opens next Thursday, April 21st on the University Theater Center Mainstage, 7:00 PM. Performances Thursday, Friday, Saturday, plus a Sunday matinee at 2:00 PM. General admission $10, with full-time ENMU students free, and discounts for Seniors in Armed Forces. You can find all the Great Arts at Eastern at enmu.edu/FineArtsEvents. I’m Jeff Gentry. Thanks for listening on KENW, your Public Radio Network.
Six Stories Tall
Written by Marco Ramirez
Directed by Ricky Quintana
Mainstage, University Theatre Center (UTC)
Thursday, April 21 | 7 p.m.
Friday, April 22 | 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 23 | 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 24 | 2 p.m.
General admission: $10
Free admission with valid ENMU Student ID
Senior citizens (60+) admission: $7
Active military admission: $7
