Ocean\u00a0waves, clinking margarita glasses, and dance music\u00a0are\u00a0the soundtrack\u00a0for guests at\u00a0a\u00a0private\u00a0Canc\u00fan\u00a0resort. The mostly Caucasian visitors feel like they are\u00a0having an authentic cultural experience behind high\u00a0stone\u00a0walls that protect them from the daily lives of the local\u00a0Mexicans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Capital Stage\u2019s \u201cEspejos: Clean,\u201d we get a glimpse of what\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0like to be an invisible employee at the resort as well as\u00a0a\u00a0pampered guest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the local\u00a0employees\u00a0is\u00a0Adriana\u00a0(Sarita\u00a0Oc\u00f3n),\u00a0a\u00a0hard-working\u00a0hotel manager\u00a0whose own soundtrack is answering guests\u2019\u00a0requests and staying in the background.\u00a0When\u00a0\u201cEspejos: Clean\u201d\u00a0begins,\u00a0Adriana\u00a0faces the audience and starts off\u00a0by giving her background \u2013 her climb from a small\u00a0local\u00a0village to\u00a0one of\u00a0the resort\u2019s head managers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her monologue is\u00a0interspersed with our introduction to the play\u2019s second character \u2013 a Caucasian Canadian who is at the resort as part of her sister\u2019s destination wedding.\u00a0Sarah (Stephanie Altholz) also speaks directly to us, giving her own background as\u00a0a\u00a0self-confessed mess \u2013\u00a0thinking\u00a0herself as\u00a0the disaster daughter\u00a0in\u00a0her family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What makes \u201cEspejos: Clean\u201d by playwright\u00a0Christine Quintantso unique is\u00a0that\u00a0the whole production is bilingual. As each\u00a0actress\u00a0speaks in their character\u2019s native tongue,\u00a0projected on screens for the audience to see are\u00a0translations from both languages (Spanish to English, English to Spanish).\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0a meaningful way\u00a0to\u00a0not only\u00a0to\u00a0understand\u00a0each character but\u00a0also\u00a0to experience both languages.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the beginning,\u00a0Adriana and Sarah\u00a0tell their stories separately, so you get to know them as individuals, not just a duo exchanging dialogue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
We learn of their past struggles: Adriana\u00a0is\u00a0still affected by\u00a0a\u00a0family loss,\u00a0while Sarah\u00a0still\u00a0carries\u00a0a\u00a0long-standing trauma from her youth.\u00a0Each of them\u00a0has\u00a0packed\u00a0their\u00a0past traumas deep in their emotional baggage, but those troubling memories\u00a0remain. And\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0how and when each\u00a0reaches\u00a0inside and pulls\u00a0out\u00a0their scars that the healing may begin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A huge storm descends on the resort,\u00a0bringing\u00a0crashing sounds of waves, thunder, and downpours, resulting in\u00a0drama in which two women from different worlds \u2013 and languages \u2013\u00a0connect, though sometimes\u00a0in\u00a0dark ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, humor is sprinkled about \u2013 the pre-wedding chaos, the dance parties that sometimes end up in the reflective pool, the sparkling dress that reflects light.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
And mixing\u00a0humor\u00a0with\u00a0drama are the two\u00a0actresses\u00a0who\u00a0perfectly\u00a0match their characters.\u00a0Oc\u00f3n\u00a0has us rooting for her as she captures\u00a0Adriana\u2019s\u00a0spunk,\u00a0stubbornness\u00a0and\u00a0sensitivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first,\u00a0Altholz\u00a0displays\u00a0Sarah\u2019s humor with\u00a0a\u00a0bit of ditziness and funny descriptions of wedding woes. But slowly,\u00a0Altholz\u00a0unveils a much more traumatic and sympathetic\u00a0side to Sarah, leaving us witness to her scars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Director Dena Martinez\u00a0keeps the pace consistent between monologues and dialogues and\u00a0ensures\u00a0action\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0overtake the storylines.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The set is simple\u00a0\u2013 a hotel bedroom and a reflective pool lined with Mexican tiles. Simplicity is important since the audience is watching the actors\u00a0and\u00a0reading the translations projected on the wall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Along with the translations, the screens\u00a0also include text messages as well as photos and videos of nature,\u00a0beach,\u00a0the resort,\u00a0and\u00a0a local village.\u00a0There were a couple\u00a0of\u00a0video glitches,\u00a0but\u00a0nothing that\u00a0slowed down the performances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEspejos: Clean\u201d\u00a0captures both the vulnerability and the strength of two women from two\u00a0different backgrounds\u00a0speaking two different languages. Though there is not as much interchange between the two as expected, the similarities bring their stories together.\u00a0<\/p>\n