De Rojo a Gitano.

«Everything really came about as a theatrical discharge for the enjoyment of the actors. In the beginning, this was what we had in mind, to do a performance for ourselves, although in reality, I would not even call it a performance, however, when visiting Mauricio Cifuentes Nodarse, who was my teacher when I studied at the IPVCE Carlos Marx we talked about the possibility of doing this performance in his house, taking into account the colonial and cozy characteristics of the house.

«It was there where we premiered and closed our first theatrical discharge ‘Soñar no cuesta nada'».

Anthony Bernal Ruesca is currently one of the artistic intelligences in charge of a project that emerged as a personal enjoyment and became a promoter of theatrical art in Matanzas adolescents and young people, El Trébol Gitano.

«Most of the members of this project met from the Acting Workshop «Alas de Teatro» of Teatro Icarón, directed by the excellent actress Miriam Muñoz Benítez. The teacher gave me the opportunity to direct at that time and from there I became that figure that orders and directs the work. However, I don’t do it alone, Jorge Ernesto de la Cal Hoyos, a professional actor, helps me a lot and is also part of this madness.

«At first, I took the boys to the stage to think about the best way to take advantage of the space. From the moment we arrived, we began to devise and carry out a theatrical search, texts emerged, some of them our own, and others of already recognized authors, and more and more people joined the idea.

«All this led the show to what René Fernández Santana, National Theater Award and director of the Papalote Theater, called a theatrical procession, because every day we explored different sensations and based on them we improved. It is practically impossible for this generation not to dream and that is precisely why we named the show this way».

Ángel Feria Sao is one of the actors who has accompanied Anthony since the beginnings of Trébol, when it was Rojo y no Gitano.

«One day he invites me to a theatrical unloading at the residence of Mauricio Cifuentes Nodarse and after the formal presentation we went to the first room.

«Walking around that beautiful 19th century colonial house was wonderful , the walls full of surrealist artwork and beautiful colors made us fall more and more in love with the property. Seeing each room brought a lot of ideas. That’s how Soñar no cuesta nada was born.

«The staging was put together in three weeks and was created collectively. The costumes were made from scraps of fabric, from clothes that Mauricio had saved from his great-great-grandmother, from shirts and pants we had at home and so on.

«We started the rehearsals, we looked for the best places in the residence and then the movements and patterns were born, which marked the performance after performance until it somehow remained the same in each show. We were happy during this creative process.

Soñar no cuesta nada» grew and matured. We were looking for a way to create a space for that young talent, eager to face the euphoric audience.

«Comments like: ‘this is great; I was tired of the same thing; don’t stop existing; I have a lot of fun here; Havana is very far away and that’s the only place where I’ve seen something similar to what I find here; I love that my Matanzas is waking up from that deep sleep; young people like us need a place for recreation and this is our temple’, filled me with gratification and pride».

Nathaly Arencibia, actress of Trébol Gitano, commented that after «Autopsia en el Paraíso», a play staged during the theatrical workshops of the teacher Miriam Muñoz Benítez, she wanted to do more theater and joined Bernal Ruesca’s cause.

«Soñar no cuesta nada» is a journey through the dream world of Cubans. It touches on everyday issues, probably experienced by any individual. The stories are intertwined from childhood to adulthood and in my case, the play became a challenge.

«At first this idea of experimental theater was strong for me. We have a habit of visiting a venue where we arrive and sit down to watch a show. This was not the case with Soñar, there the audience had the task of walking through the whole house and being the ones to find us in each of the rooms. The emotions, in this case, are much stronger. The actor and the audience have a more real relationship, due to the closeness between them.

«We had several setbacks while doing the play as we didn’t have our own audio and the electricity situation was also something that gave us several scares. However, companionship, friendship and hard work overcame everything.

«Personally, theater has cured me, with Miriam’s workshops I began to see life in a different way. Now I always hope to come back and do more beautiful things every day. It’s magic.

«Currently we are going from being the Red Clover to the Gypsy, as we will be moving all over the city. In bars, cafes or the street, you will find us very soon. We have a lot of plans. Very nice things for everyone.»

Written by Samantha Fierro Rodríguez and Adrián Calderín Lozano, Journalism students/ Photos Sergio Martínez