El año en que nací
The year I was born
Written and Directed by Lola Arias
Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 E. Chicago (map)
thru Jan 26 | tickets: $28 | more info
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Glimpse of Chilean history perhaps too personal for audience connection
Lola Arias i/a/w Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents
El año en que nací / The year I was born
Review by Lauren Whalen
Life can imitate art, or, sometimes, life can meet art. Pieces such as The Vagina Monologues draw from real-life individual experiences, yet resonate with audiences as a whole. For plays in which the performers take a part in creation, there’s a fine line between personal and indulgent. It’s a difficult balance: get enough detail and emotion so vignettes, monologues or scenes are unique to the creator, but establish some sort of universal truth as well. El año que nací / The year I was born doesn’t quite achieve that balance. The stories are excellent, the production values strong, the actors talented
Writer and director Lola Arias was commissioned by the Chilean government to create a new work, and chose as her subject matter the 17-year reign of dictator General Augusto Pinochet. From 1973 to 1990, Pinochet’s military dictatorship led to suppression of political parties, and the persecution and killing of dissidents. Thousands of leftists mysteriously “disappeared” in the first three months after Pinochet took over, and about 2 percent of the population (over 200,000 Chileans) was exiled. Through interviews, Arias selected 11 performers, both actors and not, whose parents lived through the Pinochet era. In this production, eight of them (born between the early 1970’s and late 1980’s) recall their family histories – in Spanish, with English supertitles – using personal objects, clothing and stories in a classroom-like setting, their birth years pinned to their backs.
The year I was born does achieve a happy medium of lighthearted anecdotes and more harrowing material. Obviously this wasn’t a happy time for Chile, but the easier moments of dance numbers and funny stories of “couch potato” parents are skillfully inserted just as things get very graphic. Of course, the histories are devastating. Even for the younger players, one of whom was born at the tail end of the Pinochet era, life wasn’t smooth sailing. Families were torn apart, broke up, or abandoned one another. One woman reveals at the end of the show that her mother stopped speaking to her because of her participation in the play. Another tells the story of her friend Alexandra, who wasn’t able to come to Chicago. Though Alexandra has enjoyed a successful athletic career and has a partner and twin daughters, she is still haunted by her mother, a leftist who was executed very early in Pinochet’s regime. Each vignette is creatively conveyed, with everything from electric guitars to overhead projectors, to Barbie dolls and pieces of fruit.
 
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I was fascinated by this piece of history, of which I was previously unaware, and enjoyed all of the performers’ different styles. There’s a very honest quality in The year I was born, no doubt because of the intensely personal material. And yet, I wish I could have felt more of a connection. Of course, I didn’t spend my childhood hiding from the military, or exiled to another country, or even without parents. Still, what I love most about theater is the potential to empathize with those who’ve had vastly different experiences. While I could objectively assess the play, its cast, and its gripping story, I never found myself fully engaged, and was disappointed by that.
It’s safe to say that I wanted to like The year I was born more than I actually could. I can confidently say it’s a unique theatrical experience (though, at 100 minutes, a bit too long – three sequences of lining up according to class, skin color, et cetera feel a bit superfluous). I can’t say, however, that it really stayed with me.
Rating: ★★½
El año en que nacícontinues through January 26th at MCA’s Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 E. Chicago (map), with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday 3pm. Tickets are $28 (MCA members: $22, students: $10), and are available by phone (312.397.4010) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at MCAChicago.org. (Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes, no intermission)
Photos by Nathan Keay and David Alarcón
artists
cast
Paula Bravo, Leopaldo Courbis, Ítalo Galardo, Soledad Gaspar, Alejandro Gómez, Fernanda Gonzàlez, Viviana Hernàndez, Jorge Rivero, Nicole Senerman
behind the scenes
Lola Arias (Writer/Director), Paula Bravo (Artistic Assistant/Investigation and Production), Nicole Senerman (Audiovisual Director), Jorge Rivero (Sound Editing and Graphics), Ulises Conti (Original Music and Sound Design, in collaboration with Alejandro Gómez), Soledad Gaspar (Choreography), Federico Jaeger (Technical Director), Guillermo Prieto (Subtitles) Nathan Keay, David Alarcón (photos)
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