ON HER SHOULDERS Virtual Presentations

available on NPTC YouTube Channel (NewPerspectivesTC)

Premieres Saturday, November 6, 2:00pm EST (U.S.)
and available through Wednesday, November 10, 2021

COUNT PARTINAPULÉS (c. 1640)
 by Ana Caro

Translated by Hardley Eardman

directed by Lynn Marie Macy, dramaturgy by Melody Brooks

with:
Sheila Joon Azim*, Cynthia Bastidas*, DeAnna Gonzales*, Tatiana Grey*, Jordan Laroya,
Jomack Miranda, Arisael Rivera*, Mario Sotero*, and Federico Trigo*

REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/182910027817

Ana Caro (c.1600-1645) wrote primarily comedias, autos sacramentales (religious plays), and relaciones (commentaries on current events) during the Spanish Golden Age . Since she received monetary compensation for her autos and relaciones, Caro is arguably one of the first female professional writers to appear in Spain as well as in Europe as a whole. Caro wrote two autos sacramentales and several entremeses (short interlude plays performed between acts of comedias, two of which survive.) El conde partinuplés and Valor, Agravio y Mujer (The Courage to Right a Woman's Wrongs) are the only full-length plays by Caro that are still known today.

First printed in 1653, Caro’s El Conde Partinuplés, uses an "invisible-mistress" plot as a parody (and subversion) of certain elements of the typical "wife-murder" drama popular at the time. The script follows the Spanish Comedia tradition in its structure which grew out of the more improvisational Commedia dell'Arte but were artistically rigorous works.

ON HER SHOULDERS was founded in May 2013 to present rehearsed, staged readings of plays by women from across the spectrum of time, with contemporary dramaturgs contextualizing them for modern audiences. To date, the program has presented 60 plays by 47 writers, from the years ca 955 to 1970. The Play in Context, the dramaturgical and scholarly presentation component for all of the readings, is sponsored in part by the League of Professional Theatre Women.