Director: Juan Carlos Osorio
Playwright: The group
Institution: Universidad del Valle, Sede Pacifico - Colombia
Venue: Univalle Theatre - Aud.4
Time: 15:00, May 19, 2015
Event: ATEC 9th International Forum
The Director
Juan Carlos Osorio Molano. Has a degree in Drama from Universidad del Valle, actor, director and visual adviser in scenic projects. Actor of the group of creation and investigation Teatro del Valle from Universidad del Valle, where participated in plays like: Schlemiel!, folktales of a Jewish Village, 2005, directed by: Alejandro Gonzalez Puche, with performances in the International book fair in Guadalajara, Mexico 2007, Temporales de Teatro in Puerto Montt, Chile 2006, and in the IX Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro of Bogota 2008. Director assistant of Othello, 2006, by William Shakespeare. Member of the Fundacion Teatro del Valle Independiente, where had the leading role of An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Manuel Viveros. In 2009 direct the play Secreto Voces of the Venezuelan writer Toti Vollmer. In 2010 participated as invited actor and director, with the company Teatral Canalete, in the play Encuentro en el Parque Peligroso by Rodolfo Santana. In 2011 acted in Calima, Historias del Vapor of Alejandro Gonzalez Puche, directed by Ma Zhenghong. In 2012 acted in Harry el Melancolico, and in 2015 acted in El Fin del Mundo, both directed by John Ale Castillo and acted in Por Mi Puta Madre, directed by Eddy Janeth. Participated in four consecutive times in the Festival Internacional de Teatro de Cali (Cali's International Theatre Festival). Has worked with directors like Fabio Rubiano, Jua Carlos Agudelo, Everett Dixon, Douglas Salomon and Gloria Castro. Currently work as designer and adviser of set design, props and costumes and as a professor of Universidad del Valle.
Synopsis
Griots is a theatre adaptation of four African folktales that shows a little part of the essence of the African continent. The stories alternate among popular characters, fantasy creatures and the magical world of animals showing universal values. The tales have characters like the hare, an ingenious rascal; the hyena that is the loser one in all the stories; the lion, boss of the animals that give them presents; the snake, that scares and is the healer too; there were spells that give freedom or misery too. The tales are told by the Griots, ancestral storytellers' custodians of the oral tradition; and for the play were taken four tales: The Lion, the Hare, and the Hyena, from Kenya, where the hare and the hyena compete for being next to Simba the king of the jungle; in Mmadipetsane a Lesotho's folktale, appear an anxious girl that disobey her father advises and face Ledimo, the frightening man-eater monster. The tale The Spider and the Crows makes a call for obedience, the "Anasi " or spider, has an important role in many African tales, this Nigerian folktale sample that crooks not always receives a lesson; finally, The Ring of the King, a tale that has African mythical kingdoms resonances, puts our attention in the power of the mind and guilt, by the hand of a powerful king and a mysterious wizard. The set design and the costume, reflect the traditional African Griots, with elements which frame the African essence, the visual concept is inspired by the American artist Keith Mallett.