Sopris Theatre Company (STC), the hybrid student-community theater company at Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) Spring Valley campus, is gearing up to premiere its third show of the season, “Native Gardens,” a comedy by award-winning playwright Karen Zacarías.
This 90-minute play tells the story of two couples. Pablo del Valle, a young hotshot working for a big law firm, and his doctoral candidate wife, Tania, move into a historic Washington, D.C. neighborhood where they become acquainted with Frank and Virginia Butely, a well-established couple with an award-winning home garden. The neighboring couples find themselves in a dispute over a fence line, which ultimately surfaces cultural differences between the two households.
“It explores challenges around race, class, equity, the expectation around ownership, how the law addresses issues in a different way than how people live it and how nice people can get caught up in challenging experiences which they create,” stated Heather Exby, who plays Virginia.
Exby formerly served as the vice president of CMC’s Spring Valley campus. There were times when she got to work with the college’s theater operations manager, and the director of this upcoming show, Brad Moore. When she did, she advocated that the theater host shows relevant to the conversation around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
“I’m super excited about this play,” continued Exby. “It explores bias and unconscious bias, which I think is just so powerful.”
Audiences are in for a production that brings attention to preconceived notions people often have, whether conscious of them or not, in a satirical manner that will also provoke some serious thought.
Ricky Perez, who recently appeared in Thunder River Theater Company’s (TRTC) production of “Rabbit Hole,” plays Pablo del Valle. Gabriela Alvarez Espinoza plays Tania del Valle and Willie Moseley, an STC regular, plays Frank Butely.
Moseley described Butley as a seemingly ordinary guy who can be an emotional wreck. He added that a challenge for him has been breathing believability into the character, but despite that, he is having a lot of fun.
“I think it’s much more valuable to make him relatable — a real person that you would expect to meet in your daily life,” Moseley said of his character. “He should be likable, but he also has aspects which, you know, are not likable.”
Perez touched on what he sees as an underlying theme of the show: privilege. He argued that it is manifested within each character to some degree.
When discussing the reason for choosing “Native Gardens” for the season, Moore expressed his commitment to helping further the college’s DEI mission.
“When reading through shows, I’m trying to think of productions that would further the mission of the theater and the college and give our students and our community members something rich and powerful to enjoy,” he stated. “It takes a long time to build partnerships and relationships, and I’m hoping that “Native Gardens” is the beginning of something that will ultimately help guide the company’s future. Ultimately, I would love to see actors, directors, designers and technicians from diverse populations. Since CMC is a Hispanic-serving institution, I’d love to think this is a good starting place.”
Stereotypes will be unraveled and deconstructed on both sides of the fence in this production. Espinoza added that people’s presumptions of others are hardly, if ever, reliable.
To purchase tickets for ‘Native Gardens’ or to get updates about upcoming productions, visit svticketsales@coloradomtn.edu or call 970-947-8177