To the victor, go the spoils.
Ah! But the spoils.
Nothing good here.
No cushy political appointments. No money. No land.
Benefits? None!
Glory? Not so much!
Grief? Enough to go around in Zimmerman’s nameless South
American location where the ravages of war have left the town, its people and
two couples in complete and devastating ruin.
Martín Zimmerman’s bold and highly disturbing in your
face “Seven Spots on the Sun” is now in
an excellent staging at InnerMission Productions. It’s all done under the
watchful eye of Carla Nell one of the artistic directors at the tiny blackbox
(29 or so seats) space in back of the larger Diversionary Theatre. So Shhhh
when you pass by the side of the theatre.
“I quickly make up for eighteen months without radio,
eighteen months of daily battle with my darkest thoughts. I dance to shake the
pain out of every limb to sweat and sweat, till you’ve purged the war from
every pore…” The radio. The voice in the radio is announcing the end of the war
and amnesty, pardon, absolution to all who committed autocracies during the
fighting.
 |
| Bernardo Mazon and Jennifer Paredes |
Not so fast my friends. War can be an elixir to some. It’s a
way out of a boring, oft times dangerous job. It can be a travel agency for
some, taking soldiers to places they never before though of. It can give them a
lucrative pension after a short stint fighting. At least that’s what Luis (Bernardo
Mazón) thought.
He was tired of working in the mines, making little to
nothing for his wife Monica (Jennifer Paredes) and any family they might want
in the future. So, with an advance for
enlisting, he bought her a washing machine (so she wouldn’t have to use a
scrubbing board to wash the clothes) and off he went. In the beginning was all-good.
Time away from each other intensified their sex life.
 |
| Sandra Ruiz and Jorge Rodrigues |
In another town close by Moises (Jorge Rodriguez) and his
adoring wife Belen (Sandra Ruiz), who is a nurse run the small medical clinic
where drugs were getting harder and harder to come by. The clinic doors have
been locked since Belen was dragged away by one of the fighters. Moises refuses
to see anyone.
Close by in the mission run by the drinking (to avoid
making decisions priest) Eugenio (Miguel Gongora, Jr. stands his ground as the
tentative priest) thinks that by keeping the doors to the mission locked shut,
things will resolve themselves. When a plague hits their little community
everything turns upside down. It seems that the children are breaking out in
boils and high fever and dying for lack of medical attention.
When the priest approaches Moises the -you what- hits the fan
and Moises returns the favor by ignoring the man of the cloth. But things take
a turn and the medic actually becomes the healer as he lays hands on the
children.
By some miracle the boils disappear and the children live.
But when Monica brings her child to be healed, Moises cannot forgive her
husband for snatching his wife away, all in his duty for the war effort. It’s
then that both men have come to a come to Jesus moment. (No spoilers here).
Zimmerman’s play, along with a strong and committed cast of
actors is willing to put it all on the line in this tiny little space. They
sing and dance choreographed by Patrick Mayuyu and Robert Malave in spiritual rituals (the town people) that almost dislodge
the seriousness of the story about to be told when we first meet up with a
raging Moises who takes a hammer to the radio and leaves the stage.
 |
| Miguel Gongora, JR. Bernardo Mazon, Jennifer Paredes and Markuz Rodriguez |
It is at this time that we meet Monica who dreamily tells us
about her husband Luis. He said, “I was his missing ingredient.” Jennifer
Paredes gives performance of a lifetime as she moves from young bride to army
wife… “Each time his body comes back to me but…it’s like he’s leaving little
bits of himself in the field an earlobe here a pinky toe there so when the war
ends…I barely have a husband.”
From there, she moves effortlessly to the pleading mother of
a feverish child to the helpless wife begging for her child’s life. The emotional arc she shows is amazing. The
chemistry between the two, Paredes and Mazon is noticeably evident.
Mazon’s Luis moves from cocky miner to arrogant soldier to
disillusioned civilian who loses everything he dreamed of and more. Sandra Ruiz
is a convincing Belen as she too moves from loving wife to concerned accomplice
before she is dragged off by the war torn soldier Luis when Eugenio refuses to
give her refuge in the mission. She is never seen again; the clinic goes dark
and Moises refuses to see patients for over a year.
Jorge Rodriguez is in rare form as the war torn, tormented
and degraded medic Moises who is in mourning for his lover, his wife; the one
who lured him with the sweet taste of pineapple. His is a world turned upside
down first as a gentle healer to one struggling with his loss turned miracle
worker turned accuser. All eyes are on his passionate performance, and it pays
off. His performance is heartfelt and emotionally wrenching.
Spoils? You name one. War is hell as the saying goes and
between Zimmerman, Nell and the Town’s Greek Chorus of four (Markuz, Danielle
Levin, Elizabeth Jimenez and Robert Malave) “Seven Spots” leave more than
handprints on the sun; it destroys towns, communities and countries. It
ravishes good men with good intentions while giving way to dictatorships for,
yes, the spoils.
Shaun Tauzon’s set can be a little confusing but the actors
make use of every small musical instrument, box, trunk, and corrugated backdrop
to be seen. Natalie Cargill designed the lighting and Robert Malave the
appropriate costumes.
 |
| Elizabeth Jimenez, Jennifer Paredes, Jorge Rodriguez and Danielle Levin |
“Seven Spots” is the theatre’s first show of its second
season (It’s 90 minutes) and if this level of excellence is indicative of
what’s to come, you made a good call by getting out to see it.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Through Dec. 10th
Organization: InnerMission Productions
Phone: 619-324-8970
Production Type: War Drama
Where: 4545 Park Blvd. #101, San Diego, 92116
Ticket Prices: $25.00
Web: innermissionproductions.org
Venue: Diversionary Black Box
Photo: Adriana
Zuniga-Williams.
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