Interview: Director Chris Chavez of LA RUTA at Stray Cat Theatre

Stray Cat Theatre's (SCT) second show of the season, La Ruta by Isaac Gomez, is an important offering touching on the often-ignored crime of femicide, or the murdering of women simply for being a woman, just across our border in the city of Juárez, Mexico.

While it's not your typical holiday offering, SCT shows rarely are of the run-of-the-mill variety, it is an important one, nevertheless. It is a relatively new play with the overall message: we need to open our eyes to what is happening to the women on La Ruta. I sat down with the show's director, Chris Chavez, to talk about the significance of this piece for him, La Comunidad, and theatre audiences in the Valley.

This play about femicide tragically is something most people aren't made to pay attention to, especially here, which is amazing to me given our closeness to the border. But it is unfortunately an inherent fact of life for these women.

Chris: Yeah. This show wasn't about stroking my ego. It truly was an awareness piece. I want people to walk away with a passion for the cause, and know that it is scary, and it that still continues. Not just in Mexico. It is a global phenomenon. There are other examples of femicide such as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) in Canada or the violence that rose and continues against women in Venezuela. While I do not face this danger, I feel that it is important to put a lens on this issue that serves to diminish not only my community but the scores of other communities as well.

I've heard you mention that this show is a love letter to the woman in your life and that you exist as a reflection of all they have taught you. Why was it so important to produce this show about Latiné women?

Chris: I wanted to show the strength of their resilience, and not because of, but despite the fear and tragedies that surround them. They know there are murderers out there, but they continue to fight relentlessly and search for their missing daughters. The fact that these women will do anything for their flesh and blood. And the magnitude of their strength in numbers is outstanding. Latiné women are rocks. On a personal note, I can tell you that since my mom passed, my family hasn't been the same. They are truly the foundations of the family.

Is there a particular line or scene that makes you stop and think "Hi, Mama." Or women, in general, you think about when directing these scenes?

Chris: There are no scenes or lines that remind me of my mom, per se. There are several attributes that I can pull from each character that I say remind me of her, but none so much as the character of Yolanda. Like Yolanda, as a stay-at-home mother, she worked tirelessly, endlessly, and thanklessly to support her family no matter who was watching or noticing. Like Yolanda, she also kept a simple, beautiful home that she was immensely proud of because this was her domain - her solace. There were the not-so-comfortable parts that I see too. The way Yolanda suffers in silence, wanting to say so much, but because of societal norms and machismo, she often couldn't. But what, in Yolanda, reminds me most of my mama, is the way she stands up and fights despite whatever the world has thrown her way and her willingness to go to the ends of the earth to see her family whole again. That is the spirit of my mother right there. How I wish she could physically see the influence she has had not just on me, but on my art as well.

There have always been examples of a sinister and deadly machismo that is a present but subtle threat in the lives of the women of Juárez and more and more around the world. As I was watching La Ruta, I couldn't help but notice that threat as something not outwardly acknowledged in Gomez's work - he only alludes to it. Do you think that was intentional in favor of focusing on the characters and their different struggles?

Chris: In my study of the script, I believe it was absolutely intentional. The playwright wanted the audience to be aware of this "invisible monster" but was never explicit about it for a couple of reasons. One, they wanted to focus on the effects these atrocities have on a small community to show that EVERYONE is affected, all members. Secondly, they wanted to accentuate the power and strength in doing so. In never actually seeing these femicides, but hearing them described in the play, I think it has more of an impactful punch.

Honestly, I feel that there were multiple struggles (e.g., poverty, minimal resources, lack of education, crime) and that the looming threat of the machiste patriarchy is the icing on the cake.

Chris: Yes! Especially towards the end of the play when Marisela tells Yolanda, "it's not la ruta...es todo...los hombres, los padres, los borrachos..." (to paraphrase). I think they also wanted to emphasize that this is just not a specific problem, but a multitude of issues that eventually contribute to it.

This is brought forth visually, I think, by the set design as well. The desert with the pink crosses in the middle of the stage serves to represent the constant threat present in the middle of everyday life - almost as a doomsday device reminding everyone this is an eventuality for most women there.

Chris: Exactly! The set design was conceived by Tiana Torrilhon-Wood brilliantly. We had one premeeting to discuss some initial ideas. I had said from day one that the only antagonist in this story is the lingering threat, the invisible monster, and then on the first read-through, she came up with a rendering.

I also loved the depiction of Desamaya as the personification of Our Lady of Guadalupe - maybe not as the saint but as a current or thread of energy running through the play and as a part of all the women. Whose decision was to do that, the playwright's or yours?

Chris: That was completely my decision. My intent was always to focus on the strength and power of the women. Desamaya to me always read as this ever-present "Greek chorus" type of character, a spirit, Los Antipasados. I then thought, who is a female representation in Mexican culture that personifies both these ideas? La Virgen Tonantzin is one of the strongest if not the strongest female figures in Mexican culture, a protector of her people, and someone that many Mexican people look to in times of tragedy. Thus, my idea was born.

We know in scene two who Desmaya is because they insinuate she's on the radio. But it isn't until scene eight, the second to the last scene that we learn that she was taken and murdered just like many of the other women. And with that, we realize that no one is protected, no matter what their status.

You did a good job of combining both realism and magical realism in incorporating Desamaya's presence which, I love so much.

Chris: Magical realism is one of my favorite literary devices. I've been obsessed ever since I read Bless Me Ultima in high school. That is the one thing that I wished this play had a little bit more of, but I also understand why the playwright made it to be very real, as these issues are.

Watching the show, how the women reacted to adversity, danger, and emotionality, I felt that you had an incredibly keen sense as to what it is like to be a woman in this environment. I can imagine it was challenging tackling a difficult topic without having a frame of reference to jump off from. Talk about some of the methods you used to engage with your cast in that unfamiliar space.

Chris: Challenging yes, because I'm a man and I admittedly don't know all the nuances or particulars about women. So, allowing the actors to create a role and bring a part of themselves into the character was always aforethought. In our process, I also asked them to bring a story to share with the cast about a particular woman in their life that has influenced them in some way. The purpose was that whenever the actors found themselves stuck within the confines of their experiences, they could try to navigate it from another strong female perspective. Lastly, let me not forget the impeccable Luz Navarro, my assistant director, who always was able to finely tune scenes and such in places where I would find myself stuck.

I will also say this. I can now confidently add that the women who have worked with me on this show are now part of the growing list of Latiné women who inspire me every day. Seriously.

Is there anything that you wanted to say that wasn't touched on?

Chris: I think one last thing to emphasize is how personal this show was to all of us. There's a line in the show I really think reflects the importance of knowing people and their stories - "A woman is kept alive by the sound of her voice." The collective her, in this instance, is the women and their activism - the ones left behind and by others who take time to tell the hidden stories or the stories that are not being told due to corruption or revisionist history or simply because this is a marginalized population. By telling these stories, we keep the energy and memory of these women alive and seen. It also further emphasizes why it is important that our stories be told and told correctly.

...

Inspired by real-life testimonials of the women in Juarez, Mexico, La Ruta is a play to see and experience its layers. There is a reason why many, after seeing the show, have had to take a few days to unpack their feelings and put into words what the cast has presented. It is just one in a few offerings to get a glimpse into a devastating world most aren't privy to while it exists as a fact-of-life within the Latiné community.

La Ruta plays its final weekend at Tempe Center for the Arts and ends on December 17.

#niunamas

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