Following seven months of collaborative effort, La Tropa, Columbia's only Latin theater company, opened their multimedia play, "The Fabulous and Heartbreaking Story of Donald and America" Wednesday night at Tapp's Arts Center.
Complete with puppetry, videography and song, the show aims to address the Trump administration's immigration policy in a new light.
"We are always wondering how President Trump, who has married at least two or three immigrants ... and who is the son of an immigrant and who is the grandson of an immigrant, hates immigrants so much," writer and puppet maker Alejandro Garcia said. "As a Latino community we have the impression that it's more of a matter of race and class."
By using puppetry and satire, La Tropa hopes to make the topic of Trump's immigration policy more approachable to a broader audience. Through the introduction of comic relief and multimedia creativity, they expect the play to open the minds of audience members.
“It's just easier to put an idea out there if it's not that blunt … so I think that puppeteers to some extent it breaks the ice and it makes it funny and whimsical and silly, and it's not that serious, but when you think about it it's very serious, it's just not in your face,” Garcia said.
After seeing a puppet show in Barcelona, Garcia and director Betsy Newman began to play with puppetry in their developing show, transcending one-dimensional acting. The play, which follows the story of Hilton Head residents Donald and America, is based on the experiences of a fellow company member.
Amid challenges to confidently create satire within a serious and timely subject, the cast also worked to overcome language barriers by incorporating both English and Spanish into the show, despite being a primarily Spanish speaking company.
“[The cast is] almost entirely native Spanish speakers speaking English. So there were some words that we needed to change and that were very difficult to pronounce and understand,” Newman said.
In the interests of approachability and inclusivity, La Tropa chose to pursue integrating two languages so that their multimedia show could be understood on multiple levels. Refuting stereotypes and representing all Latinos was also essential in the production process, according to Garcia.
“There’s that whole stereotype that Latinos are only working in this country in the service industry," Garcia said. "However, when you dig into the heart of the community you’ll find that there are many professionals here that are working at things that they are overqualified for different reasons, either because of language barriers, or for validation of credits or professional issues, but at any rate that misconception of the Latinos as a working class only is something that was very challenging to portray because we are trying to portray both.”
Most importantly for Newman, La Tropa hopes to start meaningful conversation among the community.
“We are asking people to stay afterwards for a talk back,” Newman said. “And that is really the point … getting people to think through humor and satire, and also to share their own experiences.”
“The Fabulous and Heartbreaking Story of Donald and America” will call its audience to remember their own pasts and think about how it affects their future through Friday.