(Ivan Vega, Elena Guiochin, Marilyn Camacho, Madrid St. Angelo, Jasmin Cardenas, Andy Bragen & Marti Lyons)

By Venus Zarris

From their powerful inaugural production of Miguel Piñero’s Short Eyes, to their incredible follow up of Piñero’s The Sun Always Shines for the Cool, to their recent dramatic tour de force of Reinaldo Povod’s Cuba and His Teddy Bear, UrbanTheater Company has made its name as one of Chicago’s most fearless and passionate collectives of theater creators.

On July 25, they presented a staged reading of Elena Guiochin’s remarkable new play, A Lovers Dismantling: Fragments of a Scenic Discourse, as part of the Goodman Theatre’s 2010 Latino Theatre Festival.

Guiochin script is lyrical and lovely, at times silly and at times staggering. It is an examination of love and relationships that takes the viewer on as much of a personal journey as it shares with them the lives of its four characters. “Love doesn’t have to be suffocating.” one character tells us but of course we know that the opposite can be just as true and Guiochin illustrates this with hysterical and heartbreaking effect.

Brilliantly directed by Marti Lyons, the cast embodied the characters and emotional transitions of the script with grace and impact. From the minute they took the stage it was apparent that Marilyn Camacho, Madrid St. Angelo, Ivan Vega and Jasmin Cardenas meant business. Their presence was confident and impressive; their performances surpassed the initial impression.

It is easy for a script to get muddled in the bare bones presentation of a staged reading. It is easy for a translated script to loose some of its original nuance, but Andy Bragen’s exceptional translation brought all of Guiochin’s dramatic beauty and poignancy to the surface and Lyons vision of this breathtaking script was clear and compelling. Her cast was grounded in emotionally perceptive connection to the characters and they transferred this connection to the audience with captivating charm, strength and skill.

The full house at Goodman’s Owen Theatre came away from the reading satisfied but wanting more, as many could be heard saying that they wished for a full production of this playful and provocative script. It deserves a full production and UrbanTheatre Company proved that they are more than up to the task. Hopefully, this incredible collaboration of artists will get the chance.

Although part of the Goodman’s 2008 Latino Theatre Festival, A Lovers Dismantling: Fragments of a Scenic Discourse marked UrbanTheater Company’s Goodman Theatre stage debut and along with the recent celebration of their 5th year, launches a remarkable time of growth for the company. In November of 2010, UTC will be producing the Chicago Premiere of Jose Rivera’s Brain People, also directed by Marti Lyons, and in February of 2011 they will be producing the Midwest Premiere of Jose Rivera’s Sonnets for an Old Century as part of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 2nd Annual GARAGE REP.

UTC has been a company to take seriously and follow closely right from the start. They are theatrical survivors and innovators that continue to take meager resources and create remarkably vibrant and vital work. Chicago Stage Review congratulates them on their already impressive accomplishments and encourages you to stay tuned to UrbanTheater Company for great things to come.

Urban Theater Company Chicago

Feature photos by Venus Zarris.