This year’s winter play takes a different approach than previous years. This year drama teacher Veronica Pulido decided to collaborate with Artists Ink, a youth storytellers group.
“For the past few years I have tried to find a way that we can do a Christmas themed play, but I never could figure it out,” Pulido said. “Luckily, Emily Morales-Ortiz from Artists Ink reached out and we got to talking about doing a Christmas-themed play that would resonate with the Latino community.”
Together they both chose a play Artists Ink has done in the past, La Posada Magica. This play was written by Octavio Solis and composed by Marcos Loya. It is set in a contemporary Salinas,where the heart of la posada beats with the tale of Gracie, a young girl whose Christmas joy has disappeared after losing her dear little brother the previous holiday season. This Christmas Eve, Gracie embarks on a journey to rekindle her belief in the power of community, while simultaneously relighting the flicker of her own Christmas spirit.
Due to the play being a community play, it was open to all of the public to audition, but Pulido wanted Alisal students to take priority. “I felt great collaborating with Artists Ink, but I needed to make sure that Alisal was front and center, because we are hosting the play here after all,” Pulido said.
There were a total of 21 characters casted for this year’s play, and 5 out of those 21 people are Alisal students. As with most plays Pulido looked for the right person to embody these characters, some weird, some funny, some emotional, and some hateful. “It was difficult to find the right people to play these characters because I really wanted this play to be over the top,” Pulido said. “It took a while, but eventually I found 5 great students to be the perfect match for these roles.”
The main character Gracie was a bit difficult for Alisal student, Abdi Kuri, “I usually have no struggles with the character I act as, but this time I had struggles trying to embody Gracie, because she went through struggles that I have never experienced,” Kuri said. “However, I started being more of an empath in order to fully grasp Gracie’s character and give my absolute best.”
This show has been a great hit with two shows even selling out. The play was scheduled for three consecutive weekends starting the weekend after Thanksgiving through December 17. The first two weekends went well, with many of the shows filled with students and the community.
Many of the cast was thrilled to see the end result of the play. Max Magana (Buzzard) was happy with the way the whole play was set up. “I was very happy that our hard work made this play very memorable for not just us, but the audience,” Magańa said. “All of the stress and rehearsal during our class period really paid off and allowed us to create a great performance.”
They were very magical moments through the play that touched the Latino communities heart. Student Yesenia Alfaro-Puga, the sound designer, loved the connection that the play resembled to the Latino community. “It reminded me of the posadas my dad used to see in his hometown so this play brought me closer to my culture and warmed my heart into the Christmas spirit,” Alfaro-Puga said.
Pulido wanted to make this play very memorable and have people enjoy it, whether it’s a couple or a full house. “The amount of people who come to the shows always surprises me, I always hope that there is someone in the theater,” Pulido said. “Whether it’s 10 or 100 people I am always thankful for any of those who decide to come and look at what we have worked so hard to put together.”
“Despite the winter play taking a different approach it did well within our community,” Pulido said. “Overall the play was very successful this year and it’s all thanks to our drama department and Artists Ink.”
