On Her Shoulders

in association with New Perspectives Theatre Company and the New School for Drama presents

House of Desires (1683)
by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Directed by Melody Brooks, Dramaturgy by Heather Violanti, Translation by Catherine Doyle

On Her Shoulders is pleased to present a FREE staged reading of House of Desires (1683) by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz directed by Melody Brooks on Friday, December 4, 2015. Doors open at 6:30pm. The Play in Context, which situates the script in its historical time and place, kicks off the evening at 6:45pm with an Introduction by dramaturg Heather Violanti. Running time, including a post-performance Q&A is 90 minutes. The performance is at The New School, Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th Street. R.S.V.P. to OnHerShouldersReservations@gmail.com.

SOR JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ was a self-taught scholar and poet of the Baroque school, and Hieronymite nun of New Spain, known in her lifetime as “The Tenth Muse.” Born in 1651, in Mexico, Juana Inés de la Cruz’s intelligence and scholarship became known throughout the country during her teen years. She joined the convent in 1667 for the academic and artistic freedom offered. She wrote plays and poetry, often challenging societal values and becoming an early proponent of women’s rights. Her works were inventive, displaying wit and a wide range of knowledge. She employed all of the poetic models of her day, including sonnets and romances, and she drew on wide-ranging secular and non-secular sources. She also wrote dramatic, comedic and scholarly works—almost unheard of for a nun. Sor Juana’s most important plays include brave and clever women, and her famous poem, “Hombres necios” (“Foolish Men”), accuses men of behaving illogically by criticizing women. Her most significant poem, “Primero sueo” (“First Dream”), published in 1692, recounts the soul’s quest for knowledge. With Sor Juana’s growing recognition, however, came disapproval from the Church: she responded with a stunning defense of all women’s right to attain knowledge and famously wrote “One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper,” justifying her study of secular topics as necessary to understanding theology. In 1693, Sor Juana ceased writing. Whether under pressure or from a sincere repentance is not known. She died in Mexico City on April 17, 1695.

MELODY BROOKS (Director) is the founder and Artistic Director of New Perspectives Theatre Company (NPTC). At NPTC she directs the Women’s Work LAB, which develops short and full-length plays by 6-10 members per year; she also serves as Executive Producer for NPTC’s Voices From the Edge Festival, which has showcased more than 75 new works by African-American writers and performers since 1998. In 25 years, Melody has developed, directed and produced more than 150 original and classic plays in locations ranging from large professional venues to city parks and schools in all NYC boroughs. In 2009, she created Theatre Is Served!^™, a program of concert readings of plays from across the historical and cultural spectrum, performed with a matching meal, which led her to assume a producing role with ON HER SHOULDERS. Melody is a co-founder of 50/50 in 2020: Parity for Women Theatre Artists, a grassroots initiative named by nytheatre.com as a 2009 “Person” of the Year, and a member of the Board of Directors of the League of Professional Theatre Women, serving on the Heritage and International Committees.

HEATHER VIOLANTI (Dramaturg) is a New York-based dramaturg and playwright. Favorite production dramaturgy includes A Little Journey, Love Goes to Press, and Susan and God at the Mint Theater. She has also worked with emerging playwrights in developing their plays in England and the United States. Heather is currently a member of the BMI Librettists Workshop and is attending the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. She holds an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from the Yale School of Drama and an MA, Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media, from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

CATHERINE BOYLE (Translator) is Professor of Latin American Cultural Studies at King’s College London. She has published widely on Latin American culture, theatre and performance, with particular reference to Chile. She was a co-founder of the Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies. She is co-director of the theatre translation and performance project, Out of the Wings (www.outofthewings.org). Her translation of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s Los empeños de una casa as House of Desire was premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2004 as part of its Spanish Golden Age Season, and has been performed on a number of occasions since. She is a translator of Latin American theatre and poetry, and her most recent work is on the meeting places of translation and cultural history.

ON HER SHOULDERS was founded in 2012 to present rehearsed, staged readings of plays by women from across the spectrum of time, with contemporary dramaturgs contextualizing–and in some cases adapting–them for modern audiences. The program seeks to make it impossible to deny or ignore the 1,000-year great tradition and value of women’s contribution to the theatrical canon. OHS became a program of NPTC in August 2013.

NEW PERSPECTIVES THEATRE COMPANY (NPTC) is an award-winning, multi-racial company now in its 25^th season. The Company’s mission is to develop and produce new plays and playwrights, especially women and people of color; to present classic plays in a style that addresses contemporary issues; and to extend the benefits of theatre to young people and communities in need. Our aim is not to exclude, but to cast a wider net.  www.nptnyc.org

THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DRAMA: The creative home for the future of performing arts. Agile. Engaged. Innovative. Multi-disciplinary. The New School for Drama is home to a dynamic group of young directors, writers, actors, creative technologists, and award-winning faculty. With a core belief in rigorous creativity and collaborative learning, our programs embrace civic awareness across performance disciplines to create work imbued with professionalism, imagination and social context. For more information, please visit www.newschool.edu/drama

The Play in Context, the dramaturgical and scholarly presentation component to the program, is sponsored in part by the League of Professional Theatre Women, a non-profit organization promoting visibility and increasing opportunities for women in theatre since 1982. www.theatrewomen.org