The GVSU Theatre program launches its eighth season of ethnic dramas with a production of a 1995 play, Who Ever Said I Was a Good Girl? by South American author Gustavo Ott. The tense Venezuelan drama that deals with punk gangs and urban street violence will be presented November 10-17 at the Louis Armstrong Theatre.
Whoever Said I Was a Good Girl? is set in the back streets of an unnamed large city and focuses on the lives of six teen-age gang members led by Lulu, a vicious 20-something killer. Violence, murder, auto theft, gun selling, drugs and armed robbery are daily occupations of the youths as they struggle to gain respect and influence in this dead-end world of modern urban punk culture.
In a 1998 interview, Ott remarked that his inspiration for the play came from gang activities and conversations he encountered in parks and caf¿s near his theater in Caracas. The award-winning playwright was intrigued by the values of these young Venezuelan toughs, whom he found resembled gang youth in large cities all over the world. They are going nowhere, he remarked, and they die like flies, unnoticed, every day, in every place. I wanted to write something about that.
Five performances are planned: on November 10, 11, 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. Admission prices are $7 general admission, $6 for GVSU staff and alumni, and $5 for all students. The play is not recommended for family audiences due to adult language and situations. For tickets or more information, call the GVSU Theatre box office at (616) 895-2300. The box office is open from noon-5 p.m. weekdays.
Ott will travel to GVSU to visit classes in cultural diversity and Latin American Studies. Audiences may meet with him at a public reception following the November 16 performance, or at a symposium at 3 p.m. on Friday, November 17, in the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center. The symposium, Violence: Rhetoric, Representation, Opposition, will examine social themes depicted in the play.
Who Ever Said I Was a Good Girl? is directed by Roger Ellis, professor of Communications. The cast is theater students Melissa Fortino, Becky Black,, Michael Houser, Jayme Wooster, Carolyn Ratkowski and Matt Bryant. Costumes design is by Jill Dole Hamilton; lighting and sets by faculty artist Alfred Sheffield; and audio and technical direction by Paul Collins.
