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Creative Isolation: Yulissa Campos take her play international right from home

Campos, the founder of Ay Caramba! Theatre, is preparing her play I, Frida to participate digitally in the Singapore Theatre Festival.

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A Saskatoon performer and playwright is showcasing her work on the international stage, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yulissa Campos’ play I, Frida — which debuted in the 2019 Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Festival — will be part of the 2021 M1 Singapore Theatre Festival from Jan. 18 to 31. The festival is set to take place digitally due to COVID-19 restrictions and safety measures.

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Campos spoke with the StarPhoenix as she was working on preparing her show.

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Q: Where did the concept for I, Frida come from?

A: The play was formed out of an idea to put on a show that is not common here in Saskatoon. My main inspiration was my work.

I used to work as a settlement worker with the Saskatoon Open Door Society, so seeing all these stories, and coming from my own personal story as an immigrant, I created this story of this young girl, Frida … she’s a refugee from Venezuela, all the way to Saskatoon and her struggle of keeping her culture, her identity, and her family.

It was a crazy idea that came up in a conversation with a fellow coworker … my dramaturge was my professor at the university (of Saskatchewan).

Q: What was the process of getting into the Singapore festival?

A: When the pandemic happened, I’d applied to other festivals that just cancelled because of COVID, so I never got to know if my play was selected or not … in June we got the great news that Singapore chose I, Frida to be part of their selection.

Because they’re a curated festival … it was a really great opportunity in the midst of the whole pandemic, because we were going international … by November, they decided for international artists it was better to do it online.

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Yulissa Campos, the founder of Ay Caramba! Theatre, will have her original play I, Frida appear in the 2021 M1 Singapore Theatre Festival in January 2021.
Yulissa Campos, the founder of Ay Caramba! Theatre, will have her original play I, Frida appear in the 2021 M1 Singapore Theatre Festival in January 2021. Photo by Supplied / Photo by Judith Schul /Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Q: So how do you enter your play digitally into this festival?

A: What’s going to happen is we will perform the show here, and then record it, and it will be available on demand. So people can purchase a ticket… and watch it from the comfort of your own home. I wanted to have people come and see a live performance here when we film it, but because of all the restrictions that’s not going to be possible.

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Q: Can you share how this show relates to your own experiences?

A: I was frustrated, I remember, a few years ago, by the lack of representation and opportunities for visual minority artists. And in a conversation, I remember saying I felt that it’s harder for actors coming out of school to find a job when you see predominantly white shows and white actors on the stage all the time here in Saskatoon … that’s where I came up with the idea for the show.

I said, “I’m going to write something that I hope people can identify with.” So I, Frida became a combination of my own story and the story of many immigrants who I work with. It’s a fictional story that I borrow from many places … and that’s how Ay Caramba! Theatre was born, in need of putting stories on stage that are not common here in Saskatoon. And to my surprise, it was the first Latinx theatre here.

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Q: Looking past the festival, does Ay Caramba! have more shows in the works? Do you hope to do more with I, Frida?

A: For now, we have a plan and some opportunities are in place. We just submitted a play to a production opportunity with a bigger company, so we’re waiting for that. And we’re working on a new show with Yvonne (Addai) — with the need of creating more and the success that we’ve had, Yvonne just joined Ay Caramba! as an artistic associate. So she’s going to be joining me for a new project that we’re just in the early stages of brainstorming, a new story we hope we can take international in the next couple of years, hopefully when the pandemic’s over.

Q: For people who have seen I, Frida before and are going to see it again in the Singapore festival, what’s changed?

A: We have a real theatre now! We’re able to bring to life all that magical story to reality. Also, the story has developed more. Some of the characters are more prominent … the little brother is mentioned a few times in the first draft, but this time we have developed a stronger sense of family. You’re going to see a more developed, more grounded story.

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Q: As somebody very involved in live theatre, how have you had to adapt because of COVID-19?

A: It has been a wild ride, I’m not going to lie. It’s getting hard to find grants and financial support, because most of the prominent grants are on hiatus. And also trying to find ways we can do safe rehearsals also, following the restrictions that keep changing … I think one positive thing from this is, I have learned to be more flexible, and just go one day at a time and try to adapt to what’s happening instead of just giving up.

It’s more stressful. If I had to do it again, produce a show in a pandemic, I probably wouldn’t do it again.

Q: Earlier this year, there were some serious discussions in Saskatoon about diversity in theatre. How confident are you these discussions are going to continue into the new year?

A: I’ve seen a lot of acceptance since June. I feel like our community and people in general are being more aware of our situation and more open to accept and learn. And I think that’s been a new mandate most of the theatres in the world are starting to work on … I’m happy to see our theatre artists and theatre makers are willing to give a chance to this new change. I’m very confident that this is just the beginning.

maolson@postmedia.com

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