THEATRE
All action, no rhetoric
K.K. GOPALAKRISHNAN
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Eugenia Cano Puga is an internationally known mime artist from Mexico. On a tour of Kerala for research and conducting workshops, she found time to talk about her art form.
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MIME TO FAME: Eugenia at a performance.
AN alumnus of the prestigious Licentiate in Performance in the School of Theatrical Art of the National Fine Arts Institute (INBA), Mexico City, Eugenia Cano Puga is well known the world over. Her other passion is Kathakali, which brought her to Kerala. This is now her second home since she is married to a Malayalee art lover, Ratheesh, from Alapuzha, who teaches English literature at Guanajuato in Mexico.
Eugenia is currently in Kerala with her three-year-old daughter "to enrich her knowledge" and conduct a mime workshop for theatre aficionados of Kerala under the aegis of Rangachetana, a Thrissur based theatre group.
Performances
In 2001, she conducted a 53-day mime workshop for Rangachetana, "the longest I have ever done so far". After her course from the Licentiate in Performance, Eugenia worked with different theatre groups and performed in productions like "Eclipse" by Juan José Gurrola, "Of Frights and Spirits" and "Tropicuentos" directed by Alejandra Zea and "The Warp" directed by José Caballero. In 1995, she was awarded the FONCA grants to study Corporal Mime with Group Omnibus in Montreal, Canada, for three years. Simultaneously Eugenia continued her classes as a free student for masters in Dramatic Art at the University of Quebec, campus Montreal, and in the National School of Circus.
In Montreal, she worked with director Paul Bissoneaux for the play "Peter and the Wolf"; directed "Tu n´as pas vu non plus?"; assisted the direction of "Titanic of Jean Pierre Ronfard" by Nicola Heigemaster; acted and co-directed "Macondo", a mime show in l´Espace Libre — all of which helped her add variety to her theatre experience.
In September 1996, she was invited to participate in a co-production "Quebec-Belgium" at Brussels. This was followed by an invitation, in March 1997, from Denise Boulanger to participate in an investigation workshop on Corporal Mime, which she found "totally interesting and revamping."
The Indian influence
During November 1997 she came to India for the first time to study Kathakali for four months. The next September, the Indian Council for Cultural Relationships (ICCR) granted her a scholarship to continue studying Kathakali at the Kerala Kalamandalam where she studied for four years. During this period, Eugenia performed and conducted workshops in Kerala, including the School of Drama and Mahatma Gandhi University and for the first national theatre festival for women conducted by the Kerala Sangeet Nataka Akademi (1998).
"In December of 2001, I returned to Mexico and in March 2002, the Institute of Culture of Guanajuato gave me a scholarship to produce and direct the play `Arjuna' presented during December that year. After a few months, I conducted a workshop on Kathakali for the House of India in Mexico City. In September 2002 I gave a series of conferences named "How to Appreciate Theatre" under the aegis of the Institute of Culture as part of the programme "Formation of New Publics." Additionally, she performed traditional Kathakali, like "Poothanamoksham" (Salvation of Poothana), in different cities of Guanajuato.
She received more recognition after her lead role in "Labyrinths" for the International Cervantino Festival, regarded as the most important festival in Latin America. In 2004 Eugenia made a successful international tour with "Arjuna" and Juanita's "Dream". Her presentation "Mosquito's Dream" in the first National Children Arts Festival in Mexico City and in the Second International Mime Festival in Puebla, Mexico got rave reviews by critics the world over.
She has been successful in performing mime with the traditional rhythms of Kathakali, which she found "highly inspiring". "And it helps me to question myself that in return helps me to do more work", she adds.
Addressing social issues
She uses her performances to make society aware of crimes against women and children. "In Mexico, women are often raped and killed, especially in northern areas that border the United States and in the south, in Guatemala and Belize. During the last 10 years, about 400 women were raped and killed in Mexico itself," laments Eugenia. "Surprisingly our Government says that the women are guilty because they are not protecting themselves."
Eugenia believes that the main component of a theatre is actor and his presence. "The significance of mime is that it mainly depends on the actor in performance. Though director and technical supports are important, they are all secondary," she explains.
Currently Eugenia is teaching theatre at the Iberoameriacana University, campus Leon, in Mexico and is has received a scholarship to research "The Rhythm as a Joining Factor of all the elements in a Theatre Performance". "I think I will get a lot of inputs from Kerala," she smiles.
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