‘Ayé, no!' cast prepares for American College theater festival

ALPINE There were smiles and laughter when the cast of “Ayé, No!” reunited for their first rehearsal before heading off to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
“Ayé No!” will take the stage at 11 a.m. Feb. 26 in Amarillo’s Globe News Performing Arts Center.
“Ayé, No!” has been a huge success for Sul Ross playwright Liz Castillo and director Dona Roman.
The play sold out in almost all of its shows in the Sul Ross Studio Theatre, sold out at the Crowley Theatre in Marfa and had a larger than expected crowd at the Globe Theatre in Odessa.
“Aye, No!” will be the last performance of the festival. This marks the first time a Sul Ross production has been selected for the prestigious competition.
“This is where we separate the amateurs from the professionals,” Roman said. “The competition starts when we open those stage doors.”
Cast members include: David DeLaO and Brenda Gallegos, Alpine; Chrisanta Fausett and Marisela Baca, Presidio; Elizabeth Gutierrez, Marfa; Miguel Peña, Fabens; Calvin Landrum, Waco; Carrie Turney, Sweetwater; Andrew Ross, Garland; Joseph Rosco, Beaumont; and Sylvia Samayoa, El Paso.
Rehearsals are held in Marshall auditorium to help prepare for using a bigger venue.
The set has been expanded and the crew members are learning to set up and take down a bigger set. The cast and crew will have three hours to set up and get into costume at the competition. Jay Sawyer, associate professor of Theatre, is helping with the stage crew and has confidence the show can have another big turnout.
“It’s a big space, but you all can fill it up,” he said.
For Sul Ross, this is the first time that a stage play has been invited to this festival and it is the only school from the state of Texas to be invited this season. Gutierrez feels this is a good chance to show people the talent of actors at Sul Ross.
“It’s a great opportunity to show our skills and talents and show people what we have,” she said.
Roman and Castillo agree that this success did not happen overnight and the years of work have paid off.
Roman added, “The community is starting to embrace it. Our dreams are slowly starting to come true.”
Castillo feels that this type of multicultural play allows her to address various issues that are sometimes overlooked or just not spoken about.
“Playwriting allows me to say a lot, but writing in this manner allows me to say more,” she explained. “A lot of things are going on that people don’t want to hear about.”
Turney explains that in her opinion the play is a classy controversy.
“People don’t want to talk about it, but the way that it’s said on stage makes it classy,” she said.
Gutierrez feels the play is important for her culture, and is glad that the community is embracing it.
“It is important for Latin people and the acceptance is great. The subject is topical and the timing is perfect,” she said. “I feel that is very important.”
Roman is intrigued by what she has learned about the culture and how it has been expressed on stage.
“Castillo has taught me a lot about the culture,” she said. “It’s listening through the culture on stage. I can see a lot of truth in it and I appreciate that.”
Along with the invitation to the festival, three students will be competing for Irene Ryan scholarships. Irene Ryan, Granny from “The Beverly Hillbillies, established a scholarship fund prior to her death, and according to the KCACTF Region 6 website, The Irene Ryan Acting Scholarships provide recognition, honor, and financial assistance to outstanding student performers wishing to pursue further education.
The Irene Ryan Foundation awards 16 regional and two national scholarships annually. Sixteen of the awards consist of a $500 scholarship for each regional representative.
Samayoa, Pena and Ross were all selected to compete for the scholarships.
They will be competing against hundreds of other students from different universities in three minute scenes. Ross feels the nomination is a great honor, but not his main focus.
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” he said. “I’ve thought about it but I’m worried about the show itself.”
Samayoa explained that she did not expect this, and is very humble about the nomination and the success of the show.
“I’m very scared. I’m honored because I’m not a theatre student,” she said. “I wasn’t even that interested in theatre until I took one of Dona’s classes.”
The entire cast except for one actor was able to return for the festival. Cory Hill, who plays the part of Joe, was unavailable to return and has been replaced by Calvin Landrum, Waco.
Landrum was surprised but excited to step into the role on short notice.
“I got a call over the break asking if I wanted to take the role,” he said. “I was excited to accept it.”
“We’re the last show so we have to blow them away,” Roman told the cast. “This is what we have been working for. We have to be ready and we have to look ready.”
“Ayé No!” will be performing a benefit show at Feb. 19 at Sul Ross and has already sold more than 40 tickets.
Tickets are available at www.sulross.edu/pages/3627.asp, and there is also a button for donations.
T-shirts are also available for $12.