YALE CABARET: Does The Peruvian Speak?

A NOTE FROM THE CAB LEADERSHIP

We are excited to welcome you back to Yale Cabaret for Can The Peruvian Speak? written by Sebastián Eddowes-Vargas. This play explores the reality of queer relationships in an autobiographical, somewhat-fictional retelling of the playwright’s experience as a Peruvian dating in the US. To quote from the play: “(I write) Political romcoms about queers having sex and discussing hard shit like migration and the economy and the future. Who wants to see that?” and the short answer to that is “We do”.

Stay tuned for the announcement of our final shows of season 56 Sandbox coming soon! We hope you will continue to join us as we build a season of exploration, experimentation, and pushing boundaries at Yale Cabaret. Out of the box and into our Sandbox!

— Doaa, Kyle, & Annabel

A NOTE FROM THE DRAMATURG

The commodification of homosexuality has had disastrous effects on the gay dating scene. Or maybe it’s been this way all along, and I just needed to start off with something annoying, queer, and politicized— much like Sebastián, our beloved playwright. Here, he might quote Foucault, perhaps to talk about the panopticon that is the gay dating app scene (hello, Grindr boy reading this) or the modern phenomenon of the “read receipt” that often compounds the pain of ghosting.

Maybe it is modernity that complicates love. Or maybe it’s Zeus’s curse on humans to wander forever seeking the other half from which they were split. Our two lovers in Can the Peruvian Speak? should, by all counts, be perfect for each other: both are migrant, racialized, queer, both have seen the horrors of political upheaval and the disillusionment of being artists in the US, and both have shared experiences navigating desirability in a white Western world. But in a world of occupation, displacement, genocide, and Nakba, what if sharing pain isn’t enough to connect with another human and truly see each other? Maybe all there is to do is sing karaoke and fantasize about what could have been.

– Abraham E.S. Rebollo-Trujillo

SPECIAL THANKS

Claudia Ochoa Catherine Sheehy Chantal Rodiguez Elli Fotopoulou Krista Dobson Malcolm Joe Krempetz Henriëtte Rietveld Robert Salemo Tamilla Woodard Pa que tu lo sepa Nora Lan 956 Victoria Andreou Venezuela

CONTENT GUIDANCE

Deals with sex, homophobia, racism, xenophobia, alcohol use, drug use, discussions of politics, political violence, demeaning language and includes full nudity and physical contact.

CAN THE PERUVIAN SPEAK?

By: Sebastián Eddowes-Vargas

PRODUCTION TEAM Director

Intimacy Coordinator

Producer

Karl Hawkins* Scenic Designer

Anthony Robles

Taylor Ybarra

Hannah Gellman

Costume Designer

Lighting Designer

Larry Oritz

Caroline Tyson Technical Director

Co-Projection Designer

Stage Manager

Alex Theisen*

Ke Xu

Co-Projection & Sound Designer

Wiktor Freifeld

Geovanni Colon* Dramaturg

Abraham E.S. Rebollo-Trujillo

COMPANY Andreas Andreou*

Celia Weiqing Chen

Annabel Guevara

comfort katchy

Gretta Marston

Erik Robles*

Abraham E.S. Rebollo-Trujillo

Sebastián Eddowes-Vargas

Francisco Morandi Zerpa

SHOW SPONSORS Eric Glover & Shawn Boyle *Yale Cabaret Debut

MISSION STATEMENT

Sandbox by definition, is “a shallow box in the ground partly filled with sand for children to play in”. We hope to create a similar sense of curiosity and playfulness, allowing artists to access creativity only possible when given the opportunity to dig and unearth treasures within themselves. Our season will focus on performance arts as a whole, not just script-based plays or musicals, it’s open to ALL. We aim to look at collaborators as they are, without limiting them to the role they hold within the DGSD community. We believe in a theater without labels, where artists are not limited by the hats they wear, but by the experience they bring into the room with them. As a collective, we will create theater that continues to reshape our ever-changing view on the world.

OUR SANDBOX IS...

A Celebration of Ideas: A place where no ideas are bad ideas Experimental: A space to try, fail, learn, and grow as a community A Resource: A pool of combined knowledge and artistry An Outlet: Magnifying unheard voices and underrepresented stories A Continuum: An application of skills learned Our Sandbox is a place where you can make your wildest dreams come true.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT The state of Connecticut and Yale University occupy the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Schaghticoke, Golden Hill Paugussett, Niantic, Quinnipiac, and other Algonquian speaking peoples. We honor and respect their continued relationship with and stewardship of this land, and we acknowledge that Yale University, Yale Cabaret, and those affiliated have benefited from the oppression of these Nations.

LABOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Yale University does not exist independently from the centuries of forced labor and economic extraction of enslaved people, primarily of African descent, on which this country was built. We are indebted to their labor and their unwilling sacrifice, and we must acknowledge the ongoing violence inflicted on Black and brown people and the resulting impact and generational trauma still felt today.

LEADERSHIP TEAM Co-Artistic Director

Co-Artistic Director

Doaa Ouf

Kyle Stamm

Managing Director

Annabel Guevara

COLLABORATORS Associate Managing Director

Adrian Hernandez

Graphic Designer

Cab Assistant

Iyanna Huffington-Whitney

Production Manager

Michelle Foley

Mara Bredovskis

Restaurant Partner

The Anchor Spa

ADVISORY BOARD Acting

Costume Design

Directing

Grayson Richmond

Caroline Tyson

Alexis Kulani Woodard

Dramaturgy

Lighting Design

Playwriting

Karoline Vielemeyer

David DeCarolis

Doug Robinson

Projection Design

Scenic Design

Kim Zhou

Sound Design

Joe Krempetz

Stage Management

Technical Design

Theatre Management

John Horzen

Colleen Rooney

Leo Surach

Natalie King

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair

Wendy Davies Eric M. Glover

L.T. Gourzong

Linda-Cristal Young

Samanta Cubias

Gabrielle Hoyt

LAW

ABOUT THE CAB

In 1968, David Geffen School of Drama at Yale students established a basement performance venue in the former home of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at 217 Park Street. Envisioned as an alternative outlet for drama school students’ creativity and experimentation, Yale Cabaret became a forum for our expanded New Haven communities, whom we invite to gather around food, drink, conversation, fellowship, and artistry.

Since its founding, the Cabaret has remained in continuous operation, including pivoting to virtual performance during the 2020/21 season. The Cab has produced hundreds of plays, old and new, alongside musicals and musical revues, comedy shows, dance, performance art, and genre-defying performance.

Our supporters have made this storied history happen. With their partnership, we continue this tradition into 2024 and beyond.

JOIN US FOR DINNER The Anchor Spa at Yale Cabaret will be offering a dinner service for our 8pm Thursday through Saturday performances accepting orders from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.

at Yale Cabaret

The Anchor Spa boasts a pan-Caribbean menu and an outstanding cocktail program that represents a voyage around the world, including some unique international spirits rarely sampled in the U.S. From picking herbs a la minute from their garden to brewing up syrups and roasting their designer garnishes, The Anchor Spa applies the highest level of craft bartending principles in the pursuit of fun like no one else.

Chef Kendall Thigpen welcomes you!

JOIN US AT THE BAR Yale Cabaret will have a bar open 30 minutes before all performances including at intermission and after the show. You can find a range of alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, and snacks for sale at the bar.

OUR SUPPORTERS

Yale Cabaret is DGSD’s student-run theater and operates with the support of our generous donors. Your donation goes a long way to support the many artists that work in our theater. Please consider making a donation today and help us create in our Sandbox!

Season Sponsor ($5,000 - $7,499) Santino Blumetti Champion ($2,500 - $4,999) Wendy Davies Partner ($1,000 - $2,499) Nina Adams & Moreson Kaplan Joan Channick Lynn Doucette-Stamm Bennett Pudlin & Ann Judd R. Lee Stump & Abigail Roth Show Sponsor ($500 - $999) Shawn Boyle Audrey Conrad Eric Glover Josh & Betty Goldberg L.T. Gourzong Andy & Sarah Hamingson Eileen & Jim Mydosh The Mooney Basile Family Bill & Sharon Reynolds Matthew Sonnenfeld Josh & Erin Taylor Paul Walsh Enthusiast ($250 - $499) Chris Brindley Suzanne Bruhn & Michael Kane James Bundy & Anne Tofflemire Ramiro Daniel Diaz Kenneth Elliott

Pamela Jordan Chantal Rodriguez Florie Seery Supporter ($100 - $249) Anonymous Ikenna Aberdeen Frances Anne Black Shaminda Amarakoon Donald & Mary Brown Geoff Cohen Jennifer Corman Robert Emmons Carol Gallagher & Delmar Doucette Alicia Guevara Chloe Knight Jerry Lodynsky Sarah Masotta Max Okst Chris E Wall Advocate ($50 - $99) Casey Grambo & Nathaniel Gagnon Carla L. Jackson Cathy & Matthew Levesque In Honor of Edgar Melgar Steven Padla Susan & Michael Ryan Jacob Daniel Santos Henry & Socorro Stamm Nicole Stamm Ariel Welch Grace Zandarski

THANKS TO OUR TECH WEEK SPONSORS

DRAGARET NOW ON SALE! READ FOR FILTH:

Celebrating Drag Queen Story Hour Everywhere Friday, February 9th

8:00pm | Doors 7:00pm 11:00pm | Doors 10:00pm

Saturday, February 10th 8:00pm | Doors 7:00pm 11:00pm | Doors 10:00pm

It’s January — and baby it’s cold outside — but a new year at Yale Cabaret means something else is on the horizon…DRAGARET! This February, Cab 56: Sandbox is bringing you plenty of back flipping, lip syncing, and sexual innuendos to keep you warm. Treat yourself to the Cab for a “reading session” (wink) you’ll never forget. Drag queen story time might be under attack, but we know the truth; there’s nothing more fabulous than Dragaret! Come with your most playful and mischievous spirit and let’s WERK.

SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR UPCOMING SHOWS

February 22nd - 24th

March 21st - 23rd

YALE CABARET 217 PARK STREET | 203.432.1566 YALECABARET.ORG