MIAMI.- World Day theater It is celebrated today, March 27, and regarding this date the Salamander Miami is preparing to present the second season of Smileya constructions original from Spain – starring actors Leo Lugn, from Argentina, and Sal Mauricio, from Venezuela – which addresses a love story between Alex and Bruno.
Under the direction of Fernando Azpurua and co-production by Mica Plum and Josefina Pieres, this new installment shows a renewed immersive experience for the audience, illuminating and moving hearts through comedy. Although it is of Spanish origin, this adaptation has a vibrant Latin flavor.
Achieving this innovation was a challenge for Azpurua, since another factor was added to the changes in the staging: the story arrived on Netflix with great receptivity.
(The second season for me is) a huge challenge. I particularly decided not to watch the series until after I had finished directing the project. However, I had already seen the work staged before at the Spanish Repertory in New York. I think it’s a simple story and that’s why it works. It does not pretend to be more than what it is. It is perfect to get you wanting to play and experiment. I was lucky that the team I met was very open to collaborating. I am very excited about a project when the group is willing to create together and share ideas. I don’t believe in that old school in which the director had to decide everything and had excessive authority. If we decide to work together, it is because our ideas combine. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. In this case it worked almost immediately. We made a group that has fun putting this project on stage every time we have to do it. This type of theatrical brotherhood is very valuable when it is achieved. “It is the most beautiful thing that remains of the projects and I think it also translates into what the public receives when they see the work,” the director of the piece declared exclusively to DIARIO LAS AMRICAS.
By creating a team willing to create ideas, Azpurua allowed the protagonists to reach a common learning: give meaning to the moral that leaves Smiley regarding social prejudices when it comes to love between two people of the same sex.
“I learned to leave prejudices aside, which is not easy at all. I feel that many times out of fear of something, we stop doing things that we later regret. That’s why we are on this plane, to experiment, to do things that fulfill us.” , to meet people who transform us, whether or not they are like us,” said Leo Lugn, who plays Alex.
“I love this piece because it reminds me every day that prejudices and first impressions are a veil with which I must battle daily so as not to miss any opportunity and especially when it comes to meeting a person. The love story between Bruno and Alex is the perfect example of this,” added Sal Mauricio, who plays Bruno.
Regarding the rehearsal process, both the actors and the director recognize the talent that each one has in their respective roles.
“Fer (Fernando) is a super generous person when it comes to working. He listens to us, trusts us and constantly accepts suggestions. He is very creative and that personally activates a special key for me, since it gives me the freedom to play and propose. “It is the best combination to work as a team and achieve successful results,” Lugn exalted.
“Everything one can ask for as an actor you can have with Fernando Azpurua. He is a director who lets you play, create and propose during rehearsals. With him it is a collective creation and Fernando is a director with great ideas that will only elevate the acting work of anyone who can work with him. If I can be certain of something as an actor, working with Fernando, it is that the visual, acting proposal and everything that surrounds the montage will impact and enhance every word of the author. Create unique and unforgettable images for the audience and wonderful experiences for us actors,” Mauricio added.
“We attacked at once, as soon as I landed in Miami. Both were ready and had an impressive ability to turn themselves into blank pages and create from scratch, without paying attention to any previous concept they had of the work. That first day we worked all afternoon until the evening and being satisfied. Right then I understood that the team was ideal and that we would all put a lot of effort into it,” the director recalled.
“I had already worked with Sal before so I think I have learned a lot of things from Sal in the last 10 years and I hope to continue learning. Sal is a committed actor, who learns quickly and has impressive discipline. He complements all this with a enormous heart that makes everyone love him. If this world were more full of ‘Sales’, it would be a much better world,” Azpurua said regarding the Venezuelan’s acting work.
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Courtesy/Smiley
“I met Leo on the first day of rehearsals and I must say that I am still impressed by him. It seems unbelievable. He is a person with a physique like a Greek God and a talent that goes beyond belief. Anyone could judge him and think that because he is “So attractive, he’s probably not that intelligent and that’s where Leo shuts them up. He is a very prepared and talented actor, very organized, with impeccable taste and also a good person. It has been a real pleasure to work with him,” he highlighted about the Argentine interpreter. .
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Courtesy/Smiley
About the work
Created in 2022 in Spain, Smiley shows Alex, who is heartbroken after suffering a heartbreak. After asking for explanations with a voice message, he mistakenly sends it to Bruno, whom he doesn’t know anywhere. This innocent mistake will change Alex and Bruno’s lives forever.
“It’s a love story, whether the other character is the same sex as mine or not, it doesn’t matter. As an actor you have to try to connect with your partner, listen to them and work as a team,” Leo said. “This work touches sensitive buttons in each of us and it is impossible not to feel vulnerable and exposed. The key was to surrender to the characters and let ourselves be enveloped, as an acting game, by each text by Guillem Clua. My reference to interpret Bruno was married to the same text, in which Clua perfectly describes the characters as she progresses in each scene. I also identified with the dilemmas that Bruno goes through in this love story and that helped me develop the character much better,” Sal narrated. .
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Courtesy/Smiley
Smiley It can be enjoyed every Saturday in April at 8:30 pm at the Salamander Miami, located at 702 NW 5th Ave, Miami, FL 33136.
Tickets can be purchased at ticketplate.com/smiley. The production recommends booking in advance.
“I invite you to let yourself be entertained by this wonderful comedy. The actors are incredible and we put a lot of care into it so that the play would not disappoint anyone. The theater is very pleasant and the proposal is also quite different from what we are used to seeing, and That is due to the space that gives us a thousand opportunities to play and create a visually and acting piece that is entertaining for everyone. I am sure that they will have a very pleasant time; that our good vibes and effort will translate into a production that will not be they can lose,” concluded Fernando Azpurua.
