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My Journey Through The Scenic Arts

Link to a collection of Pictures from My Stage Years

Link to a short preview of one of the Clown Plays that I directed. You need Windows Media Player or Real Player to see it

Like those things that you can't predict, for more than 20 years I have been involved in the Scenic Arts.
Everything started in Panama, at the beginning of the 80's when I joined a group of street teather makers called Oveja Negra (Black Sheep). For me it was something casual and only for the fun, but this experience left a mark that would develop in the next years.
Back on Peru in 1986, after 12 years around the Continent, and with a group of colleges students at the Universidad de Lima, we decided to put on stage a Woody Allen play named Dios (God). It was for the fun, but for our total susprise, the play was a huge success. We needed a name for the group so, after democratic disscussions we called ourselves Metropolis, Teatro de la Urbe.
The teather bug started to itch us, so the next year we staged another play. This time was a Chilean one, Los Invasores (The Invaders). It was a huge nothing. I mean, it was social drama, with a lot of effort and risky ideas from our part. But really, it was a bit awful.
By the way, it happened when Peru was in the middle of the terrorist violence, and the play involved aspects linked to social aspects, like a sort of overtaking of the power, so, at the end, we had bad timming.
The next year, healed from the Drama experience but in an atonishing demonstration of our innovative capacities we staged anothe play, which? Dios (God) by Woody Allen.
For our own surprise, it was even better than the first time. Huge audience, good critics, this time we even have a real wardrobe!
So, we found our real interest: Comedy. We were good doing that.
After hiring some teachers, took workshops and learning basic acting stuff that we have no idea existed, we tried the Clown world.
It was not the usual Clown, but a more free version from the French Mime School. With new blood in the group, we staged our first Clownish play. Of course, we needed a name, so in a night at the Juanito's Bar in Lima with Pipo Gallo (one of the members of the group) a name started to came to my mind: Rataplum, rataplam, pataplum, pataplam -those usual clownish sounds- that finally evolved into PATACLAUN.
In Peruvian Slang, PATA means friend (like DUDE) and CLAUN was a plain spanish translation of the CLOWN sound, so, there you have it, PATACLAUN.
The name of our first play was Pataclaun en el A.M.O.R (Pataclaun at L.O.V.E). We expected nothing but to have a good time showing to some friends our new discoveries.

However, it was a success, and beyond our wildest dreams. Crowds at the small hall where we played (capacity: 60) saturated the place with more that the double of audience and lots out of the hall wanting to take a look to that funny bunch named Pataclaun.
You can't leave an opportunity like that go away, so we worked for a year to create Pataclaun en la Ciudad (Pataclaun in the city).
This time was even more surprising. We were HOT. More than one year showing the play and over half a million dollars in our pockets after (when the original budget was less than $3,000) we had made it.
The success was repeated in our next play Pataclaun En...rollado (Roll...ed Pataclaun). As we were the HOT group in town, the crowds and incomes where huge. But, to be honest, the play was not so... great.
Anyway, Pataclaun was a phenomenom. But, as usually happens with the phenomenoms, some stupid troubles started to arise. So, after the long and succesful season of this last play, I took my bags and restarted my own journey.
As usual, when you are a successful guy with some skills to attract people to see you, the TV moguls comes like voltures to take a piece of you... and I fell on that trap.
It was rewarding anyway, economically, but totally empty in the creative or artistic sense.
More than 35 TV commercial spots, acting in series, mini-series, short films, soap operas. I even Produced a Children show! "Almendra", the best Peruvian show for this target audience during my two years as Executive Producer.
Of all that I got a good knowledge of how the TV and Film industries worked and big bunchs of money into my bank account.
I did all this while at the same time I was doing something what for me was not only natural but necessary like fresh air: Write.
I did also other stuff while I was working for the market, like teaching Clown. That was very rewarding and many actual talents from those workshops are around Peru now doing... TV! I also produced and co-directed theater plays like No Todos los Chanchos Vuelan (Not All the Pigs Fly) and Donna Ramona.
But, it took me a few years to finally realize that what really fullfil my life was the writing, the simple act of tell stories, to let my mind free to reveal all the creations that an active mind and imagination, feeded with an interesting life and experiences, had and have.
So, after a short time meditating about what my life and career was going, I simply decided to dedicate my time to what I loved and love (besides my beautiful wife): Writing.
And so that's what I'm doing now. And I smile because I'm happy for taking the right decision.

Coming Soon!