‘Fascinatrix’ takes a new twist on fairytales
Most children hear stories and fairytales while growing up.
The stories Kinan Valdez heard during his childhood, however,
were a little bit different than the traditional Grimm Brothers
tales. Valdez heard stories from his father, filmmaker and El
Teatro Campesino founder Luis Valdez, involving goddesses, power
struggles and societies ruled by powerful women. The stories had an
impact, creating images that stayed with Valdez into adulthood.
‘Fascinatrix’ takes a new twist on fairytales
Most children hear stories and fairytales while growing up.
The stories Kinan Valdez heard during his childhood, however, were a little bit different than the traditional Grimm Brothers tales. Valdez heard stories from his father, filmmaker and El Teatro Campesino founder Luis Valdez, involving goddesses, power struggles and societies ruled by powerful women. The stories had an impact, creating images that stayed with Valdez into adulthood.
Today, Valdez – along with songwriter Stephanie Woehrmann – has taken the memories and images of these stories and created “The Fascinatrix,” an original rock musical, which will be previewed starting this weekend at El Teatro’s theater in San Juan Bautista. Valdez wrote the story and lyrics and is the show’s director. Woehrmann, with help from Chas Croslin and Brandon Morales, wrote the music.
“Over the years, I’ve done research on many ancient goddesses, and I’ve always been intrigued by the idea that before written history begins, there is evidence of matriarchal societies,” Valdez said. “I talked to Stephanie in September, and we had a spot in the schedule to do something experimental. We decided it was time to do a brand new musical.”
The end result is “The Fascinatrix,” a story about Kauri Ix Chel, a young servant girl in the Temple of Aran, the new God of War. As the daughter of the last of the Goddess Queens, Kauri should be heir to the throne, but her father, the Warrior King, blames Kauri for the death of his wife and forces his daughter into exile. Kauri unites with other believers in the Goddess, and returns to the kingdom as head of a revolution to restore the Goddess to her rightful place.
“It’s a very powerful piece to begin with, and it speaks to me on quite a few levels,” said Katie Hipol, 16, who plays the part of Kauri Ix Chel. “The music is amazing. And Kinan has wanted to write a musical for a while now, so that makes it even more special.”
Valdez credits his father with the initial inspiration for “The Fascinatrix” through his telling of goddess myths. He was also influenced by several authors, such as Barbara Walker, who wrote “The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets,” and also writes about religion, cultural anthropology, spirituality and mythology based on the existence of neolithic matriarchies, he said. Another inspiration is author Clarrissa Pincola Estes, who has recorded various mythologies focusing on sacred feminine archetypes.
Valdez and Woehrmann began piecing the show together in December, with Valdez retelling the stories from his childhood. Woehrmann faced the daunting task of writing her first musical.
“Kinan was living in Los Angeles, and I called him, looking for advice, and he said he’d been kicking around this idea. [He] described the initial premise of ‘The Fascinatrix’ and asked if I thought we could do it,” Woehrmann said. “The story really spoke to me – it’s the flip side of the traditional princess story that girls grow up with. He would tell me these stories, and I could see the characters in my head. The songs just flowed.”
Once they began, Valdez and Woehrmann found that the story had a natural course. The pair followed it, coming up with a story and 30 different songs.
“We were hoping for nine songs,” Woehrmann said. “The ideas that Kinan could see in his head were coming out musically.”
“The Fascinatrix” is El Teatro’s first new original piece “in quite a few years,” said Valdez, and is considered a work-in-progress. Not only is it the first rock musical El Teatro has produced, it is the first show the group has done that will be performed entirely in English.
“Although it is entertaining for the audience, we are still working on this project – one of the differences from a regular show is that it is only running for four weeks,” he said. “But if people like it and we are happy with it, then we’ll bring it back. It’s so different from what we usually do.”
While there are differences between “The Fascinatrix” and El Teatro’s other shows, there are also many similarities, said Valdez.
“All of our shows, especially our Christmas shows, are religious or spiritual in nature,” he said. “This one is just not located in one indigenous culture. But there are certain parallels to our culture that people will see.”
The actresses playing the lead roles agree that the show has something for everyone.
“There are universal changes that everyone goes through, and anyone who comes to see this show can take that thought away with them, that it’s okay,” said Alika Spencer, who plays the roles of four different goddesses, including Kauri’s mother. “People are always making new discoveries, and its okay to change.”
Taking the part in the play has changed her outlook on life, Hipol said.
“This is the biggest thing I have done so far, and I’ve been able to apply that feeling of awe to help me perform something so heavy,” said Hipol, who has been in three other El Teatro shows. “It really speaks about life. Sometimes a part of you has to die for something new to be born.”
The show will run through Sunday, May 13, closing, rather fittingly said Valdez, on Mother’s Day. A special barbecue celebration will be held for cast, crew and the audience after the last show.
She is nervous as opening weekend approaches, but is ultimately happy with the result of her work, Woehrmann said.
“This has been a huge learning process,” she said. “Some of it has been scary, but (the experience) has been brilliant.”
If you go
A Workshop Production of The Fascinatrix, a new rock musical written and directed by Kinan Valdez. Presented by El Teatro Campesino, 705 Fourth Street, San Juan Bautista.
April 19-May 13.
Thursdays at 8 p.m. All seats – $15; children under 12 – $10
Friday and Saturday nights 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees 2 p.m.
Adults – $20, students/seniors – $15, children under 12 – $12
