Department of Theater and Dance
FLORIDITA, my Love
In the Fall 2023 term, the Department of Theater and Dance will present 'FLORIDITA, my Love' by Javier Antonio González, directed by Jorge Luna, Adjunct Lecturer - Department of Theater and Dance.
Auditions will take place September 11th & 12th from 6:30-9:30p at the Yulman Theater. Click here to fill out the pre-registration form. Walk-ups welcome! Callbacks on September 13th 6:30-9:30pm.
If you are interested in production click here for our intake form.
Rehearsals will primarily take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays (6:30-10p), and Sundays 2-5pm from September 18th - October 26th.
All rehearsals will be in the Yulman Theater unless otherwise specified.
Mandatory Tech Rehearsals, Dress Rehearsals, and Performances are: October 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th (Tech). October, Monday 30th and Tuesday the 31st (Dress Rehearsals). November 1st-5th (Performances)
The Story:
After missing a train, a young immigrant waitress contemplates suicide on the subway platform at the 125th Street Station in New York City. What follows is a perversely comic regression into her darkest fantasies, memories, or both. FLORIDITA, my Love is a nightmare about the invisible in America, set on the border crossings between real and imaginary, Harlem and Morningside Heights, Mexico and New York.
Production History:
FLORIDITA, my Love was completed in 2009. It was presented as a workshop production in the same year as part of INTAR’s New Works Lab in New York City. The play had its World Premiere in 2010 at IATI in NYC. Later that year, it was presented at LATEA, NYC in a double bill by Caborca Theatre along with another play written by Javier Antonio González, “Barceloneta, de noche.”
About the Playwright:
Javier Antonio González is a playwright, director, and filmmaker who has served as the artistic director of CABORCA since its founding. Some of his authorial work with the company includes: Lying Lydia; Distant Star (adapted from Roberto Bolaño's novel); Zoetrope; Open up, Hadrian; Barceloneta, de noche; FLORIDITA, my Love; and his first feature film, The Entitlement. In 2016, he directed his original translation of A Midsummer Night's Dream in San Juan, Puerto Rico for Teatro en el Parque. His work has been published in the anthologies, Plays and Playwrights 2011 (New York Theatre Experience), Encuentro: Latinx Performance for the New American Theater (Northwestern University Press) and in The Puerto Rico Review. Javier holds a BA from the University of Puerto Rico and a MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts. He was a Van Lier Directing Fellow, a member of the Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group and a recipient of the Global Connections– In the Lab grant from Theatre Communications Group. He has taught at DreamYard Prep, LaGuardia Community College, and most recently he directed Electra at Barnard College and The Lower Depths at NYU.
Disclaimer:
This play contains strong language. Some characters use prop guns and these are pointed at another character in various instances throughout the play. The play will be mounted as an ensemble piece. It’s highly likely there will be lip-synching to music in some moments. You are strongly encouraged to read the full play to make sure you are comfortable with the material. Once you sign up below for an audition spot, you will be provided the full script and audition sides. If you would like to read the play before signing up, please email director, Jorge Luna- lunarosj@union.edu
On casting:
It’s important to denote that, in essence,
“FLORIDITA, my Love” is either a dream, a daydream, or a vision, which happens in Floridita’s imagination. With the exception of the character of Floridita, characters' gender, race, ethnicity, age, and even dialect can be portrayed fluidly when it comes to casting.
Characters:
Floridita (she/her/hers) Latinx. An immigrant waitress who works at FLORIDITA, the restaurant in Harlem, NYC. Relentless, tenacious, imaginative, optimistic; a dreamer. Floridita aspires to be seen in a country who refuses to interact with people who are from south of the US border. Will handle a prop gun. All scenes (21)
Death (she/her/hers; he/him/his; they/them/their) Race- any. A teaser and an instigator- Death is ready to help Floridita to bring her wish of taking her own life on the train tracks to completion. 4 scenes
Sor Juana (she/her/hers)- Latinx or flexible. The Mexican poet. Much admired by Floridita, Sor Juana becomes a pillar and guide to Floridita throughout the play. 3 scenes
Pregnant Woman (she/her/hers) Race- any. A woman who is waiting for the train by herself at 2:30am. She becomes agitated when an assumption is made about her. 1 scene
Hoffman (he/him/his) Latinx or flexible. A Journalism student at Columbia University who becomes obsessed with Floridita’s suicide story. Compulsive, tenacious, and relentless, he will do anything to find the truth of what happened with Floridita. 5 scenes
García (he/him/his) Latinx. The owner of FLORIDITA, the restaurant and Floridita’s boss. A hardworking man who immigrated to the US. García built FLORIDITA the restaurant from the ground up. He is devastated by the news of Floridita’s suicide. 2 scenes
Adolfo (he/him/his) Race- any. A non-practicing Catholic, Jazz-loving writer and Floridita’s husband to be. Once he becomes Floridita’s husband he’s unwaveringly devoted to her, although his own reality as a writer will not allow for him to focus on anything else other than his own vanity and pursuit of a writer’s career. Will handle a prop gun. 6 scenes
Perhaps a Dead Man (she/her/hers; he/him/his; they/them/their) Race- any. A lonely subway traveller who violently flirts- or not- with Floridita at the 125th Street MTA train station in NYC. Will handle a prop gun. 2 scenes
Severio (she/her/hers; he/him/his; they/them/their) Race- any. A submissive train conductor who inadvertently runs over Floridita. 1 scene
Liberty Enlightening the world, aka the Statue of Liberty (he/she/they) Race- any. The actual Statue of Liberty. They confront Floridita about her perception of reality and questions Floridita’s “vain” intent of killing herself. 1 scene
Child 1 (she/her/hers; he/him/his; they/them/their) Race- any. Floridita and Adolfo’s first child. Will handle a prop gun. 1 scene
Child 2 (she/her/hers; they/them/their) Race- any. Floridita and Adolfo’s second child. Will handle a prop gun. 1 scene
Mexican Immigrants: Manuel, Aguilú, Sofía, Milagros, Pepo (she/her/hers; he/him/his; they/them/their) - They all cross the border from México to the United States. They speak some Spanish. 1 scene