10 Questions
Take Ten - LUZ NICOLÁS
Cuban-American playwright, and Pulitzer Prize-winner) Nilo Cruz's (Anna in the Tropics) most recent play, Exquisita Agonía (Exquisite Agony) starts tonight at GALA Hispanic Theatre. The play features LUZ NICOLÁS, who plays a middle-aged woman seeking a relationship with the young man who was the recipient of her dead husband's heart, and follows the drama and familial clashes that result. Originally from Madrid, Nicolás has been a GALA company member since 2013, wowing DC audiences with performances in productions such as El viejo, el joven y el mar (The Old Man, the Youth and the Sea), and Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). Nicolás talks about her early theatrical experiences and the people she feels embarrassed for in this week's Take Ten from theatreWashington. Exquisita Agonia, directed by Nilo Cruz, runs at GALA Hispanic Theatre through March 1. In Spanish with English surtitles.
1) What was the first show you ever saw, and what impact did it have?
I can’t remember the first show I saw, but according to my mother it was a Spanish classical piece at the Classical Theatre in Madrid. I was about 5 years old, and I remember the red velvet curtain opening at the beginning of the show and how magical that was.
2) What was your first involvement in a theatrical production?
When I was about 9 years old, I got involved in a musical production at school. My first audience was my schoolmates and teachers.
3) What’s your favorite play or musical, and why do you like it so much?
Impossible to pick one, but I remember how deeply touched I felt the first time I saw Cyrano of Bergerac at a theatre in London.
4) What’s the worst day job you ever took?
As a barista in Madrid, I had a horrible boss.
5) What is your most embarrassing moment in the theatre?
Every time I hear a cellphone ringing in the audience and the person answers the call, I am embarrassed for that person and for the people around them.
6) What are you enjoying most about working on Exquisita Agonia (Exquisite Agony) for GALA Hispanic Theatre?
To have the opportunity to play a role like Millie is a milestone in my career. It is a dream come true.
7) Other than your significant other, who’s your dream date (living or dead) and why?
My dream date is Nilo Cruz because I love him deeply.
8) What is your dream role/job?
My dream is to keep acting until the day I die.
9) If you could travel back in time, what famous production or performance would you choose to see?
Impossible to choose one.
10) What advice would you give to an 8-year-old smitten by theatre / for a graduating MFA student?
That theatre can be your life, but you have to work hard to deserve it.
LUZ NICOLÁS is a GALA Hispanic Theatre company member who appeared in El viejo, el joven y el mar, Como agua para chocolate, La Foto, Don Juan Tenorio, Cervantes – El último Quijote (2017 Helen Hayes Award nomination, Outstanding Ensemble in a Play), Yerma (2016 Helen Hayes Award nomination, Outstanding Supporting Actress), Señorita y Madame: The Secret War of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, Mariela en el desierto, Los empeños de una casa, Cancún, La señorita de Tacna and Cabaret Barroco. Other credits include Alice in Costa Rica; Exquisita Agonía (2018 HOLA Award for Best Actress, Repertorio Español - NY, Miami Dade County Auditorium); An Invisibile Piece of this World (IATI Theatre, NY); Iberian Mystics: The Confluence of Faiths, part of the Iberian Suite: Global arts remix festival (Kennedy Center); The Vip (Single Carrot Theatre, Baltimore); Última partida (The Final Draw), a jazz and words performance; Grease; Hello Dolly; The Merchant of Venice; Los intereses creados; La casa de Bernarda Alba; Doña Rosita la soltera; and a multi-disciplinary piece with jazz and texts by Federico García Lorca at the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C. and that toured. She worked in her native Spain for 20 years in musical and classical theater, television, and film.
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