Cola'o: A Bilingual Trova

Play with Music | 10 minutes | 2 Performers

Synopsis
Two lovers – each with contrary opinions about Puerto Rican national identity – uncover how to prepare “authentic” coffee.

Production History
The play is a City Theatre National Short Playwriting Award finalist (2020) and was published by Bridge: Bluffton University Literary Journal (2019). It was presented at...
Play with Music | 10 minutes | 2 Performers

Synopsis
Two lovers – each with contrary opinions about Puerto Rican national identity – uncover how to prepare “authentic” coffee.

Production History
The play is a City Theatre National Short Playwriting Award finalist (2020) and was published by Bridge: Bluffton University Literary Journal (2019). It was presented at Theatre Now's Sound Bites 7.0 (2020), Nuyorican Poets Cafe (2018), WRCT 88.3FM Barrio Latino (2017), and Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Playground Festival (2016). It was first created through Carnegie Mellon's SURF Fellowship (2016).
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Cola'o: A Bilingual Trova

Recommended by

  • Philip Middleton Williams:
    3 Dec. 2020
    Okay, I like my coffee strong with a shot of cream, no sugar. That's me. Other people like it with sugar and flavoring, and others like it straight, no additives. Are they wrong? How we take our coffee can be a metaphor for many things, and in this short, sharp, sweet, and strong play, we are learning that it can be a mirror of our identity, of who we think we are and how others see us. Paloma Sierra's stirring of el cafe is perfecto in any language. Muchas gracias.
  • Diana Burbano:
    27 Sep. 2020
    This is a beautiful piece about language, self, music and coffee. Totally engaging and gorgeous. Pero que belleza! Hay muchas maneras de tomar el café. Esta trova es una delicia.
  • Larry Rinkel:
    10 Feb. 2020
    "There’s no need to water down our Hispanic roots with milk," says Sofía to René (any gender), as coffee becomes the symbol, source of contention, and ultimately resolution between Sofía who was brought up in Puerto Rico and René who has been assimilated into American culture. Ingeniously, we are provided with a bilingual Spanish-American script and a side-by-side translation. The work is described as a "trova" play, "trova" I learn being a style of Latinx music made popular by itinerant trovadores. However music is incorporated, and whether produced in Spanish or bilingually, the language is poetically charming.

Character Information

  • René
    Latinx
    ,
    Any gender
    puertorriqueñe criade en Puerto Rico
    [Puerto Rican, born and raised in Puerto Rico]
  • Alex
    Latinx
    ,
    Any gender
    puertorriqueñe criade en EE.UU., de tez blanca; habla español con acento estadounidense
    [Puerto Rican, raised in E.E.U.U., white-skinned; speaks Spanish with an American accent]

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Theatre Now New York Sound Bites 7.0
    ,
    2020
  • Reading
    ,
    WRCT 88.3FM Radio, Pittsburgh, PA
    ,
    2017
  • Workshop
    ,
    Playground festival, Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
    ,
    2016
  • Residency
    ,
    Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon
    ,
    2016

Production History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Nuyorican Poets Cafe, New York, NY
    ,
    2018

Awards

Finalist
,
National Award for Short Playwriting
,
City Theatre
,
2020