Silueta by Diana Burbano, Tom Shelton and Chris Shelton

by Diana Burbano

SILUETA is a two-person play inspired by the true story of Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-American performance artist, and sculptor, whose life ended in a harrowing 34-story fall from the SoHo apartment she shared with her husband, Minimalist sculptor, Carl Andre. Ana, 36 at the time of her death in 1985, was a rising star in the SoHo art scene, known for her signature siluetas–provocative impressions of her naked body...

SILUETA is a two-person play inspired by the true story of Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-American performance artist, and sculptor, whose life ended in a harrowing 34-story fall from the SoHo apartment she shared with her husband, Minimalist sculptor, Carl Andre. Ana, 36 at the time of her death in 1985, was a rising star in the SoHo art scene, known for her signature siluetas–provocative impressions of her naked body in blood, earth, fire, and other manifestations of nature. Carl, already famous as a founding father of geometric, building-block Minimalism, was past the peak of his career. It was a marriage of opposing artistic temperaments, fueled by ferocious ego and ambition on the part of both. Due to the emotional violence of their relationship and Carlʼs enigmatic behavior following Anaʼs death, he was accused and tried for her murder. Although Carl was eventually acquitted, the incident polarized the art world and became a cause célèbre for feminists, many of whom still believe in Carlʼs guilt. Although there is much speculation about what happened that terrible night, only Carl, now an old man still living in that same 34th-floor apartment, knows. Or does he? Silueta imagines an elderly Carl, desperate to recover artistic potency, but blocked by a past he is unwilling to remember and face. He is haunted by the passionately ʻrealʼ ghost of Ana, equally desperate to discover the truth of her death and, more importantly, the truth of her life and Carlʼs love.

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Silueta by Diana Burbano, Tom Shelton and Chris Shelton

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  • Sarah Tuft: Silueta by Diana Burbano, Tom Shelton and Chris Shelton

    This gorgeous, insightful, achingly truthful play so perfectly captures a world I know all too well - the art world. SILUETA captures its passions, abuses, and cult of celebrity as well as the dynamics between men and women that continue to haunt many industries, especially the arts where insecure men feast on the adulation of young women. A brilliant two-hander in which both characters are fully realized as three-dimensional human beings, this play needs to be produced - now!

    This gorgeous, insightful, achingly truthful play so perfectly captures a world I know all too well - the art world. SILUETA captures its passions, abuses, and cult of celebrity as well as the dynamics between men and women that continue to haunt many industries, especially the arts where insecure men feast on the adulation of young women. A brilliant two-hander in which both characters are fully realized as three-dimensional human beings, this play needs to be produced - now!

  • Ashland New Plays Festival: Silueta by Diana Burbano, Tom Shelton and Chris Shelton

    This powerful play about the artists Carl Andre, a founder of the Minimalist Art movement, and Ana Mendieta, a Cuban immigrant whose fame in New York art circles begins to eclipse his, examines in retrospect their torrid relationship that led eventually to her fall from the window of their 34th floor Village apartment shortly after they were married. At play4keeps.org, two extraordinary actors, Anthony Heald and Nancy Rodriguez, recorded this dialogue between the aged Andre and the ghost of Mendieta, who has haunted him for decades and now insists they examine together the truth of that fatal...

    This powerful play about the artists Carl Andre, a founder of the Minimalist Art movement, and Ana Mendieta, a Cuban immigrant whose fame in New York art circles begins to eclipse his, examines in retrospect their torrid relationship that led eventually to her fall from the window of their 34th floor Village apartment shortly after they were married. At play4keeps.org, two extraordinary actors, Anthony Heald and Nancy Rodriguez, recorded this dialogue between the aged Andre and the ghost of Mendieta, who has haunted him for decades and now insists they examine together the truth of that fatal evening.

  • Peter Ruiz: Silueta by Diana Burbano, Tom Shelton and Chris Shelton

    This play has a striking combination of an extremely real relationship and an overtly theatrical ghost device. The way the play interweaves reality and conjecture so seemingly is masterful. Whether or not you know the historical figures in this play, you are moved to fight for Ana and interrogate Carl along with. It feels like a fitting a tribute to well-loved Latinx artistic figure.

    This play has a striking combination of an extremely real relationship and an overtly theatrical ghost device. The way the play interweaves reality and conjecture so seemingly is masterful. Whether or not you know the historical figures in this play, you are moved to fight for Ana and interrogate Carl along with. It feels like a fitting a tribute to well-loved Latinx artistic figure.

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Character Information

Age matters less than chemistry.
  • Ana Mendieta
    A Cuban American artist. 36 at the time of her death in 1985. Latinx
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Cuban
  • Carl
    A Minimalist sculptor. 50 in 1985, now elderly.

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Casa 0101, Year 2017
  • Type Reading, Organization Playwrights in Process/Cygnet Theatre, Year 2014
  • Type Reading, Organization Great Plains Theatre Conference, Year 2013

Production History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Play4Keeps, Year 2018