This weekend, a small group of actors will be performing “Isabel Watching it Rain in Macondo” as a Physical Theatre Project.

For those unfamiliar with the term, physical theatre is theatre based almost exclusively on movement rather than on dialogue, which can mean dancing or many other kinds of movement.

At Gustavus this fall Physical Theatre was offered by director Henry MacCarthy.

The preparation for the show by the class was extensive. “Much of the early semester was spent simply experimenting with movement” said Sophomore member Hannah Mahr.

“The process of devising this show has been physically exhausting. In order to create movement, we had to move.” The students were challenged to discover all that they are physically capable of.

From there, Mahr stated that the actors began to build a “vocabulary” of movements that they had become familiar with. Once they had become familiar and comfortable with this vocabulary, they began to work on the final show they planned to perform.

The “Monologue of Isabel Watching it Rain in Macondo” is originally a short story by Gabriel García Márquez. Originally written in Spanish, it has been translated by multiple authors into English.

The short story, which only takes about fifteen minutes to read, uses beautiful language and is thoroughly descriptive.

Márquez is adept at putting an image into the reader’s head. The challenge for the Gustavus actors was to set his text into movement.

Using their own new vocabularies of movement the actors created a show and choreographed based on the story.

“From this point forward, our rehearsals became a series of rigorous repetitions of movement. We wanted to internalize the actions – make every movement muscle memory – so that we could ensure precision come performance weekend,” Mahr said.

Through these demanding rehearsals, the cast is just about ready for their performances this weekend. The show will be performed in the Black Box Theatre Friday 8 at 11 pm, Saturday 9 at 7pm, and Sunday 10 at 2 pm.

The show the students have created was meant for the Black Box. “This show is very intimate, as it was created with that specific audience relationship in mind. All of the movement is meant to be viewed up close,” Mahr said.

Don’t be fooled, though; a show without dialogue is not necessarily silent. “Having a smaller space allows us to easily control what the audience hears, as well as when they hear it,”Mahr said.

According to an article from the BBC, “Physical theatre shows that you don’t have to use words to express ideas.” It goes on to say, “Physical theatre is anything that puts the human body at the centre of the storytelling process.”

“The process of devising this show has been physically exhausting. In order to create movement, we had to move.” — Hannah Mahr

Don’t miss this unique theatre opportunity – be sure to catch one of the performances of “Isabel Watching it Rain in Macondo” this weekend. As always, student tickets are free.