What distinguishes reality from representation? How much of what we perceive as true is merely myth? Do we possess free will, or are our lives determined by the firm hands of fate?
These are some of the grand questions the Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca considered nearly 400 years ago while writing “La Vida es Sueño” (“Life is a Dream”), his magnum opus. The play’s manifold themes—existentialism, the relationship between fathers and sons, duty and honor—are no less relevant to contemporary audiences.
West Marin residents will have an opportunity to chew on some of these weighty ideas when locals perform the play at the Dance Palace later this month. Presented in collaboration with Sharron Drake Community Arts and performed in its original 17th-century Castilian Spanish, the play will run from June 28 to 30.
Calderón de la Barca was born in Madrid in 1600. He is canonized as one of Spain’s greatest dramatists and the principal playwright of the country’s Golden Age of theater. Published 30 years after “Don Quixote,” “La Vida es Sueño” borrows on similar themes, craftily scrutinizing the spaces between reality and perception at a time when the Spanish empire’s power was waning. Some historians mark the end of the Golden Age with Calderón de la Barca’s death.
“La Vida es Sueño” is set in an imagined version of the kingdom of Poland and tells the story of King Basilio (played by Mark Alderdice), an overbearing ruler who imprisons his infant son after an oracle prophesizes that he will grow to rule as a tyrant and ultimately come to kill his father. The prince, Segismundo, is played by Julio Lucas.
A three-act play written in verse, “La Vida es Sueño” is an example of a Spanish “comedia,” which traditionally infuses stern dramatic scenes with bits of humor to render a twisting plot brimming with vim.
The play has been translated into English and adapted numerous times over the years, including as a film and a novel, but it’s rarely performed in its original Castilian, an archaic, heightened form of Spanish that can be tricky to learn. Yet the opportunity to revive Calderón de la Barca’s native tongue jumped out to director Sharron Drake.
“It’s a great way to forge new connections in the community and maybe get a lot of people out of their comfort zones,” she said. “It’s a different kind of creative realm audiences might not be accustomed to.”
The cast is made up of both native and non-native Spanish speakers. Even for seasoned actors like Geoff Hoyle, who performed in the Pickle Family Circus, wrapping one’s mind around an already dense script written in an outmoded language has been daunting. Cast in the role of Clarín, a garrulous servant known for his jokes, Mr. Hoyle set about learning his lines with the help of a dictionary and a parallel English translation.
“I’m trying to make sure that I understand what it is I’m imitating,” he said. “My Spanish is fair but not great, so it’s been a big challenge.”
Grappling with the eccentric verse is something even native Spanish speakers like Richard Vajellos must confront. Cast as Astolfo, Duke of Muscovy and a nephew of King Basilio, he sees the process of parsing his character’s role as enticing rather than tedious, however.
“There are a lot of references, allusions and puns that are from another time, so it’s all about trying to figure them out,” he said. “It’s really rewarding. Struggling through it is part of the fun.”
The audience will largely be spared this struggle. The play will have English supertitles that display live lyrics and dialogue on stage.
While a production of “La Vida es Sueño” in its original Castillian Spanish is ambitious, Ms. Drake sees the play’s demands as an opportunity to galvanize West Marin’s corps of artists, not only its actors.
The community’s involvement is wide ranging. Mr. Vallejos’s partner, Molly Livingston, used a combination of discarded tie silks and other materials to make a hippogriff for the show. The mythic creature is classically portrayed as half winged griffin and half horse, but she adapted the forepart to look more like an osprey.
Children from the Dance Palace’s theater program will also appear in short interstitial vignettes between acts, known as entreméses.
“We use this community as our resource, and we’re doing work that mirrors this community,” Mr. Hoyle said.
“La Vida es Sueño” shows at 7 p.m. on June 28, 29 and 30. For information and to purchase tickets, go to https://dancepalace.org.