Pop Up Zumar, a new space to bring theater to vulnerable areas of Guayaquil

The theater, for the public, serves as an option for entertainment, distraction and even catharsis. Taking it to vulnerable sectors, where this type of content is not regularly consumed, and involving the community transform it not only into an alternative for healthy recreation, but into a space of inspiration and aspirations.

Romina Zeballos, director of the Zumar projects unit, and Ricardo Velastegui, actor and director of Pop Up Teatro Café, have developed together Pop Up Zumar, an initiative that will have the mission of presenting theatrical works in the facilities of the municipal center that will now have three rooms implemented for this activity.

“Since I started working in the social area, I always focused on artistic projects of social intervention, so if we worked on Mount Sinai or Trinitaria Island, we did workshops on graffiti, urban art, theater, and the results that I have seen During these ten years that I have been working in the Municipality of Guayaquil, they have been very positive, ”says Zeballos, who was Queen of Guayaquil in 2012.

Zeballos, who has a degree in Performing Arts, assures that through theater they can address various topics in a more dynamic way, such as gender violence. “With the plays that we plan to present we are going to ensure that attendees can see these issues from another perspective, other than the typical talk and you have nothing left and you do not enjoy it. We also want to cultivate and bring this type of art at the same time, where very few people have had the opportunity or access to see a play and cultural spaces. We want them to see that there is a world full of possibilities, “he says.

According to Zeballos, Pop Up Zumar occurs after two years of presenting the project. “We have been able to define many details, at last we can say that it is 99% completed, we have been working with Xavier and Ricardo Velástegui because they are passionate people in what they do. We want them to live the theater experience, as happens in the Pop Up Teatro facilities in Urdesa ”, he mentions.

Velástegui asserts that this social need is part of the motivation as artists to share art with different sectors and audiences. “There are many people who may know Pop Up, but they may not have the resources to go. But through Pop Up Zumar we can not only reach a larger audience, but also have our seedbed of artists who reach more professional tables, who are not only actors, but singers, musicians, etc. Actors will be born who can reach Pop Up Cinema (platform of streaming of local cinema). This is a project that will lead people to live that experience of getting into a drawer, that there is nothing better ”, he says

It is planned that before the end of 2021 the rooms will be inaugurated in the Zumar multifunctional center, located in Bastion Popular. “We want not only to cover the Popular Bastion sector, but also the other sectors of the northwest of the city. This is a way to have fun with the family, and through the Municipality (the works) will be freely accessible, with an educational and reflective theme for the attendees ”, he says.

Etapas

Pop Up Zumar will have two phases. The first is a micro theater, which will have two rooms (for 25 to 30 people) for these productions; and the second will be the opening of a main room (with capacity for 200 spectators) and the formation of a group of actors with inhabitants of the sector. “The idea is that they can make an exchange, when they are ready, that they go to the Urdesa Pop Up, that the actors also come here and be part of that artistic culture of the city and that later on they can work in this profession if they want it that way, ”he says. It also emphasizes that the capacity of the rooms will be reduced by the pandemic.

Velástegui states that they will have a varied content. “We will have themes for all audiences and children’s theater, we will also develop the theater-forum, where after presenting the play we will be able to exchange opinions with the attendees and the actors about what they saw; these talks are also very useful for the actors ”, he adds.

Zeballos indicates that Pop Up Zumar plans to operate on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (this day for children’s theater), while on Wednesdays there will be theater-forum days. The first season of performances, which would last three months, would be from 6:00 p.m., with four performances per day.

Through a digital ticket system, attendees will be able to register one week in advance to access a ticket.

The actor and producer asserts that the theater seedbed they will create does not have an age limit and emphasizes that the diversity of its participants will enrich the theatrical proposals that they will develop. “We are also looking for artists who want to join the training stage for the theater group and it is also important to emphasize the amount of work that is being developed, because it gives artists the opportunity to work in different settings,” he says.

According to Zeballos, around 10,000 people will benefit annually. This figure is equivalent to the spectators who will be able to enjoy the plays. (I)