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[0:00] Martín Acuña: Hi everyone, I am Martín Acuña and you are listening to Backstage Talk.

[0:16] Martín Acuña: Jonathan Larson asked how can you make someone take off and fly in one of his songs from Tick Tick Boom, and I, for the past two years, have learned one way to do it, through the power of community. Welcome to the Latinx in Musical Theatre Special for a Season 3 of Backstage Talk, where we will be featuring artists from across all positions in musical theatre, from several Latin American countries and different Latin heritages. I am proud to showcase my Latinx family. I hope you enjoy.

[0:51] Martín Acuña: Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of Backstage Talk. Today's two guests are Laura Duque, who is the co-founder and executive director of Teatro Musical de Colombia, that translates as Colombia's Musical Theatre. She started her career at a very young age and has loved performing in musical theatre shows since then. She also stars in many of the productions that the company has. I also have with me Valeria Barberi. She is an actress and singer based in Medellín, Colombia, and she has been part of this company since 2017. Laura, Valeria, I am honored to feature you on Backstage Talk. Welcome to the show.

[1:39] Laura Duque: Oh, thank you, Martín. We're so happy to be here. Thank you for having us.

[1:45] Valeria Barberi: Thank you, Martín. We're so happy and, you know, thank you so much for creating this beautiful space so Colombian people and Colombian creators and artists can get a platform and get known abroad.

[1:58] Martín Acuña: Thank you so much for being here. It is an honor. First thing I want to know from both of you is what made you choose the thespian path in life?

[2:06] Valeria Barberi: Vale. So I'm going to be translating for Lau today.

[2:12] Laura Duque: Oh yes, for everybody who's here, please forgive me for my bad English.

[2:18] Valeria Barberi: So Vale is going to help me with some translations.

[2:24] Valeria Barberi: Perfect. So Lauri's story is very interesting because her mom used to say that she like raced up and she was already singing and it was one of the first things that she was already doing. So there wasn't really, you know, another option for her. She went to choir and, you know, attended multiple choirs as a child. So she started educating like her listening and her ear and her musical abilities. And when she started to grow up and so on, she kept in the choir. And after this, she founded a funk band. And this funk band, you know, she was leveraged to who nowadays is her husband, who is the co-founder as well of Colombia's musical theater, Teatro Musical de Colombia. And, you know, they started when they were creating this musical play that's called La Tonada Siniestra that's based upon several, you know, storytells or tells of Edgar Allan Poe.

And so they created this play and it was like the beginning of Teatro Musical de Colombia. And, you know, in between, she also decided to formalize her studies in, you know, dramatic arts. And so she became an actress. She did her whole career, but she realized that, you know, musical theater was really like that way and the only way to put those two passions on the same plate. Right. Like singing, but also acting because she on the choir couldn't precisely do that. So I felt like she just knew that musical theater would be like that that way of doing the best of both worlds.

[4:12] Martín Acuña: Oh, my God. Thank you, Vale. What about you, Vale?

[4:19] Valeria Barberi: OK, so for me, it was a little bit different. I did have multiple things that I wanted to study, but I was already beginning another career when someone, a theater teacher that I had been in a theater for a couple of years. I was doing theater for a hobby only. And then he came to me with the admission like kind of payments that you have to pay to perform the exam on a university to go ahead and do the exam and, you know, start studying the career. And so he came to me and he was like, why don't you go ahead and try this out? And I didn't even know there was a career for theater in my city. So I was very surprised. It was a three-day audition. Right. You had to present like a vocal technique audition than the one of the body where you're dancing and moving.

And then you had to create like a scratch or like a scene from scratch. Right. And so I did it and I was admitted. And in that admission process, I feel like I fell in love with theater. And I was like, really, there's there's no way that I'm going to do another thing apart from this. Right. There's no way that I'm not going to choose this lifestyle because I fell in love with the classes and the professors and the people. So I was like, yeah, this is this is what I want to do. And so, you know, I studied the career and currently, you know, still doing that. And very happy with that choice of following your dreams in your heart.

[5:54] Martín Acuña: I love it. So let's double click on that journey in musical theater for both of you. So I'll leave you to it to start with any of you.

[6:04] Valeria Barberi: Perfect. So Laura's beginning in musical theater was, you know, as I told you guys on the past question with Samuel and, you know, their beginning into creating this musical play of the tales of Edgar Allan Poe. So this was really the first production and the first play that, you know, Colombia's Musical Theater, Teatro Musical de Colombia had like as part of their group and like a full creation of their own. And I want to highlight here that everything that Teatro Musical de Colombia does are like own compositions, their self stories, like their stories that we might take from somewhere else. But we adopt them. They're written by Samuel, directed by Samuel. We don't take like really like any other, you know, repertorio.

Yeah. We don't take. Yeah, exactly. We don't take anything that's already written and like replay it again just because we I believe like there's this need to tell our own stories. Right. And so with Samuel and they gathering together after this play, it was like the beginning of Teatro Musical de Colombia. And also because, you know, in here, in the only university that we really have to professionalize our studies in dramatic arts, there's not really that wing of musical theater. Right. There's like you do get a singing class, but it's not a musical theater. Right. So it's more about what you choose to do with your knowledge in theater and then going and looking for something abroad. Right.

So Teatro Musical de Colombia, when they created La Tonada Siniestra, becomes like the first group that's doing musical theater in the city of Medellín. And after that, it just becomes like this path of like searching their own what they want to do and their own voice. And, you know, what is it that we're going to create? And they formalized the company. The founders are Laura, Samuel and Juan Jose Saldarriaga. And they formalized their company and, you know, just started creating musical plays for the last it's going to be 11 years. Only 11 years.

[8:12] Laura Duque: I love it. And what about your journey?

[8:20] Valeria Barberi: Yeah. So my journey is very by the hand with Teatro Musical de Colombia. I don't have any other experience doing musical theater apart from what I've done with them. I did remember that, like growing up, I went to a bilingual school and in that school, we would do like the Beauty and the Beast. We did Jungle Boy and, you know, like this very Disney plays. But it was kind of, you know, a very approach in theater to just making child children, you know, like make their imagination fly and just entertain. Right. It wasn't a very technical approach to musical theater. Right. But I remember I enjoyed it so much. Right. And I loved it. And I fell in love with theater ever since. And that's why later on, I kept pursuing, like doing theater, even if it was just as a hobby.

But in 2017, I read before that in 2000, like I think that was when was the first the first the season that you guys did in order to the reanimator 2016. OK, so on 2016, you know, I had the honor of watching the play that Teatro Musical has that's called the reanimator. Right. It's out of the the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. And, you know, they did this play and I was like, oh, my God, what is this? This is like so such a beautiful production. It was science fiction. And I think out of everything, the thing I love the most, like in type of stories and like narrative, I love science fiction. I think science fiction is like such a magical like genre. I feel like it's it's it's the best one. Right.

So I fell in love with the reanimator and I was like, I really need to work with this group. And I didn't start working immediately. But on 2017, they open up like some castings or auditions to work with them. And so I went I did my audition. I met Laura. That's like the first very time I saw her. And we got together. They ended up like, you know, admitting me and hiring me for a job. And then so on. We just kept working together. And then last year, 2021, they opened up their their formation or like their their kind of like the school and the academy of Teatro Musical de Colombia's discipline. And I started I decided to to get into that course and, you know, learn from them and what they knew.

And so that was really like the beginning of now the formal relationship with with them. And I was part last year of the musical that they have called Entregue Inmediata. It's a Christmas musical. And it was it's such a beautiful story. Like it's really changing the way that we do musicals, because I feel like we were doing very high format and big format musicals, you know, trying to be a little bit like Broadway or be a little bit like, you know, shiny and and like sporadic and everything. But Entregue Inmediata was like that search into how to

[11:30] Laura Duque: Thank you so much for having us, Martín. It's a pleasure to be here.

[12:00] Valeria Barberi: Yes, thank you! We're excited to share our journey with you.

[12:30] Laura Duque: So, we started Musical Theatre of Colombia with the goal of creating original musicals that reflect our culture and stories.

[13:00] Valeria Barberi: Exactly! We wanted to bring something unique to the stage, something that resonates with our audience in Medellín.

[13:06] Laura Duque: And it’s been quite a journey. We’ve faced challenges, but the passion for musical theatre keeps us going.

[13:12] Valeria Barberi: Absolutely! The creative process is so rewarding, especially when we see our ideas come to life.

[13:18] Laura Duque: We draw inspiration from both Colombian culture and international influences, including Broadway.

[13:23] Valeria Barberi: Yes, Broadway has had a significant impact on our work. It’s fascinating to see how those productions can inspire us to create something local yet universal.

[13:29] Laura Duque: And we aim to bridge that gap between our local industry and the broader musical theatre world.

[13:35] Valeria Barberi: It’s important for us to showcase the talent we have in Colombia and to tell our stories through musical theatre.

[13:41] Laura Duque: We also focus on collaboration. Working with local artists and musicians enriches our productions.

[13:47] Valeria Barberi: Collaboration is key! It allows us to blend different styles and perspectives, making our work even more dynamic.

[13:53] Laura Duque: And we’ve seen a growing interest in musical theatre in Colombia, which is really exciting.

[14:00] Valeria Barberi: Yes! More people are coming to see our shows, and that encourages us to keep pushing boundaries.

[14:08] Laura Duque: We also want to create opportunities for young artists in our community.

[14:16] Valeria Barberi: Definitely! We believe in nurturing the next generation of performers and creators.

[14:27] Laura Duque: It’s all about building a sustainable musical theatre community in Medellín.

[14:37] Valeria Barberi: And we’re proud to be part of that movement.

[15:07] Laura Duque: We’ve been working on new projects that we can’t wait to share with everyone.

[15:18] Valeria Barberi: Yes! We’re currently developing a new musical that highlights Colombian folklore.

[15:28] Laura Duque: It’s a beautiful story that we believe will resonate with many.

[15:39] Valeria Barberi: And we’re excited to see how audiences will respond to it.

[15:49] Laura Duque: The feedback we’ve received so far has been encouraging, and it motivates us to keep creating.

[16:00] Valeria Barberi: We also want to explore more collaborations with international artists.

[16:10] Laura Duque: That would be amazing! It would bring fresh perspectives to our work.

[16:20] Valeria Barberi: And it would help us learn and grow as artists.

[16:31] Laura Duque: We’re always looking for ways to improve and innovate in our productions.

[16:41] Valeria Barberi: Exactly! The world of musical theatre is constantly evolving, and we want to be part of that evolution.

[16:52] Laura Duque: And we hope to inspire others to pursue their passion for the arts.

[17:02] Valeria Barberi: Yes! It’s all about sharing our love for musical theatre with the world.

[17:13] Laura Duque: Thank you for giving us the platform to share our story, Martín.

[17:23] Valeria Barberi: We appreciate it and hope our journey inspires others.

[17:34] Laura Duque: Absolutely! We’re excited to see what the future holds for us and for musical theatre in Colombia.

[17:44] Valeria Barberi: Thank you, everyone, for listening!

[17:55] Laura Duque: And remember to support your local artists and theatres!

[18:05] Valeria Barberi: Yes! Every bit of support helps us grow and thrive.

[18:16] Laura Duque: We look forward to sharing more with you all soon.

[18:26] Valeria Barberi: Thank you again, Martín!

[18:37] Laura Duque: Thank you!

[18:47] Valeria Barberi: Bye!

[18:58] Laura Duque: Bye!

[19:08] Martín Acuña: Thanks everyone for listening to this new episode of Backstage Talk.

[19:19] Martín Acuña: Remember to follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Backstage Talk Podcast.