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[an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) Two Sisters and a Piano by Nilo Cruz July 3 - October 5 Director: Andrea Frye. Scenery: Marjorie Bradley Kellogg. Costumes: Susan Tsu. Lighting:Lap-Chi Chu. David Cooper Portia as Balthazar (Robin Goodrin Nordli) makes a point as Antonio (Michael Elich) center, and Bassanio (Jeff Cummings) right, listen in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2001 production of William Shakespeare's `The merchant of Venice.' Directed by Michael Donald Edwards; scenic design by William bloodgood; costume design by David Zinn; lighting design by Robert Jared. By Douglas Langworthy OSF Dramaturg Time is an essential element in this play Time has definitely become disjointed for the sisters, but I think that they are able to transcend time through their art.The older sister, Maria Celia, escapes her reality by writing her stories, and Sofia, the younger sister, escapes through the piano into a more artistic realm. The sisters are in limbo-they've been taken away from their own actual time. The play is set in a tricky moment in Cuban history because it's when the Russians are pulling out-it's a period of food shortages and economic collapse. While the Soviet Union is experiencing the reforms of perestroika, communism is basically failing apart, So that's another aspect of time. The sisters are also caught in the idealism of the Revolution. I think they still hold on to the ideals that they had at the beginning, when they believed there was going to be more democracy in Cuba.They are in a time warp. Then there is the question of the Revolution itself being stuck. Cuba is stuck in time, in many, many ways, because of the economic restraints. When you go to Cuba, most of the cars are from the 1950s, and the buildings are falling apart. Finally, I also Saw parallels between the present situation in Cuba and the time of the Spanish Golden Age. The plays from that period reflect strong societal oppression. You know we're doing the Spanish Golden Age classic "Life is a Dream" this season. That's great. I had that specific play in mind when I was writing this play. The character of Segismundo is under house arrest as well. Another play that will play opposite yours in the season is "Three Sisters." What an honor. Both plays feature sisters longing for Moscow. Many of the critics who have seen my play have alluded to "Three Sisters." I adore Chekhov, but "Three Sisters was never in my mind as I wrote Two Sisters. Nevertheless there is an element of longing, an element of hopefulness in my work that is very similar to Three Sisters. Also, the sense of a world on the brink of change. There are many references in the play to the Pan American games of 1991. What did they mean for Cuba? They were like a mini-Olympics. It was the first time that Cuba had opened up to journalists. The country needed the games-they needed that stimulus, they needed the money that the games were going to bring. One of Sophia's favorite composers is Lecuona. How would you describe his music? What I love about Lecuona is that he was mixing African rhythms with European rhythms. There is a romantic quality to his music that I find beautiful. It's also very Spanish, but really more Cuban than anything. He was always a favorite of mine. He was very accomplished, he worked in Hollywood, he even played at Carnegie Hall. At one point the piano tuner, Victor Manuel, talks about the utility of the piano, how pianos have to be used, otherwise they should be removed from private ownership and given back to the country. That's a metaphor for communism and the functionality that art is supposed to play in a society like that. When he talks in the manner that he does, he is also telling Sofia, "I'm not a part of your world." Even though he in some ways leads a secret life in his own home and listens to Lecuona too. It seems that all the people have secrets inn this world. Yes, they have to. There is a black market taking place with dollars, there's a black market with food, so people have to lead double lives. So in interpersonal relationships, people spend a lot of time trying to figure out other people? Yes, trying to figure out whether they can trust them. This mentality is a leftover from the late seventies and eighties, when Cuba became very closed and more Stalin-oriented. It takes a while for that mindset to go away. Look at the United States - in many ways we're still very Puritan and Victorian, and look how long ago that started. The idea that art needs to be useful is one that we've had in this country during the debates around NEA. When I was writing the play, I wasn't just writing out Cuba - I was writing about the United States too and the way we view art. Especially what happened with artists like Mapplethorpe and Serrano. We tend to criticize Cuba left and right -and there is certainly a lot of room for criticism - but we also need to look at our own country and what we do to artists. So when I started to write this play, not only was I thinking about Cuba, I was also thinking about the United States and how repressive we are in this country even though we call ourselves democrats. Why does art make governments so nervous? I think it has to do with individuality. I think that the artist becomes the outsider who looks in at a society and is able to have a point of view. That's why people in high positions of government are very nervous about artists. I was in Washington last summer and there was no talk about giving more money to the arts. We don't want that point of view. But art is not about productivity - as Victor Manuel says - it's about process, it's about extremes. As a society becomes very conservative, then art needs to be doing the opposite. And if society becomes chaotic and liberal, then art needs to do the opposite. It almost has a checks-and-balance role in our world. I live in the United States, so when I'm writing about Cuba, I'm also writing about the united States. I'm writing about our society here too. 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