The Battalion
lesday * July £1,1998
ggielife
jzf player in his own write
wm
>58
An A&M student
scripts his own future
! H
■
Baa
lerck
.nigh it;
nesaui
ntscn
reai
comei
alsoiE
ir das
‘area:
ms ifl!
I
vl
r :
# f i
:
Si
I —
galH
I WE
Photo By Mike Fuentes/The Battalion
By Manisha Parekh
staff writer
I f, as Shakespeare wrote, all the world's a
stage, Guillermo DeLeon is right at home.
DeLeon, a senior theater arts and English ma
jor, has participated in over 32 plays since his
freshman year in high school. And though he
started out interpreting the words of others, his
interests have taken him to the other side of the
curtain: playwriting.
"I am trying to paint my own mythology,"
DeLeon said.
To this end, DeLeon has been creating the
characters that bring his dreams and beliefs to
life. He has written five plays since coming to
Texas A&M.
Two of the plays, "Death by
Disco" (co-written with senior
theater arts major Dan Grimm)
and "Murder at the Blue
Note," were performed by lo
cal junior high school students.
His other three plays, "La
Llorona," "Watson's" and
"Kelly Pierce," were written
for the A&M theater program.
DeLeon became interest
ed in the theater while in
high school.
"We did a reading of
'Romeo and Juliet' in class one
day, and afterwards a cute
cheerleader came up to me and asked me if I
wanted to try out for the school play," DeLeon
said. "I got cast in the play and she didn't."
DeLeon decided to pursue a major in the
ater arts because he wanted to teach people
how to act. However, his new dream is to be
come a playwright.
"I want to create an understanding of my be
liefs," DeLeon said.
For DeLeon, who was raised in the Rio
Grande Valley, exploring and understanding his
beliefs is a part of healing the rift between his
faith and his culture.
"I have a lot of conflict between the Catholic
church and the curanderas (medicine
women)," he said. "My plays are a way of try
ing to see how it all comes together, what I've
learned to believe."
DeLeon said his inspirations are his dreams
and his friends.
"I get a character in my head and that's what
the play's about. The characters are kind of like
my friends," he said. "And my friends inspire the
attributes of the characters."
DeLeon said he writes his plays for a multi
cultural audience.
His writing is
quick. You can see a
lot of ability in
the work.”
— Jim Patton
senior theater arts major
"I think that it is important to show that prob
lems are universal. I don't want to limit myself to
one group or area, he said."
Once the script is finished, then the hard part
starts for DeLeon: the performance of the play.
"Having ideas and ideals in my head is frus
trating because sometimes it (the performance) is
exactly like you saw it in your head, and other
times it's not," he said."It's scary to see your
dreams up there on stage.
"But I do want to know what people think, and
that's the only way."
Amy Hilburn, a junior community health ma
jor, played the role of Maria in DeLeon's first play
staged at A&M, "La Llorona." To her, the writing
showed quite a bit of skill.
"I grew up with those legends (of the Valley),
and his writing, characters and
descriptions were very real,"
Hilburn said. "His writing was
very authentic. He is very ver
satile."
For his latest play, "Kelly
Pierce," DeLeon moved away
the serious tone of his last two
University plays, opting in
stead for a light comedy.
"Comedy is important. It is
a lot harder to do because it is a
lot more intellectual," he said.
The play follows the trials
and tribulations of a couple
who have just broken up be
cause of a misunderstanding.
Jim Patton, a senior theater arts major, is di
recting "Kelly Pierce." Patton, who also acted
in "Watson's," said DeLeon's writing has a lot
of potential.
"His writing is quick. You can see a lot of abil
ity in the work," Patton said.
Nancy Castellanos, a senior journalism and
theater arts major, said that the play is a lot of fun.
"It's good schtick. It's a situational comedy
that's a little risque," Castellanos, who also is star
ring in the play, said.
And although, DeLeon enjoyed writing the
comedy, he said sees himself concentrating more
on tragedy.
His next play, which he already is working
on, is a continuation of the tragic theme through
"La Llorona."
"It's part of a trilogy," he said. "It has to do
with a confrontation between a curandera and a
bruja (witch)."
DeLeon would like to eventually teach at the
university level and have one of his plays per
formed by a professional theater group.
"A play can only die if it doesn't get used,"
he said.
Dr. DolitHe talks to audiences/
The Mask ofZorro cuts its way to the top
D r. DolitHe
Starring Eddie Murphy and Norm MacDonald
Rated PG-13
Playing at Hollywood 16
Eddie Murphy continues his transition from
I comedy star to kinder, gentler, Disney-
^ned star acceptable to most parents with
Rudren.
Following the trend of The Nutty Professor,
[ r - ®°little gives Murphy another opportunity
P r elaborate sight gags, usually involving a
° c k of animals, and some smart jokes that will
‘P by some.
The extensive voice cast is a plus, with Norm
a cDonald getting almost as much screen time as
U J? h y as the voice of Lucky the dog.
k.hris Rock's trouble-making guinea pig
^er really takes off, but will amuse younger
Hidiences.
Garry Shandling contributes the voice of a pi-
3 °n who has trouble with his spouse (Julie Kavn-
rof "The Simpsons").
Jenna Elfman ("Dharma And Greg") portrays
an owl with a knack for organization, and Albert
Brooks plays what is likely the only suicidal tiger
role in movie history.
Dr. DolitHe has the standard slow, piano-backed
"moral of the story" moments that are mandatory
in family comedies today, but it should entertain
all to some extent.
Parents only have a small amount of profanity
to worry about, and no real concern over matters
of violence or sexuality.
Fans of the Murphy of old may be disappoint
ed with Dr. DolitHe, but he may earn new fans in
the children.(B-)
-—Gray Whitten
The Mask ofZorro
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins,
and Catherine Zeta- Jones
Rating PG -13
Playing at Hollywood 16
With a black mask, a gleaming sword and the
desire to see the evil persecuted and justice spread
across the land,Zorro is the old-is-new hero with a
black costume and a passionate past.
Zorro has captured the attention of audiences
for almost 80 years and has had a long and illus
trious career of 36 movies across 6 countries.
The Mask ofZorro was finally released Friday
after countless previews, starring Antonio Ban
deras, Anthony Hopkins and making her debut,
Catherine Zeta Jones.
The story begins with Hopkins as the leg
endary Zorro saving Mexicans from the tyrannical
rule of the Spanish governor Montero.
When the governor dis
covers the true identity of
Zorro, he destroys Zorro's
life by imprisoning him.
This is when the film fast
forwards 20 years to the jail
break of Zorro (Hopkins),
the return of the governor to
California, and the creation
of a new Zorro (Banderas).
The film will be an enjoy
ment for many because it
was directed by Martin
Campbell, of the Bond film
Goldeneye. Thus, a lot of ac
tion can be expected.
It was nice to see a depar
ture from the many summer
movies filled with special ef
fects. Zorro is filled with
people actually punching,
hitting and sword fighting
other people.
However, Zorro does
mimic movies from the past with a predictable
plot, a predictable hero, a predictable villain, and
a predictable love story.
It was similar to sitting through Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves, but this time the main characters
had better accents.
But Zorro succeeds, because of the refreshing
cast of actors, who have genuine talent.
Many times "hero movies" are given to the
typical action stars, but inserting Hopkins was a
well needed modification.
! #
Anthony Hopkins (left) and Antonio Banderas (right) discuss the best way to
fight evil in Zorro.
Hopkins brings depth and drama to the role.
Winning an Academy Award is a good indicator
of the talent he delivers to the movie.
Banderas' character may take on the same role
as previous heroes but he adds more humor and
not so much over-dramatization.
Hopkins and Banderas save Zorro from walk
ing down the predictable and overdone path.
The movie is simple and lighthearted and
will accomplish what a movie is suppose to do:
entertain. (A-)
— Marium Mohiuddin