By Judi Jordan, Entertainment Editor
No one ever accused activist-artist Odalys Nanin of lacking passion. A talented and tenacious producer, playwright, actor, and director, Nanin has kept the flame of LGBT theater alive through hell and high water, loss of lease, financial challenges, and a pandemic, to triumph. Her theatrical productions are a celebration of extraordinary women, and she ranks among them, keeping their flames ablaze. Her current play, The Nun and the Countess, runs at Casa 0101 through November 7.
The Nun and the Countess is based on the novel Sor Juana’s Second Dream by Alicia Gaspar de Alba and co-directed by Corky Dominguez with Nanin.
Like other MACHA productions, The Nun and the Countess tells the intimate story of a female famous icon. In this case, Doña Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, better known as Sor Juana Inez. Born 1651 in Tepetlixpa, Mexico, she died of the plague in 1695 but left a huge legacy of literature and music, not to mention a burning secret.
In Mexico’s 100 peso bill, Sor Juana is acknowledged as a true master of the Spanish Golden Age, as a Hieronymite nun, author, philosopher, composer, and poet. She reigns in death as the first feminist of the new world and most prolific author of the entire history of the Spanish Americas. On Nanin’s stage, she is the lover of a charismatic countess. Sor Juana’s poems to Lysi (Countess de Paredes) are woven into the play’s dialogue. Nanin adds with a touch of irony, “She’s become so famous that Mexico City just erected a statue of her on the main Ave of Mexico”.
Sor Juana’s poetry is taught to schoolchildren who likely do not [yet] know her ‘intimate’ history but are taught to memorize her immortal words in Hombres Necios /You Foolish Men:
“You foolish men who lay the guilt on women, not seeing you’re the cause. of the very thing you blame; if you invite their disdain….”
Sor Juana Inez
At the end of this run, Nanin next prepares for a presentation for Mexico of her most popular and critically acclaimed work, Frida – Stroke of Passion. Produced at Casa 0101, Nanin also wrote and starred in this critics’ and audiences’ favorite which had a hugely successful run.
Nanin likes to believe that Kahlo watches over her, she considers her a muse and a constant presence. “Frida is an angel. She really is a powerful person spiritually and I’m saying it because when I did Frida -Stroke of Passion-and I did it three times-every night was sold out,” she tells us. Nanin is also writing a TV pilot based on that work;
Nanin’s award-winning productions at her MACHA Theatre/Film (Mujeres Advancing Culture History and Art) go back decades. “Back in 1997, I realized that there were no stories or space to present the Latino LGBT,” she recounted. “I created a space where Latinx LGBT community can come and watch the stories in a safe environment”. In 2020 Nanin received a grant from the Astraea Foundation and MACHA was born. MACHA’s 17 years in the West Hollywood location ended at the brink of the pandemic.
Nanin was heartbroken at first but then as the crisis took hold, she saw the silver lining. “Theater is in the heart, it’s not a building, at least the burden of paying rent on an unused theatre space was lifted. “For 20 months we were dark”.
Nanin’s current re-mounting of The Nun and the Countess ran at the Casa 0101 theater founded by fellow playwright and producer, Josefina Lopez. Nanin assures us it’s a great fit. “I’ve known Josefina for years, and I wanted to support her, so I applied for some grants, and they came in and I was able to produce”.
It is obvious there is no stopping Nanin’s visionary work.
For more information and tickets, visit www.machatheatre.org
Judi Jordan, a Santa-Monica based journalist, screenwriter, book editor and avid traveler, covers the Oscars, Television Academy events and has written for The Hollywood Reporter, Latin Style, Estylo, Latino Leaders and Gayot. A fan of history, opera, Spain, art, TV, film and wine, she returns to Latin Heat.com as Entertainment Editor. See more at judijordan.com