Juan Parodi was born in Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Ríos), Argentina, where he studied under the painter, ceramicist and sculptor Artemio Alisio. He is based in Buenos Aires, and is degreed in theater and filmmaking. 

He is a prolific collaborator. This includes contributing directing and scenic design to Argentina’s vibrant alternative independent theater, cabaret, and music orchestras. He also collaborates as director with leading experimental playwrights. He is currently adapting a play by the autofiction playwright Sergio Blanco, from Uruguay, that explores the question of representation and its ethical implications and dimensions carried out on theater stages and in the courts of law.

The Project

HCL’s LabX residency supports one creative international exchange annually. The 2022 residency is a partnership with Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) and supports Juan Parodi, directorial guest artist, with a studio to develop a new adaption for Chicago produced by CLATA of Tebas Land, by playwright Sergio Blanco. Juan is developing the work in collaboration with Chicago-based performers Tommy Rivera-Vega and Esteban Schemberg. Blanco conceived his two-person play as adaptable to the sociopolitical climate of the region where it is staged, as a type of collaboration with the director. The initial staging of Blanco’s Tebas Land toured in South America and Europe, and had 17 different stagings on all continents since 2013.

Blanco was inspired in writing Tebas Land by the myth of Oedipus, the life of the fourth-century European saint St Martín, and a legal file created and imagined by Blanco in which the trial of a young parricide named Martín Santos is narrated. From the different encounters this young parricide and a playwright, who wants to write his history, have in a basketball prison court, the concern becomes gradually more for the characters, and less about the reconstruction or motivations of a crime. 

Juan is developing the adaptation of Tebas Land at HCL over eight weeks. The residency includes his immersion in Chicago and daily life on the city’s south west side, where Juan is being lodged with a family. He cast the play prior to arriving, and is developing the adaptation in close collaboration with the performers, who bring new perspective to Tebas Land. Tommy, a long-time ensemble member of Teatro Vista, was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Esteban is a creative producer and actor currently based in Chicago, and from Buenos Aires. 

Tebas Land makes its North American premiere as part of Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, produced by Chicago Latino Theater Alliance. It runs 22 September through 9 October, 2022 at Chicago Dramatists. For information visit Destinos website.

About the Artists

Juan Parodi (Argentina) studied under the painter, ceramicist and sculptor Artemio Alisio and is degreed in theater and filmmaking. His most recent work was as Director of the 100th Anniversary of Teatro Nacional Cervantes, the national stage for comedy theatre of Argentina and located in the heart of Buenos Aires. He directs and creates scenic design with orchestra La Joven Guarrior, started by thirteen musicians and actors and whose irreverent projects include Perros de la belleza (Dogs of Beauty) and A lo lejos sonaron disparos (Shots heard from afar). He is a founding staff member of the Actors Training School in Audiovisual arts in Buenos Aires. Parodi also creates theater interventions for public spaces, such as Vidriera irrespetuosa (disrespectful window display), which opened the 2019 International Cabaret Theater Festival Buenos Aires. In 2020, at the start of Argentina’s pandemic quarantine, with journalist and playwright Maxi Legnani, he started the popular digital series “Reading at home”, featuring hundreds of actors and contemporary writers. 

His theater awards include ACE Best Director Award in Alternative Theater for Mau Mau, o la tercera parte de la noche (Mau Mau, or the third part of the night) in 2014, by playwright Santiago Loza, and two World Theater Awards for Rosa brillando (brilliant Rose) in 2019, cowritten by and starring Vanesa Maja, based on the writings of the poet Marosa di Giorgio. He has directed for numerous productions which have toured widely to international theater festivals, including throughout Argentina, San Sebastián (Basque Land), Greece, Bogotá, Costa Rica, Caracas, Chile, and Bolivia. He made his North American directorial debut in 2018 as part of the Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, with Grupo Humo Negro’s acclaimed production Quiero decir te amo (I want to tell you I love you), by playwright Mario Tenconi Blanco and starring company founder Jorgelina Balsa. 

Sergio Blanco (Uruguay), lives in Paris. Formally trained in classical philology, he is a prolific playwright and director. Prizes include the National Drama Prize of Uruguay, Florencio Prize for Best Playwright, and the International Prize by Casa de las Americas. He is multiple winner of the British Award Off West End-London for his plays Tebas Land (Thebes Land) and La Ira de Narcissus (The Rage of Narcissus). His works 45’and Kiev have entered the repertoire of the National Comedy of Uruguay. Additional acclaimed works include Slaughter, Barbarie, Kassandra, Darwin's Leap, Ostia, The Bellow of Düsseldorf, When You Walk Over my Tomb, Cartography of a Disappearance, Traffic, COVID-451 and Divine Invention. His plays have been published and performed in mover than twenty countries. In 2022, his newest work, Zoo, is being produced by the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. For more information about Sergio Blanco and his work visit www.sergioblanco.fr.

About Chicago Latino Theater Alliance

Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Arts & Cultural organization, founded in 2016 by late Executive Director, Myrna Salazar, National Museum of Mexican Art, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, and International Latino Cultural Center. It is committed to foster and showcase thought provoking Latino theater artists, primarily in Chicago, to preserve cultural heritage, inspire a cross-cultural audience, create more equitable representation on stages and access to funding for Latinos in theater, and increase youth/emerging artists access to the industry and job opportunities.

Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, since 2017, has presented Latino theater with a focus on culturally unique artists hailing from the U.S. and Latin America. Audiences experience first-voice works that display the diversity of the Latino experience. From 2017-2021 has presented approximately 45 productions with over 319 performances, 211 panels/talk backs, and 29 student matinees reaching 2,300+ students with a total general audiences over 33,000 and at 15 venues across Chicago. More info at www.clata.org