Drama Queens, a five-star arts journal focusing on female artists

Desi Moreno-Penson Interview by jen Bush

El Bacalao: The Catfish Man will have two staged readings that will take place on Friday, May 5 at 7pm, and Saturday, May 6 at 2pm at The Siggy Space at The Flea Theatre.

Ticket Link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dqt-presents-el-bacalao-the-catfish-man-tickets-607628863287

Loosely based on Euripides’ THE BACCHAE, and taking place in the small, backwater town of Thebes, Florida, EL BACALAO: The Catfish Man tells the story of a cantankerous Cuban family on the verge of losing everything. A storm is coming; a restaurant is closed, a young girl is dead. And a Yoruban demigod is hell bent on vengeance.  We had the fortunate opportunity to chat with the playwright of this compelling show, Desi-Moreno-Penson.

Desi Moreno-Penson is a playwright, actor, dramaturg, and independent theater producer based in NYC. She has an MFA in Dramaturgy and Theater Criticism from Brooklyn College. Her plays have been developed/produced at Ensemble Studio Theater (EST), INTAR, MultiStages, Perishable Theater (Providence, RI), SPF-Summer Play Festival, terraNOVA Collective, Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF) @the Cherry Lane, Urban Theater Company (Chicago), Teatro Coribantes (San Juan, PR), among others. She has performed her written work at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club as part of their Poetry Electric initiative, Solo Artists: Solo Words, curated by William Electric Black. Her short play, DEAD WIVES DANCE THE MAMBO was featured as part of The Chain One-Act Festival at the Chain Theater, directed by KM Jones. Her new play, EL BACALAO: The Catfish Man, a Latinx retelling of THE BACCHAE by Euripedes, was selected for the 2021 Fall Intensive Writers Group with Workshop Theater. The same play is part of the 2^nd Annual BIPOC Adaptation Writers Workshop with Lifeline Theatre, in Chicago. Another play, SIN AGUA (Without Water) is part of the 2022-2023 Fighting Words New Script Development Program with Babes With Blades Theater Company, also in Chicago. Her play, BEIGE received a staged reading as part of the playwrights/directors unit (PDU) at The Actors Studio. In addition, BEIGE is the winner of the 2016 National Latinx Playwriting Award sponsored by the Arizona Theater Company; and is a finalist for both the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Bay Area Playwrights Festival (San Francisco).  She has twice won the MultiStages New Works Contest sponsored by MultiStages Theater Company for her plays, OMINOUS MEN and COMIDA DE PUTA (F%&king Lousy Food); she has twice been a semifinalist for the Princess Grace Award, and her work has received Honorable Mention on The Kilroys List. Her plays are published by Broadway Play Publishing; her short play, RECONCILE, BITCH is included in the short plays anthology “Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2020,” published by Applause Theater and Cinema Books; a ten-minute play, SPIRIT SEX: A PARANORMAL ROMANCE, was selected for the short plays anthology, “Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2010;” and  a scene from her play, COMIDA DE PUTA (F%&king Lousy Food) is included in an anthology featuring plays written by Latinx playwrights, “Scenes for Latinx Actors: Voices of the New American Theater,” both published by Smith and Kraus. Desi lives in The Bronx with her wonderful partner, Anthony, and their cat, Choo-Choo.

Desi Moreno-Penson has had a wealth of experience in the arts industry.  She was proactive in obtaining multiple degrees to suit her changing needs as an artist.  This provided her with ample opportunities in order to continue to pursue her passions.  “I started out as an actor first. Earned my BFA in Acting and Drama from The Greer Garson Theatre Center at the College of Santa Fe, NM. Soon after graduation, I received a scholarship to study for a year at the British American Drama Academy (BADA) in London. Then I returned home to New York City and proceeded to “pound the pavement” as a struggling actor for about 13-15 years. I did get work, theatre mostly; lots of touring shows, including a tour production of Macbeth in Germany. This was followed by small roles in television and films like Spike Lee’s Girl 6, and Extreme Measures with Hugh Grant. But by the time I reached my 30s, I knew I needed a change. I still wanted to be an artist, so I went back to school and got my MFA in Dramaturgy and Theatre Criticism from Brooklyn College. That’s when I began writing plays.”

 Sometimes the universe works its magic and inspires artists to craft things that they weren’t necessarily going to create.  “It’s interesting, because I never intended to write this play. Right before Lockdown, a friend of mine had sent me a notice about Red Bull Theatre asking for short plays based on classical works. Their theme that year was REVENGE. Since I’m a Scorpio, I love anything having to do with revenge! So, for the hell of it, I just started playing with the idea of a Latinx retelling of Euripides’ The Bacchae, which is one of my most favorite plays. I have always had a special love for Greek Drama. I love its intensity and passion; its bold, universal themes, its theatricality, and its easy juxtaposition of the mundane and the fantastical, the sacred and the profane. Then the Covid-19 crisis hit NYC and I began to experience genuine anxiety as to whether there’d be enough food for everyone. I worried over the quality of food being sold in grocery stores and bemoaned the sudden loss of restaurants. The option of “eating out” was no longer viable. I was intrigued by my angst over this. It began to change my own ideas about food and food consumption, and although El Bacalao doesn’t touch upon the idea of a plague, the idea of food as a magical conduit, as a supernatural weapon, as in the case of the play, catfish, was for me, a potent catalyst dramaturgically and certainly worth pursuing as a magical-realist writer. And, when all’s said and done, I really don’t think it’s possible to write a viable version of The Bacchae as a ten-minute play, so you might as well go for it and make it a full-length work!”

Not every writer has a set creative process.  Sometimes things get accomplished in an organic manner.  Given her success in the industry, whatever Ms. Moreno-Penson is doing works for her.  “I really don’t have a creative process. In fact, I envy writers that have a process. I write when I feel something in my body telling me to write. I’m aware that in the real world, that’s not very helpful, so I work on it; I try to demand more discipline from myself, I impose deadlines, or I engage in new play development programs where I’m strongly encouraged to keep to a deadline. I have to be tough with myself, and it’s hard. I see every play as a mystery that’s to be solved; just the very act of completing a work is in fact, the creation of a mystery that you, as the writer, is now obligated to solve. However, you don’t solve the mystery by finding “answers” but by asking questions. Endless, probing, sometimes uncomfortable questions. And the best part is that when you complete your first draft, within the work itself, you now have all the clues you need to actually SOLVE the mystery. As a playwright, you just have to believe that. I have to believe that as a writer, I’m brave, spirited, and more than a little mischievous. I have to believe that I can make bold choices, I try to keep my writing immediate and visceral, unsentimental, and devoid of apology or earnestness. Too much sincerity spoils the drama, too little honesty will kill an audience’s trust. There’s always a balance, and I love pushing the envelope. I like thinking about what my imagination looks like. I’m intrigued by the bizarre, the surreal. I’m drawn to the underdog. My compassion for the “lone wolf” individual drives most of my narratives. I like scary stories and I’m deeply curious about the supernatural, about the possibility of a world beyond this world. And as a Latina, I choose to write weird stories because sometimes the tenets of magical realism are just not “magical” enough for me within the context of a more traditional Latinx play.”

There are many things the audience can take away from this production.  Hopefully the audience will make their own special connections to the material which will make them think and leave the show having a wonderful theatrical experience.  “I would hope that the play might evoke many individual sensations in each audience member, which would all merge together in a final experience. On paper, EL BACALAO: The Catfish Man comes across as a tragedy, but just as in the original source material, there are some real moments of strange, campy humor as well.  The Gods are messy like that, you know. I hope that the audience comes away thinking (and perhaps, questioning) some of their own spiritual beliefs, their sense of what family means to them, the very likely hazards of love and vengeance, as well as the creeds of toxic masculinity and misogyny that unfortunately, can still be found and experienced within the Latinx community.”

After El Bacalao: The Catfish Man is over, Ms. Moreno-Penson is taking her show on the road with a lot of wonderful things in store in a lot of exciting places.  “What’s next? A nap lol! Along with these 2 readings at The Flea, El Bacalao is also part of the 2^nd Annual BIPOC Adaptation Writers Workshop with Lifeline Theatre in Chicago. And another play, Sin Agua (Without Water), is part of the 2022-2023 Fighting Words New Script Development Program with Babes With Blades Theatre Company, also in Chicago. Both these companies are so cool; I’m very excited to be taking part in these programs and looking forward to being back in Chicago this summer. In addition, I have the Michael Bradford Writers Residency coming up in August with the equally cool Quick Silver Theatre Company; we’re going to the Pocono Mountains!”