A WEEKEND WITH PABLO PICASSO Comes to L.A. Theatre Works Next Month

Writer, performer, and founding member of Culture Clash Herbert Sigüenza takes on the role of Picasso for A Weekend with Pablo Picasso from L.A.Theatre Works (LATW) in this one-man tour-de-force based on the writings of “the first rock star artist” on Friday, March 15, 2024 at 7:30pm and Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 7:30pm at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage.  The production is directed by Anna Lyse Erikson, Producer at L.A. Theatre Works, having served as senior producer, casting director, and literary manager for over 100 L.A. Theatre Works live recordings, in-studio recordings, and tours.

Pablo Picasso was (among many things) an obsessive creator, self-proclaimed clown, and a flamboyantly opinionated philosopher -- whose passionate views about love, death, war, beauty, eternity, and creativity are captured in this beautiful work depicting a weekend of intense work prior to a looming Monday deadline for delivery of several new works to his art dealer.

LATW’S production features largescale video projections of the art being created in the piece as well as historic images and text, serving to completely immerse audiences in a full, audio- visual experience of Picasso’s life and art. 

Sigüenza creates a joyful and mesmerizing portrait of the maestro as he dances, sculpts, shares secrets, draws, and impersonates a matador while he embodies the father of modern art. With amazing skill, Sigüenza draws and paints in real time during his performance as he takes the audience back to 1957 to spend three days with the genius inside his private studio on the southern coast of France for an unforgettable weekend.

As part of our continued organizational initiative to be an accessible platform to experience art, the Friday, March 15 performance will include English supertitles, and the Saturday, March 16 performance will include Spanish supertitles.

Sigüenza talks about “A Weekend With Picasso” 

“When I was seven years old my mother took me to the dentist. While we were in the waiting room, I picked up a book off the side table that had a black and white photograph of a man with piercing eyes with a clown face on the cover. The book was The Private Life of Picasso by photographer Douglas Duncan who had unlimited access to Picasso and his family in 1957 when Picasso lived and worked in Southern France.”

“I was taken by this old man who walked around with no shirt or a stripped one and seemed to have not a care in the world. I saw a man playing with his children, his goats and dogs, dressing up in disguises and painting pictures with the freedom and innocence of a child. I turned to my mom and said, ‘When I grow old I want to be like this man”. Well, forty years later I did become him. That book left a lasting impression on me.’

“I got an art degree in the 1980’s and spent over thirty years writing and performing with my group Culture Clash but the idea of me portraying Picasso living and working in Southern France at the height of his fame always haunted me. It wasn’t until I turned fifty and had lived a little that I was courageous enough to take on the Father of Modern Art. In 2010, I workshopped my play ‘A Weekend with Pablo Picasso’ at San Diego Repertory Theater based on Duncan’s book and my life as an artist and actor/playwright changed forever. My one-person show became a critical and popular success and it went on to play several large regional theaters like The Alley Theatre and Denver Center for the Performing Arts.”

“’A Weekend with Pablo Picasso’ took me my whole life to write and perform. All my art skills, all my acting skills that I have mastered over my thirty-year career are in full display here. It’s my role and I’m eager to share it with the world once again. For the past six years I was San Diego Rep’s Playwright in Residence and was unable to promote and tour the play but now the time has come to share it with audiences once again.”

“The play has a profound effect on audiences. People come up to me often and say, ‘After seeing your play, I’ve started painting again.’ The play reminds us that we were all children once and we were all true artists until we grew up and became “responsible”. This play liberates us of that notion and allows us to connect with our creative spirit that has been buried for years.”

“After a long thirty-year career where I have played endless characters this role looms large in my soul as an artist. The play reminds me why I became an artist in the first place and the sacrifice and courage one needs to remain an artist.”

In 2010, Herbert Sigüenza wrote this original play and starred as Pablo Picasso. San Diego Rep hosted a three-week workshop that quickly became a sensation, playing at sold-out houses across the nation.

Tickets starting at $35 are available at https://broadstage.org/ or by calling 310.434.3200. The theatre sponsors for BroadStage are Laurie and Bill Benenson.

More About Herbert Sigüenza and Anna Lyse Erikson

Herbert Siguenza is a founding member of the Chicanx/Latinx performance group Culture Clash celebrating 36 years in the American theatre. For over twenty years, Herbert and Culture Clash created a series of plays based off oral histories of immigrant residents from different cities and neighborhoods throughout America. Their collectively created plays include “A Bowl of Beings,” “Chavez Ravine,” “Culture Clash in AmeriCCA,” and “American Night.”
 
As a solo writer and performer Siguenza has produced “Cantinflas!”, “A Weekend with Pablo Picasso,” “Steal Heaven,” “El Henry” (Best New Play San Diego Critics Circle Award 2014),  “Manifest Destinitis,” “Beachtown and Bad Hombres/Good Wives” for San Diego Rep. He is currently writing a play about the 1970 community takeover of Chicano Park in San Diego’s Logan Heights district.  He served as Playwright in Residence for the San Diego Rep thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 
 
Siguenza is also an accomplished visual artist and has exhibited both nationally and internationally. He has a BFA in printmaking from the California College of Arts, Oakland, California.  TV and Film credits: “Ben Ten Alien Swarm” for the Cartoon Network, “Larry Crowne” feature film directed by Tom Hanks. His voice was prominently featured in Pixar’s 2017 Oscar winning animation feature, “Coco”.
 
Director Anna Lyse Erikson is Producer at L.A. Theatre Works, having served as senior producer, casting director, and literary manager for over 100 L.A. Theatre Works live recordings, in-studio recordings, and tours. Producing highlights: “A Walk in the Woods” (Earphones Award 2019, Audiofile Magazine’s Best Audio Books 2019), “Disgraced” (Audie Award Nominee 2018), and the critically acclaimed 2014-15 National Tour of “In the Heat of the Night.” Directing credits include: “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” (L.A. Theatre Works), “Circle Mirror Transformation” (The Workroom), “A Night with Tennessee Williams” (University of Colorad-Boulder), “Rose” (University of Missouri-Columbia). She was previously a founder and Artistic Director of VAGABOND, Director of Development for the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, Director of Outreach and Development for Independent Actors Theatre, and a casting director and producing consultant for various commercial, film, theatre, and audio drama projects. Anna Lyse received a B.A. in Theatre Performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and an M.A. in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism from the University of Colorado-Boulder, both with highest honors.

Photo Credit: Jason Sullivan-Dupla

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