Living Statues Roam around Santiago de Cuba
To a naked eye you can see how complicated is for actors to play a living statue. Working in front of the public is never easy and it’s even harder when you directly interact with the people, following the characteristics of this role.
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That’s the reason why it is very important to foster a culture of respect and admiration for those people that undertake such a difficult work, which arouses our curiosity and makes us stop by.
We sat down with Leonides Garzón Seijó, a member of Ojos Teatro group that develops this artistic expression in Santiago de Cuba, and we asked him about this world.
What are the characteristics of this work?
Concentration is a key aspect and is very hard to achieve it and keep it when you spend so much time playing the character without a pause, with people around you, talking, taking pictures and even touching you.
How about the physical and performing training?
First of all, you have to study performance in order to play different characters, with their poses and movements. On the other hand, it entails a lot of physical sacrifice to control your body. I always tell my friends that we work out harder than body builders. We work on our breathing, strength, concentration, resistance.
What’s the hardest part when you’re into the character?
We have a hard time when it comes to interacting with people, since there are different ways of thinking, expressing opinions and acting. Some people like us, but some don’t. There people that touch you or stay around you to see if you move. It’s hard, but also funny (chuckles).
Are there any anecdotes to share with the public?
There are many, but the most recent one took place in Mars Square with a girl that had been staring at us for a while, walking around us and I looked at her. She came closer to give us some coins, we moved and she got quite a fright: she ran away, clashed other people and that made me lose the concentration. I had to rebuild the character from inside.
