Alejandro Sieveking
Encyclopedia
Alejandro Sieveking is a Chilean playwright
, theatre director and actor
.
in Chile’s O’Higgins region in September the 7th of 1934. He performed as an actor
on theatrical productions of the Instituto del Teatro (Chile’s Theatre Institute), Teatro de la Universidad Católica (the Catholic University Theatre), Teatro del Ángel (Angel Theatre Company) and Teatro Itinerante (Itinerant Theatre). He worked together with Víctor Jara
on a number of theatrical and musical projects, including in his album: “La Población
” – in which he co-wrote the song “Herminda de la Victoria” with Jara.
He was one of the founders of the Teatro del Ángel (Angel Theatre Company) in Chile and in Costa Rica
, where he settled and worked as a political exile
. In 1974 he is awarded the “Casa de Las Américas
” prize for his “Pequeños animales abatidos” (Small game hunt).
In the work of Sieveking one not only finds critical realism
but also psychological and folkloric realism
. “La remolienda” is one of the most important classics of Chilean theatrical comedy
.
Today, in addition to holding university posts and being involved in television projects, he is vice-president of the Academia Chilena de Bellas Artes. (Chilean Academy of Fine Arts)
His most important theatrical work have been:
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, theatre director and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Career
Sieveking was born in the Chilean city of RengoRengo
Rengo is a city and commune located in the Zona Central of Chile, situated in the Cachapoal Province of the O'Higgins Region at a distance of south of the city of Rancagua and south of the national capital Santiago...
in Chile’s O’Higgins region in September the 7th of 1934. He performed as an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
on theatrical productions of the Instituto del Teatro (Chile’s Theatre Institute), Teatro de la Universidad Católica (the Catholic University Theatre), Teatro del Ángel (Angel Theatre Company) and Teatro Itinerante (Itinerant Theatre). He worked together with Víctor Jara
Víctor Jara
Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez was a Chilean teacher, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, political activist and member of the Communist Party of Chile...
on a number of theatrical and musical projects, including in his album: “La Población
La Población (album)
La Población is a music album recorded by Víctor Jara and released in 1972 and reissued in 2001. It was recorded in homage of the struggle of people living in the poorest working class districts of Santiago de Chile, sometimes referred to as “shanty towns”. The album included the collaborative...
” – in which he co-wrote the song “Herminda de la Victoria” with Jara.
He was one of the founders of the Teatro del Ángel (Angel Theatre Company) in Chile and in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, where he settled and worked as a political exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
. In 1974 he is awarded the “Casa de Las Américas
Casa de las Américas Prize
The Casa de las Américas Prize is a Cuban cultural award given by the Casa de las Américas, an organization founded in April 1959. It is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary awards....
” prize for his “Pequeños animales abatidos” (Small game hunt).
In the work of Sieveking one not only finds critical realism
Critical realism
In the philosophy of perception, critical realism is the theory that some of our sense-data can and do accurately represent external objects, properties, and events, while other of our sense-data do not accurately represent any external objects, properties, and events...
but also psychological and folkloric realism
Realism (dramatic arts)
Realism was a general movement in 19th-century theatre that developed a set of dramatic and theatrical conventions with the aim of bringing a greater fidelity of real life to texts and performances....
. “La remolienda” is one of the most important classics of Chilean theatrical comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
.
Today, in addition to holding university posts and being involved in television projects, he is vice-president of the Academia Chilena de Bellas Artes. (Chilean Academy of Fine Arts)
His most important theatrical work have been:
- "Mi hermano Cristián" [1957]
- "La madre de los conejos" [1959]
- "Parecido a la felicidad" [1959]
- "Ánimas de día claro" [1962]
- "La remolienda" [1965] (the brothel)
- "Tres tristes tigres" [1967]
- "Todo se irá, se fue, se va al diablo" [1968]
- "La mantis religiosa" (The praying mantis) [1970]
- "Manuel Leonidas Donaire y las cinco mujeres que lloraban por él" (Manuel Leonidas Donaire and the five women who cried for him” [1971]
- "Cama de batalla" [1973]
- "La virgen de la manita cerrada" [1974]
- "Ingenuas palomas" [1989]