Poet, playwright, author, actor and educator Mauricio Kilwein Guevara will lead a pre-show seminar at Peninsula Players Theatre on Thursday, August 29, at 6:30 p.m., in conjunction with the theater’s production of “Mary’s Wedding,” a lyrical play by Stephen Massicotte that mixes young love within the historical context of the Canadian Cavalry and World War I. General admission seating will begin prior to the seminar; no tickets are necessary. Tickets are available for the 8:00 p.m. performance following the seminar. Pre-show seminars at Peninsula Players Theatre are free events for the public as a commitment to educate and serve its community at large.
Massicotte’s characters in “Mary’s Wedding,” Mary and Charlie, refer to poetry by Alfred Lord Tennyson, including “The Lady of Shalott” and “Charge of the Light Brigade.” Both poems were written in the 1800s, and while Tennyson never fought in a war, “Charge of the Light Brigade” and poems like this were used as a form of propaganda for recruitment. In the 1900s, the rise in the literacy rate and increased availability of printed material to read inspired soldiers to put words and images to paper while they were in the trenches.
Guevara is a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the founding member of the National Latino Writer’s Association. He writes in multiple genres: poetry, fiction, non-fiction and drama. Guevara has published
several collections of poetry including “Autobiography of So-and-so: Poems in Prose,” which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He appeared in the film “To Box Clouds,” is the playwright of “The Last Bridge/El Ultimo Puente” and author of the novel “The Thieves of Guevara.” He has been awarded two Fulbright Awards, regional, national and international awards for his writing. He is a member of Voces de la Frontera and Wisconsin Conservation Voices.
Guevara was born in Belencito, Columbia and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and earned degrees in English and psychology. While at Bowling Green State University he earned his MFA and completed his Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin. He has held numerous teaching positions across North and Latin America including Florida State University, Marquette University, Vermont College and Universidad del Norte.
The final pre-show seminar of the 2024 season will be held on:
● Friday, October 11 – Dr. Christopher Chan, Agatha Christie expert. This Autumn Pre-Show Seminar will begin at 5:30 p.m.
“Mary’s Wedding” will conclude its run on September 1 at 2:00 p.m. Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 7:30 p.m., except for Sunday, September 1 at 2:00 p.m. In the autumn, curtain times change for the run of “The Stranger” by Agatha Christie to Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:00 p.m. except for Sundays, September 8 and October 20 at 2:00 p.m. The audience pavilion’s side panels, doors and vents will remain open throughout summer. Patrons should dress for the weather and be prepared for shifting temperatures and breezes off the bay.