Silueta
A new play imagined from a true story.
1985: A sultry New York night. A marital spat. Cuban artist Ana Mendieta plunges 34 stories from her bedroom window to the sidewalk below. A tragic accident? Or murder?
Silueta imagines Ana's husband, sculptor Carl Andre, as he might be today, still living in the 34th-floor apartment that he shared with the beautiful, ambitious Ana. He is riddled by frustration at the loss of his artistic potency and by a gnawing suspicion about his innocence in Ana's death. The ghost of Ana haunts him relentlessly at the scene of the tragedy. They are both obsessed with the same question, what really happened that fatal night? Silueta is a two-person show based on the true story of Ana Mendieta, who fell to her death in 1985. She was a rising star in the art world. Her husband, Carl Andre, was one of the founders of Minimalism. He was prosecuted for her murder and acquitted. The play explores their volatile relationship.
Silueta is a collaboration by Tom Shelton, Chris Shelton and Diana Burbano. Written for Tom and Diana to perform, the play came out of research and improv sessions with Chris, a writer/director.
Tom is a writer/composer as well as an actor. He is one of the writers of Caddie Woodlawn, published by Samuel French, as well as other musicals, an opera and a string of successful murder mysteries for “The Gourmet Detective”. He has worked as a professional actor for 30 years.
Chris is a writer and director in theater, television, and film. His stage directing has earned Dramalogue and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle awards. He is a Directing Fellow at the Sundance Institute and has directed, produced and written many programs for PBS, Discovery, National Geographic, TLC, Animal Planet, and Travel Channel.
Diana has been a working actress since the age of 12. She was born in Colombia and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Professional Actors Conservatory and the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain. She has had leading roles in world premieres at The Laguna Playhouse, The Center Theatre of Santa Barbara, and South Coast Repertory. She is a teaching artist at South Coast Repertory and a member of LTA/LA's premiere Writers Circle.
Silueta was a Playlab selection at the 2013 Great Plains Theatre Conference, and was a finalist (1 of 12) of the Ashland New Plays Festival 2013. It was one of four plays chosen for Cygnet Theatre/Playwright’s in Process Festival 2014. It received a staged reading at The Great Plains Theatre Conference and at the Cygnet Theatre in San Diego.
