Enter the Actor Artistic Director of Gala Gives Commanding Performance on Stage by Gary Tischler Over the years, itís become fairly clear that Hugo Medrano, the artistic director of Gala Hispanic Theatre, is something of a theatrical treasure in Washington, D.C. As a pioneer of Hispanic theater in the Washington area, as a teacher, a founder and director, Medranoówith considerable help from his wife Rebeccaóhas built a kind of monument within the theater community. Itís not only that Gala Hispanic Theatre, which has survived and grown, has for a long time provided the only source of Spanish-speaking theater in an area with a growing Hispanic population. Through Gala, through producing and staging classic and contemporary Spanish plays, through opening exchange programs with such countries as Cuba, the Medranos made the idea of Hispanic theater in the Washington area viable, to be joined by Teatro de la Luna in Virginia. Amid all this, the Washington theater community has had infrequent exposure to another side of MedranoóHugo Medrano, the actor. Seeing Medrano perform is something of a revelationóMedrano on stage excites d ebates and imagination. If youíre even halfway serious about theater in contemporary times, you get into the notion of the use of language, of performing styles and traditions, of the universal and the ethnic and historically specific ways of acting (and writing) and how words change on the stage and flower into ideas and feelings. On stage at Gala, Medrano has mostly performed as a Spanish-speaking actor, which ought to be something of an impediment to English-speaking-only audiences. That heís been mightily effective speaks for itself: Witness the 1994 Helen Hayes Award for outstanding actor in a resident play he received for his role as Molina in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," which he first performed in 1993 and which he reprised last season. Maybe even more telling was his recent performance as the emperor in Fernando Arrabalís "El Arquitecto y el Emperador de Asiria (The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria)," the great absurdist play that seemed up to the minute in these mad times. There was a great temptationówatching Medrano basically turn himself inside out in his role to the point where he seemed feverishly on fireóto talk about a Latin or Hispanic style of acting. Medrano is reluctant to put it in those terms. "In the end, actors are actors: They are not Hispanic or Latin or English actors," he said. "But yes, there is a tradition and a style. I suppose we are talking about acting close to the surface, to be out there and naked with oneís emotions, feelings, to hold very little back. The drawback to this is that sometimes you miss a playís subtext, the subtleties that go on underneath." What Medrano does on stage is pure Medrano, with only a touch of tradition in it. His feelings are right out there, but you can see what is going on underneath, and even the words themselves sometimes become understandable without the help of translation, which in any case lags behind the heart. "Well, the emperor, well that is a challenge," he said. "You can go so deep with this part, so over the top while at the same time, he has to make sense to the audience, to the architect, to himself. I like to be challenged, always. Take Molina. In Latin American plays, there is always the question of politics, along with the human factor. Now, he is in prison for being a gay man in a very repressive society. But he doesnít see himself that way. He sees himself as a woman, with a womanís sensibilities and outlook, so I tried to play him that way. A man with a womanís view of things and feeling." He noted "The Protagonist," a play in Spanish in which he played an actor playing Hamlet. "Here, you come across universalities," he said. "Language, poetry, meaning. Latin Americans see some very political things in Shakespeare that arenít always there. You may lose exact meanings and gain exact emotion." "On stage," he said, "I can control the environment, I can be focused. Off-stage, everything is chaos. Thank God for Rebecca. She keeps things sane for me, for us. She is the heart of Gala as much as anyone." Medrano probably doesnít act as often as he likes, and although he does teach, he isnít that comfortable with it. Direction is what he prefers the mostó"the flow of ideas, conception, working with other people," he said, "Thatís the bestÖ I would never direct myself, goodness no, what an idea." He does voice-overs and films as well as small parts in other theaters, in English. "Here is the thing about that, for actors and for myself," he said, "if you are acting in a second language, it is not so direct, not so spontaneous. You worry about how things sound, not how they are. What is acting about: context, reality, honesty. If you provide that, well, youíve done your job." On stage, Medranoís honesty, so physical, so poetic, so fiery, is almost painful, whether as emperor or Molina. Itís a treasure. Gary Tischler is the contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.