Gamut Theatre Group to Present I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH Beginning Next Month

Gamut Theatre will present its Season Opener: I Don't Speak Spanish by David Ramón Zayas. The show will perform the first three weekends in October. Performance dates are October 7 - 22, 2023, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM. Tickets are “pick your price,” at a recommended price of $39 or discounted prices of $27 or $15. Please visit the link below for more information and to buy tickets, or call the box office at (717) 238-4111.

I Don't Speak Spanish follows a Mexican-American family line across the last 100 years and seeks to reframe that statement, "I don't speak Spanish," in the context of generations of struggle with assimilation, race, and class. It closely looks at three chokepoints--a dinner in 2019, a street fight in 1943, and an impossible choice in 1915--where the inherent duality of the family's Latine experience is forced to be contended with. All of the stories told in the play are based on true historical events. The research into those events began with Zayas looking into his own family history and subsequently conducting personal interviews with over 30 people about their own family's experiences with language, identity, and race.

When asked what inspired him to write this play, Zayas says “I carried a lot of shame throughout my life for not knowing Spanish and feeling disconnected from my heritage…my brother expressed these same feelings to me, and suddenly I knew I wasn't alone.” In addition to writing the play, Zayas is also the director and a performer. He talks about his experience acting in the production, saying “While I've acted in many plays, including some of my own, this is the first time in almost twenty years that I'll be able to play multiple characters written for a Latine actor, telling a Latine story.” Zayas talks about who should see this production commenting “I honestly want everyone to see this show. But especially everyone who has ever felt disconnected from their history or their community.” For those who aren't Latine wondering what they will take away, Zayas says “I hope anyone who's not Latine and sees this show would take away a deepened sense of empathy and connection to people they might otherwise not have.” Zayas finishes his thoughts with “Gamut Theatre has supported this project from its earliest stages, and it feels so good to finally reach this point: a fully staged, professional world premiere.” 

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