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Prepa, ¿Qué Actitud?

Every year during the first week of August, thousands of students that were admitted to the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez flood the campus for orientation with expectation in their hearts and wonder in their eyes; they take in the campus and all the activities volunteers and workers planned for them that await. Among these activities, Prepa, ¿Qué Actitud? is a parodic play that is held on the first night at the college’s Figueroa Chapel amphitheater. As the line fills with eager first year students, it curves around the building into the school’s inner courtyard. The stakes are high on opening night. However, opening night is just the end when it comes to the preparation of an activity like this.

Figure 1. Soul Stars Episode III. (Reyes).

Prepa, ¿Qué Actitud? started as a simple activity by the Jóvenes Cristianos del Parque’s, one of the university’s Christian associations, where members could bring friends to watch them perform in comedic skits (Rivera). The purpose was to introduce people to Christ through laughter and fun (Rivera). It began with Jaime Zayas in 1998, a former UPRM alumni who currently owns a circus, with a love for theater and the performing arts. According to Rivera, Jaime never imagined that this small project would transform into the production it now is. With time, this simple idea developed until it came to a peak during one particular orientation week. Members of the association performed a small informal play at the university’s central courtyard for incoming students (Rivera). It was so successful that the university’s administration allowed the group to perform at Figueroa Chapel amphitheater, and officially made it part of the orientation week's program to implement new and diverse activities with a positive message (Rivera). The initiative has withstood the test of time, carefree of the fluctuating audience, and has maintained its original concept: a space where incoming students can laugh and enjoy sane comedy, all while receiving an impactful and unchanging message: that Jesus loves them and that they are never alone, regardless of the trials they may face in the upcoming chapters of their lives.

Figure 2. Backstage (Montañez).  

All this would be impossible without an amazing body of volunteers that support and work tirelessly to bring this project to life. The process begins in January, when the script writers are selected and the topic is hashed out, during and after meetings and brainstorming sessions, where characters and storylines from the year’s most popular movies and current events are chosen. After that, with a story skeleton and tentative cast in mind, the writing process begins. Meanwhile, the association starts collecting money, in the well-anticipated Coin War, where male and female members compete against each other to collect the most coins and win that year’s war. Overall, it takes an average of five to six months for a team of full-time college students to write, and for members of the association to collect coins and bring the final vision to life.

Figure 3. Team Effort (Maymí).

Eventually, June arrives and brings along rehearsals. The cast and all other working hands meet Monday through Friday, from 7 am to 5 pm, to weave together all the threads that compose this beloved activity. It takes a village composed of executive leaders, such as a director and assistant director, producer, actors, choreographers and songwriters, stagehands and carpenters, makeup artists and wardrobe confectioners, ushers, as well as lighting, sound and audiovisual technicians. All jobs are taken up by members of the association who may have never found themselves in such an arduous setting before but are willing to take up the demanding mantle for this labor of love to come alive. The art of working in tandem creates friendships and family-like bonds among the team and enables members of the association to not only become indispensable to each other, but to also experience Christ. It also propels them to put their faith in action from a peculiar perspective.

Figure 4. Curtains Rise (Reyes).

Sooner than expected, opening night arrives and there is a flurry of activity in the amphitheater’s backstage to make everything as perfect as possible for the night’s show. Actors oscillate between the dressing rooms and the main stage, all in different stages of costume and make-up, practicing their lines and positions one last time to ensure that when the moment comes, it will be their best and most accurate portrayal of their role. Stagehands verify that all the scenography and every single prop is in its right place backstage, and available when the moment comes. Light, sound, and audiovisual technicians verify that everything is in order one last time. One hour before show time, all the activity comes to a halt. Every single person that sacrificed their summer gets together on stage and looks at their comrades straight in the eyes. The anticipation is visible in their faces, the uncertainty of how this night will play out is heavy in their hearts, but above all they have a conviction that this project is bigger than singular individuals and even a collective body, which strengthens their resolve to see this done right until the very end. With that in mind, the group prays together for the outcome, for themselves and all the sacrifice, but most importantly, for the incoming students who unknowingly will receive the greatest good news story ever told. Once that important part is done, they all take their positions backstage, the curtains rise, and the show begins.

Works Cited

Maymí, Genesis. “Team Effort”. 2017. Private collection, Puerto Rico

Montañez, Victor. “Backstage”. 2016. Private collection, Puerto Rico.

Reyes, Efrain. “Curtains Rise”. 2015. Private collection, Puerto Rico.

Reyes, Eliab. “Soul Stars Episode III”. 2005. Private collection, Puerto Rico.

Rivera, Ruth. Personal Interview. 11 March. 2019.

Hello universe, it is I once again! I know this page promised book reviews and those are coming, fo’ sho’. But while that happens, here is another one of my essays for my expository writing class (Ingl 3231) with Dr. Griggs. This one is on an activity that goes on every year in my campus, which I have had the privilege being part of, and which I simply adore. I hope you enjoy readiang as much as I did writing! Til next time, Stardust.