Lagniappe, October 4, 1996 - Theater

By Richard Dodds

His career becomes less of a gamble

For Jose Torres Tama, who once made his living juggling flaming batons in the French Quarter, the past three years have been "a great whirlwind" as he juggles his performance dates.

"My career has been blossoming," Torres Tama said. "I've been able to make a living just with my stage work." His one man performance "We Are Patriots with Dark Faces," seen at the Contemporary Arts Center last year, has bookings through May, from Anchorage to new York. But before he returns to the road with "Patriots," Torres Tama is back in town to premiere his latest work, "CasinoAmerica," at Zeitgeist Theatre Experiments through Oct. 13

In "Patriots," Torres Tama used bilingual monologues, doublespeak, beat poetry and his trademark flaming batons to examine the effects of pop culture, and especially the one-size-fits-all messages of Madison Avenue, on a diverse population. The piece also contained an in-the-future segment that included a few lines imagining a country named CasinoAmerica. In his new 60-minute work, Torres Tama builds on that notion.

"What I find fascinating about gambling, having taken this very corporate turn, is that we seem to be embracing vices to create the panacea for a city's troublesome woes," he said. "In the piece I hint at the American decline because of this. I actually make a reference that Eliot Ness would turn over in his grave."

"CasinoAmerica" is performed in movements, like a musical piece, Torres Tama aid, as he tries to use language in new ways. "There's a lot more cadence involved in this piece," he said. "I'm experimenting with the playing of words and more chanting. One of the early lines, as the audience is in the dark, is something like, "Corporate casinos coming soon to a desperate neighborhood near you. Can you feel the sensation of your rents rising? Can you hear the muddled mindless chitter chatter, the ring-a-ding-ding-a-ling sound of gold coins dropping into deep slippery shiny buckets filled with the anticipation of your wanton appetite."

"There are also some pieces that are straightforward monologues and there's a whole section about the future with these bizarre prophecies about casinos and the spread of gambling. There are also a couple of personas, including a blind man who comes out with a little sign that says 'Blind because I want to be' that deals with our blindness about chasing after greed."

Torres Tama said more of the piece is specific to New Orleans than previous works. "The blind man comes out and talks about the different debacles that we've had here, from the 1984 world's fair to the present half-built corporate installation on Canal Street."

The Ecuador-born, New Jersey-reared Torres Tama is now working a performance piece that is specifically about his experiences in New Orleans. "It's a very easy place to create work," he said, "but it's difficult to be really able to create a living from it. I'm calling it " 'In Exile Close to the Equator.'"