“In the Clearing,” a play written and directed by Octavio Solis, debuted at Trinity on April 4. Solis, an accomplished playwright and Trinity alumnus, was invited to campus to direct one of his works as part of the Stieren Arts Enrichment Series, a program that brings notable figures in the arts and humanities to Trinity.

Solis has written over 20 plays produced in theaters throughout the U.S. For this production, however, rather than choosing a previously performed play of his, Solis looked to his folder of unproduced work.

“I wanted something that would be challenging for them as well as for me,” Solis said. “Something that would call on them to use their language tools as well as their acting craft, calling for a more raw, emotional side of them.”

For these reasons, Solis ultimately chose “In the Clearing,” a play that wrestles with heavy themes of death, secrecy and betrayal. The play is set entirely in a small clearing in the Yucatán Peninsula and weaves together two storylines that took place there. In the present, a forensic anthropologist named Astrid digs up her husband Carlos’ bones. In the past, Carlos meets his fate as his identity as an undercover agent is revealed. Only three other characters make an appearance, and as they move in and out of the two timelines, the secrets of Carlos’ life slowly begin to reveal themselves.

The limited cast of the play was another reason Solis chose “In the Clearing.” Such a small cast allowed the actors to form closer relationships with both Solis and each other. Miles Rojas-Castle, first-year history and theater double-major, played Carlos and spoke about how this closeness made the play a more positive and productive experience.

“Because I’ve had such a great relationship with him … it’s allowed the notes he’s given to me to be more helpful,” Rojas-Castle said. “An actor is upset when a director gives them a note sometimes, and they take it personally, but when he gives me notes, I don’t take it personally that way. I take it personally in the way of, like, oh, this is coming out of a place of love … a place of care.”

This relationship not only made Solis’ job as director easier, but his job as an educator to the students as well.
“I’ve been very, very conscientious about it with them, because they’re also students,” Solis said. “And as students, I have a responsibility to make it also a laboratory for them to see what they can learn from a guy who’s worked mainly in the professional world, what they can glean, what lessons they can learn from working with me on a new play.”

With “In the Clearing” being a new play, students were able to contribute to the production in ways they would not normally be able to. Genevieve Ellis, senior biology major, starred alongside Rojas-Castle as Astrid and emphasized the benefits of being able to work directly with the writer of the play.

“It was really cool getting to be kind of part of its finalizing process, because we would read through it and then get to … feel out what we thought the characters would say,” Ellis said. “So it was cool having the playwright there to sort of see his process working and, like, changing lines as we saw them fit, as they didn’t fit. And then also us having a say on the direction we saw our character taking and stuff like that.”

This continued collaboration — from early table reads to dress rehearsals — made the finalized play an accomplishment not just by Solis, but by the entire cast. Solis had to fly out before the show concluded its run on April 12, but was confident that the show could be run without him.

“The whole process of directing a play is mine as we start,” Solis said. “And … over time, start to let go, and they start to claim ownership over certain scenes, over lines, over the characters.”