45 years in the spotlight

A 45-year career spent in the spotlight on stage has not dulled Cecilia Salazar’s shine in the slightest.

Salazar has not only taken up yet another starring role in Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues,” presented by the Prosecenium Theatre Company from September 6 to September 8, but is also, for the first time, a named co-director in the production.

“At 15, I was in CIC’s production of Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap, and that was when I decided that this was exactly what I wanted to do.”

After secondary school, she pursued a Theatre Arts degree in Canada at Brock University, St Catharine’s, where she was exposed to the broad spectrum of aspects of theatre, such as acting, directing and stage management.

Although acting opportunities were plentiful in Canada, Salazar felt that the availability of parts for her based on her profile and accent was limited. She returned to T&T “to find out where I fit in this place and this world.” In 1989 she auditioned for a production of “As Is” by the Bagasse Company. Subsequently, she was offered the lead in a play called “Extremities”. She described both as “important to raise social consciousness on various issues and good theatre.”

Over the many years on stage, Salazar has performed in productions of Derek Walcott, Raymond Choo Kong, and Tony Hall and has maintained a commitment to art with a message.

Perceiving her place in this world as a vessel for delivering sociocultural, economic, and political messages in a format of entertainment, she has certainly made a name for herself in the local performing industry.

This year, she has evolved in her creative capacity, firstly by taking her first singing role in the production of Mamma Mia and her first co-directing role in The Vagina Monologues.

More specifically, this is her first titled co-directing role, as she laughs that “the title allows me to open my mouth … but I was doing that in other plays without the title anyway and would get in trouble!”

Her role in The Vagina Monologues is an opportunity that has come full circle, as the first time it was performed in 2004, Salazar was asked to take on a role, “but I didn’t feel able and emotionally prepared to do it.”

However, now at 60, she has never felt more powerful and secure in her ability to delve into the characters. “The Vagina Monologues,” written by Eve Ensler in 1996, is a groundbreaking episodic play that delves into the complexities of female sexuality and the social stigmas surrounding it.

Based on interviews with over 200 women, the play presents a series of monologues that explore topics such as consensual and nonconsensual sexual experiences, body image, genital mutilation, menstruation, and more.

Each monologue is a powerful narrative that gives voice to women’s diverse experiences and challenges societal taboos. The play has not only been performed worldwide but also inspired the creation of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women.

Celebrated for its raw honesty and emotional depth, “The Vagina Monologues” remains a significant piece of political theatre. Salazar thinks that the play is pivotal in not only bringing women’s issues to the fore but unravelling the taboos surrounding women’s bodies.

“Even now when I say the word vagina, people recoil, and our mothers and grandmothers call it by any other name but its given name,” she says.

It is this reluctance juxtaposed with the rapid and steady advancement of women that has made this play continuously relevant in today’s context. It is an opportunity to celebrate women’s voices, telling stories of birth, death, rape, joy and sorrow that make it relatable for every woman.

Touted as one of the best actresses produced by this country, Salazar, who recently turned 60 on August 6, celebrated her lifetime of plays in her one-woman show “I’m Every Woman” earlier this year.

During the production, she seamlessly switched between characters that she has played in the past, from Miss Miles from The Woman of the World, Anilda Pena from the TV soap Westwood Park, Queen Mamala from The 3Canal Show, Cleothilda from Earl Lovelace’s The Dragon Can Dance, Isabella in the late Tony Hall’s The Joker of Seville, and Lizzie from Mary Could Dance, among others.

As an established actress who has graced many a stage, her advice to younger women in the theatre industry is to “keep training, keep learning, take any opportunity to take a course or join a workshop.”

Acknowledging that from an outside perspective, the theatre industry can seem “somewhat cliquey,” she indicates that there is always room for more young talent and there is a significant need to build the industry. Her contribution to that building is still in its conceptual stages, but she hopes to soon start giving acting, theatre and drama classes for young people.

With her wealth of incredible experience on the stage, she continues to push the performing arts forward in T&T, making art and entertaining the public.

The Vagina Monologues will be performed from Friday, September 6 to Sunday, September 8 at the Naparima Bowl.

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