Written and delightfully performed by Herbert Sigüenza, A Weekend with Pablo Picasso takes us into the creative and socially conscious mind of the great artist. It is 1957 in the south of France and Picasso is commissioned to create six paintings as well as three vases over a weekend. Grappling with the challenge, he talks directly with us, a group of uninvited, yet welcome, students. Picasso’s joyful and philosophical musings captivate with what feels like an inspirational and motivational coaching session about both art and life.

Herbert Sigüenza in A Weekend with Pablo Picasso; Photo by Jason Sullivan-Dupla

Herbert Sigüenza 

Sigüenza has performed this work for over 10 years with more elaborate staging and props. His most recent performances minimize the setting and effectively put him front and center as he intimately engages with the audience. Sigüenza mimes some of the action, taking a bath, talking on the phone, and enjoying a loaf of bread. On the side of the stage, Foley Artist Ellis Greer expertly and lightheartedly provides sound effects, voices characters, and displays objects. Video projections display Picasso’s works (painted by Sigüenza) and other historic images. What makes the performance most dynamic is how adroitly Sigüenza can paint the works on stage in real time. Adding to that, he draws an audience member’s portrait in a couple of minutes and then gives it to her.

The actor’s performance erupts with energy, passion, flamboyancy, in addition to deep emotion. Picasso’s own words share his creative process, personal struggles, painful family circumstances and his reactions to the horror of war. In describing the bombing of Guernica and the Soviet invasion of Hungry we feel a connection to our world today.

For me, the Picasso quote that captures the essence of the performance is “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

©LATW 2023 Herbert Sigüenza, A Weekend with Pablo Picasso; Photo by Jason Sullivan-Dupla

L.A. Theatre Works

LATW produced A Weekend with Picasso. It is also the foremost audio theater company in the United States for more than thirty years. L.A. Theatre Works Herbert Sigüenza is a founding member of the iconoclastic Chicano performance group Culture Clash. They created plays based on oral histories of residents from different neighborhoods throughout America. Additionally Culture Clash is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. To honor the historic date, there will be a performance on May 4, 2024 at the Soraya in Northridge.

The performance was directed by Anna Lyse Erikson with original music and sound design by Bruno Louchouarn; Sound Designer Mark Holden; Technical Director & Stage Manager Jessica Keasberry-Vnuk; and on-stage Foley Artist Ellis Greer.

For upcoming performances at The Broad Stage website – https://broadstage.org/

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