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Synopses

Magic, Mystery, Love and Indifference

• The Cave of Salamanca
• Let’s Get to the Point
• Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden: Erotic Halleluya in Four Acts

The Cave of Salamanca

The Cave of Salamanca (La cueva de Salamanca) was written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and published in Spain in 1615, as a part of “Eight New Comedies and Eight Entremeses, or One-Act Plays, Never Before Performed.”

The Cave of Salamanca opens with a conversation between Pancracio and his wife Leonarda. Pancracio is about to take a trip with his best friend Leoniso in order to attend his sister’s wedding. Before leaving, he and Leonarda spend a long time saying goodbye, telling each other how much they love one another, and how they would prefer not to be apart. When Pancracio finally leaves, Leonarda and her maid Cristina talk of their true plan to spend the next few days with the town’s sexton and barber. They are very excited about the arrival of the two men. The sexton and barber have sent over a big basket of food in preparation for the night’s festivities. In the meantime, a poor student from Salamanca arrives and asks for a place to spend the night. The women at first do not want to let him stay and witness the night’s events, but when he promises he will not tell anyone what he witnesses, they allow him to stay and help prepare the food for the party. The sexton and the barber arrive, and even though they are nervous about the student’s presence, they decide to trust him and allow him to stay. In the meantime, Pancracio and Leoniso have trouble with the wheel of their buggy during the trip. So, they decide to return home to spend the night while the problem is resolved. Back at Pancracio’s house, everyone is having a good time at the party when Pancracio arrives. The sexton, barber and student hide while Leonarda and Cristina stall before letting Pancracio in. After Pancracio enters, the student starts knocking on a door asking to be let out of the hay stack he was going to sleep on. Cristina goes to let him out, and the student then proceeds to tell Pancracio of the magic he learned while studying in the Cave of Salamanca. He describes the power he has to make food appear. Pancracio says that he would like to see his powers, so he lets the student make two demons in human form appear to bring out the food, as long as the demons are not scary looking. Therefore, the student says that the demons will have the form of the town’s sexton and barber. He chants a magic spell and then leaves to say a stronger spell. Within seconds, he returns with the sexton and the barber who are now acting like two demons. They explain that they are the type of demons that eat, so Pancracio (upon the insistence of Leonarda) allows them to stay and eat. The sexton and barber play their guitars and sing, and then they all enter the house to eat.

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Let’s Get to the Point

Let’s Get to the Point (Vayamos a lo profundo) was published by Argentine author Griselda Gámbaro in 1995 as a part of Five Exercises for an Actor.

In this monologue, Fernández - an Argentine magician - proclaims herself triumphant. However, at the same time she doesn’t understand many tricks, including those performed by David Copperfield. She spends the majority of the monologue thinking about how Copperfield is able to achieve what he does with the help of special effects. Fernández doesn’t have access to these types of effects and so her magic could be described as more mysterious. At the end of the monologue she begins to show the audience a simple trick with a flower when the lights go out.

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Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden: Erotic Halleluya in Four Acts

Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden: Erotic Halleluya in Four Acts (Amor de don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín: Aleluya erótica en cuatro cuadros) by Federico García Lorca was published in Spain 1931.

Scene I: Marcolfa, Don Perimplín’s maid, suggests that since he is now 50 years old, that it is time he got married. Even though he doesn’t like the idea, Marcolfa makes him go next door to Belisa’s balcony and to propose marriage. Belisa is a young, beautiful woman. When her mother learns of Perimplín’s proposal, she is overjoyed because Perimplín is a wealthy man who owns a lot of land.

Scene II: On their wedding night, before he falls asleep, Perimplín declares his love for Belisa. While he sleeps, four sprites come holding a curtain with which they cover the scene. It is understood the Belisa is sleeping with five different men while Perimplín sleeps.

Scene III: Even though Perimplín knows that Belisa sleeps with other men, he loves her profoundly. So much, that he has begun to pretend to be one of her suitors (a mysterious young man in a red cape) without her knowledge. When Belisa receives a note from one of her lovers, Don Perimplín confesses that he knows everything and that he wants to help her so that she is happy. Belisa confesses that there is a suitor whom she loves profoundly, but she doesn’t know who he is. Nor does she know that the suitor whom she loves so deeply is actually Perimplín.

Scene IV: From the first conversation between Perimplín and Marcolfa, it is clear that Perimplín has already devised his plan to commit suicide. Marcolfa expresses her regret for having made him get married, but Perimplín is happy because he learned what love was and he does not regret this. This night, Belisa knows she will meet the mysterious, unknown young man at ten o’clock. Before he arrives, Perimplín tells her that since she loves this young man so much, that he thought he would kill him so that she could have him forever (so that he would be completely hers). Perimplín leaves and the young man wearing the red cape appears in the garden. He is hurt. Belisa arrives and discovers that the man who is hurt is Perimplín. Perimplín dies in Belisa’s arms, and despite the fact that Perimplín is wearing the same red cape as the young man, Belisa is unable to understand the trick. Her final words indicate that she has yet to understand that the young man in the red cape was Perimplín.

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