In the Clearing
by Trinity University
Apr. 04 - Apr. 12
Astrid’s husband Carlos has gone deep undercover into Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula on assignment. But after a long spell of silence, Astrid grows concerned and without help
from the government determines to find him herself. Deep in the mountain jungle, she digs in a clearing where it is rumored a body is buried and soon confronts the past she
shared with her husband and learns he was not the person she thought he was. With each remnant of her husband recovered, she finds herself facing the same fate that befell him.
A world premiere written and directed by Octavio Solis resident guest artist in the Department of Human Communications and theatre. IN THE CLEARING features scenic design by Martha Peñaranda, costumes by Kellie Grengs, lighting by Carlos R. Nine, and original music by Jayden Perez.
“I was interested in directing something new at Trinity,” Mr. Solis said, “not only because it would represent a world premiere for the University Theatre Department, but chiefly because the opportunity would enable me to re-examine a previously commissioned work that never got its chance on stage. I have a file full of these by-passed works, most of which will never see the light of day. There are too many other obligations that supersede them in the progression of my oeuvre. Still, as soon as I saw the opportunity, I instantly thought I should bring out IN THE CLEARING and reimagine it for these times.”
OCTAVIO SOLIS is a playwright and director whose plays Scene With Cranes, Quixote Nuevo, Mother Road, Man of the Flesh, Scrappers, La Posada Mágica, Cloudlands (a musical co-written with Adam Gwon), Hole in the Sky, Alicia’s Miracle, Se Llama Cristina, John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven, Ghosts of the River, Lydia, June in a Box, Gibraltar, The Ballad of Pancho and Lucy, Shiner, The Seven Visions of Encarnación, Dreamlandia, El Otro, Prospect, El Paso Blue, Santos & Santos, and Prospect have been mounted across the country. Solis has received the 2019 Distinguished Achievement In The American Theatre award from the William Inge Center for the Arts, the 2018 Imagen Award for his consultancy on Disney-Pixar’s Coco, the 2015 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Texas State University Black and Latino Playwrights Conference, the 2014 Pen Center Literary Award for Drama, the United States Artists Fellowship for 2012, the 2003 National Latino Playwriting Award, the 2000-2001 National Theatre Artists Residency from TCG and the Pew Charitable Trust, the 1998 TCG/NEA Theatre Artists in Residence Grant, the 1998 McKnight Fellowship grant from the Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, the 1995-97 Playwriting Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the 1994 Will Glickman Playwright Award. Solis was recently inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters and is a Thornton Wilder Fellow for the MacDowell Colony, New Dramatists alum and member of the Dramatists Guild.
His book, Retablos: Stories From A Life Lived Along The Border, published by City Lights Publishers, received the 2018 Silver Indies Award for Book of the Year and has been chosen by the National Reading Group Month’s Committee for the Great Group Reads 2019 Selections.
In the Clearing
by Octavio Solis
Trinity University
April 4 - 6 and 9 -12, 2025
Stieren Theatre, Trinity University
RESERVATIONS are now available here. Admission is free, with seating first come, first served in the Stieren Theatre. Showtimes are Fri/Sat @ 8 pm, Sun @ 2:30 pm, Wed/Thu @ 7 pm.
