Latino Theater Presenting Christmas Play

Teatro Chirmol, a Latino youth theater workshop at Eastern Mennonite University, will present "La Pastorela," a bilingual family nativity play, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6-7, at EMU.

The "Pastorela," or Shepherds' Play, is a morality piece set in modern times that tells the story of the shepherds' journey to Bethlehem. As the journey begins, Lucifer (played by Harrisonburg High School student Reyes Castañeda) sends out his devils to sidetrack the shepherds from their mission by using the temptations of power, greed and doubt.

The shepherds encounter each temptation in comical, human ways, and eventually they arrive at the manager with the help of Michael the Archangel (HHS student Michael Colón).

The troupe’s name, Teatro Chirmol (a salsa in Guatemala), describes the flavor of the group that meets every Saturday morning in the old gym at EMU - homemade and a blend of various cultures. The actors, mostly high schoolers, are from Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the United States.

Performance dates: Dec. 6 & 7, 2003. Tickets for the program are $3 for adults, $1 for children and students.

* Click through rehearsal shots