(I found this sitting in my drafts folder on my blog. I don't know if I just never got around to posting it, or if I had a reason not to give the "answers", insisting the audience provide their own. Seeing that the show was performed two years ago next month, maybe it's time to reveal the machinery behind the curtain...)

Orignally written in November, 2005, after Balé Techlorico's performance of "Cry Don't Cry."

The show is over - at least for now. If you're interested in seeing it somewhere near you - then let us know!

In the meantime, since these questions came up during the show, and at least one reviewer was unclear what folkloric and / or ritual influences were in the show, I've taken it upon myself to provide you with all the "answers."

Don Gato: The show was structured around a children's song that told of the life, love, death and rebirth of a cat. This cycle was important for us to explore, and "who is Don Gato?" was less important to us than how we deal with the cycle as individuals. In addition, the Spanish (original) version of the song - which tells mostly the same story - can be traced back to North African Sephardic origins.

Personal paper offering: Most audience members wrote the name of a loved one on a piece of origami paper, then folded that paper into a cat head silhouette - and placed it into a bowl which was on-stage the entire time. The display and "transformation" of these heads at the end of the show was - in as much as we were able to, given the performance aspect of the show - a "real" offering. (All the offerings from previous shows were kept in the bowl for subsequent nights. The heads have all subsequently been burned.) While the issue of how to properly treat offerings is a complex one, Balé Techlorico decided that as significant as a ritual object may be, once it's intention is "released" the object is just an artifact - and the intention is the most important aspect of the offering.

Whiskey: I poured a shot of whiskey for "Don Gato" - and drank one shot myself - every night. Yes, whiskey.

Pickles: The entire cast - and usually most of the audience - shared pickles in honor of "Don Gato." For some people, this can be equivalent of breaking bread. For others it's a cheap device.

Rhythms: The traditional "long bembé" (6/8 rhythm) was used extensively throughout the show, including the final part of the call and response of Dr Suchnsuch's song. Also, during the clapping / dance sequence, parts of the traditional palmas patterns were used.

The cycle of life: While the show was in rehearsal, the actors themselves were dealing with these issues on a personal and global level. One grandparent and one six-month-old great-nephew died. The show was performed in the same buidling that, when it was a Baptist church, held the funeral of an uncle. The show was rehearsed through Halloween, the Day of the Dead, and the night that the 2000th soldier had died in Iraq.