Julia Weber
Staff Writer
When audiences imagine James Bond, actors Sean Connery or Daniel Craig may come to mind. But in The Real James Bond…Was Dominican, the playwright and actor Christopher Rivas will share the story of Porfirio Rubirosa, the man believed to be the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond. In the company’s first mainstage production of the season, Chautauqua Theater Company’s presentation of DNAWORKS’ The Real James Bond…Was Dominican will make its Chautauqua debut at 4 p.m. today in Bratton Theater.
While the play follows Rubirosa, it isn’t a biography, as much as it is a heartfelt tale of a young Dominican boy who finds empowerment through representation.
“I really was taken by this man. I didn’t understand why the world wasn’t taken by this man,” Rivas said.
He explained that the piece tells a narrative of someone finding belonging through shared culture, and he hopes it strikes a similar chord with viewers throughout the play.
“This is a piece about belonging, and it’s a piece about creating that space within ourselves where we know we are enough just as we are,” Rivas said.
For Rivas, storytelling is ingrained in everything he does. He said that while he has a strong relationship with storytelling, he also believes everyone has the capacity for embracing the stories that enrich our lives.
“We’re all purveyors of story, whether we want to accept it or not. Everything is a story when you’ve been made to believe or chosen to believe; knowing the difference is profound,” he said. “I deeply, deeply, deeply love the power of story.”
Rivas likened impactful art to a samurai sword, saying it can deliver a message through its capacity for emotion and love. “That’s the best art in my opinion,” he said.
Impactful art can also reflect the viewer.
“I want to feel my heart crack open, and I also want to see the reality and the truth of this life,” Rivas said. “I want art that is a mirror; I want it to be a mirror for me. I don’t claim to be up there teaching people with my art, but sharing, and sharing what the mirror looks like for me, and I believe other people end up seeing themselves in the mirror.”
He said his plays aren’t as concerned with contemporary theater or the theatrical canon as they are with being works of art that are “medicine for me and, I believe, medicine for others.”
While the calling can be mysterious, Rivas said he feels compelled to create these works nonetheless.
“We don’t often know, as artists, why we are called to birth the thing we are called to birth, and yet we have to do it,” he said.
The play foregrounds serious topics, but Rivas was clear that it is a heartfelt and endearing piece. For the playwright and actor, it is important for art to navigate sadness and other complex emotions without solely being sad.
“Nothing should ever be just sadness or ‘woe is me.’ I don’t exist to make art that is ‘woe is me’ but ‘yay is us.’ We can celebrate and be honest at the same time,” he said.
