Stephany Orúe: "Women Face Battles Every Day"

A family ‘survives’ an almost impossible coexistence, which is what La omission de la familia Coleman, directed by Lucero Medina Hú, revolves around. The work of Argentine Claudio Tolcachir goes beyond comedy. “For me it’s a trip,” Stephany Orúe tells us over the phone about the rehearsals at the La Plaza theater. The actress plays Veronica, the only Coleman who grew up away from home. “Toxic ties are woven, but at the same time it is contradictory because it is a family that loves each other. My character has a complex journey because she did not live with them, but her grandmother is her anchor and she is there and helps them financially. The work will reveal secrets like with a dropper”.

His character deals with “that internal struggle” between protecting the family and also protecting himself from those violent codes. For this reason, she comments that the issues are “very present”, such as mental health and abandonment. “It is difficult to break those chains, because your home is your first school. Verónica has been “lucky” to come out small and have an education, she has not lived in such a violent environment, but she has not had a mother and she does not want to repeat the same thing with her children. As an actress, one works with fables before what is experienced on stage. So I think that Verónica has undergone therapy in that search to find balance, because it is hard to love someone you are ashamed of. And, among the brothers, Marito is the axis, he is neurodivergent and they have not had the necessary resources to give him quality of life ”.

The actress describes the rehearsals as a “very emotional process” and a “rush” due to reflections on bonds. “Lucero (the director) has a very acute sensitivity. She has an assistant, so there are two women in charge and it’s nice to see how they embrace the proposals that we give. They do not impose anything on us. I feel supported.”

And that mountain of emotions also has to do with being a woman, she adds. “There is a text that the grandmother says: ‘Men! We’ve never had any luck with them.’ It is a very powerful phrase because you can give it many readings. At least now, a woman’s path is more valued, at least that’s the fight we’re fighting. Here we are seeing a grandmother who, with her deficiencies, supports this family in any way possible ”.

In this sense, the actress comments that it is necessary to talk about gender violence, especially with the unfortunate statistics of femicides in Peru. “It hurts a lot and it gives me a lot of frustration. The work that has to be done is to give women the chance to ask for help. I live my life thinking that a man is not stronger than me, neither physically nor emotionally. So, from my work as with this work, it is also telling that a woman can free herself and not maintain a toxic relationship. The ideal would be to have a functional home and a partner with whom you can build it, but more important than that is to be well. Therapy spaces are needed, we should all have that opportunity. They are great battles that are faced every day, that’s why I wrote ‘Not one more step’, because I saw a man verbally mistreat a woman. I told her: ‘don’t allow it’. If you see something like that, you can’t keep going.”