Last fall, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a performance of the play Loyalty at the Grant campus Blackbox Theatre. The play was written by Nairoby Otero, who has worked as an actress, writer, and executive producer and is now a Professor of Acting at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC). The play stars one actress, Sofia Padilla Rodriguez, a graduating Performing Arts major at the college. The play is about young Nairoby’s experience as a first-generation American and daughter of Cuban immigrants who fled the country in the 1970s. While the props and music transport the audience to Professor Otero’s childhood, the play’s heart lies in Rodriguez’s performance as young Nairoby and both of her parents.
Rodriquez is an international student from Cancun, Mexico. After staying on Long Island for two years as a nanny for the Au Pair program, she learned about SCCC and its Performing Arts program and chose to enroll.
Ever since she was a child, Rodriguez has been interested in acting and the performing arts. “I have always had a passion for the theatrical and musical arts, which is why my mom enrolled me in my first acting, singing, and dancing lessons when I was just nine years old. From that moment on, I fell in love with musical theatre.” For Rodriguez, being an actress is her way of trying to better the world. “I believe that movies, plays, and shows have helped me cope with life in profound ways. They transport me to another world and deeply inspire me to make a positive change in humanity. My goal is to use my passions and talents to do good and inspire others,” she states.
While studying at SCCC, she was given the opportunity to play in Loyalty, despite not knowing much about Professor Otero. “I didn’t initially know much about her. I just knew she was the new acting teacher. However, after reading the play, I felt a strong connection to her through her words.” After speaking to Jay Moser, the director of the play, Rodriguez sought to meet Professor Otero in person. “After that meeting, I felt a deep connection to her. Even though I still didn’t fully know her, it felt as if I did.”
Despite not being Cuban herself, Rodriguez said that her Mexican background and her status as an international student from another country helped her relate to young Nairoby. Despite being born in the United States, young Nairoby found it difficult to relate to young kids her age. One particular scene from the play highlights this; when a young Nairoby invites a friend from school over to her house, who is played spectacularly by no one, Nairobi puts on a TV show in Spanish which her friend has never heard of. Her friend asks to put on a more “normal” show and puts on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
Along with this experience, young Nairoby must deal with the duality of being an American and the daughter of immigrants who fled Communist Cuba because of the poverty and despotism caused by the infamous dictator Fidel Castro. Everything they brought with them to America was stuffed in one suitcase, which is portrayed on the set. When an audience member asked if that was the real one, Otero replied “Absolutely not! The real one is at home and won’t ever be used as a prop. It’s a family heirloom.”
During the post-show discussion, Professor Otero spoke about going to Cuba for the first time as an adult. Despite it being her first time in Cuba, the experience of being her parents’ daughter made it feel like home for her. We can see this from the props, which are meant to imitate Professor Otero’s living room when she was a child.
Once again, I had a wonderful experience attending this show, as it highlights some of the best of what Grant campus students have to offer. If you’re interested in attending future shows, go to the Sagtikos Arts and Sciences building where you will find both the Blackbox Theatre and the auditorium where future shows will be held. Regarding Sofia Rodriguez, she will continue her education at either Brooklyn College or City College of CUNY. After that, she plans to seek an artist visa and continue her acting career in New York, where she also wants to further bring awareness to what is it like to be a Mexican artist in the United States.
