The thing about movies or plays about sports is that they’re never really about sports.
The glove referred to in the title of Chris Anthony Ferrer’s play, “How to Break in a Glove,” now in its world premiere run at City Theatre in Miami, is a baseball glove, but the play is about so much more than America’s pastime.
“When you get a new baseball glove, it is very, very stiff,” Ferrer explained. “It takes a long time to break it in. You have to nurture and care for it. And if you don't do it correctly, the leather will crack, or it won't work properly. There is absolutely no difference when it comes to the attention you need to foster relationships, especially ones that matter to you. You have to understand it. You have to have patience, and there's a process to it. And when it comes to family especially, it's a vital thing if you want to maintain these relationships.”
Passion Ward Photography
BATTER UP
“How to Break in a Glove” takes place in 1999 and centers on a multi-generational household in Miami, with Cuban-born grandparents and parents, and their first-generation American, 11-year-old son.
“It's about three different generations of a Cuban-American family and the evolution of what it means to immigrate,” said Ferrer. “It’s inspired by my own childhood. And I selected that time period because I always thought, this is such a unique slice of life where you have 100 percent immigrants, and then you have, my parents that are 50/50, where their identity is split between two worlds. And then you have my generation, which was the first to be 100 percent American and I grew up on Nickelodeon and MTV. That’s world's away from my grandparents. So, what happens when you have the same family, with the same roots, that diverge in such a way where once you immigrate, the assimilation doesn't necessarily have to come from the immigrant themselves. It comes from the offspring.”
(Photo: Morgan Sophia Photography)
Margaret Ledford
As a first generation American, Ferrer found it difficult to relate to his Cuban grandfather.
“One of the devices that I use is symbolism, and this play has a lot of it sprinkled in,” said Ferrer. “The biggest one is the baseball glove, and that was also inspired by my childhood relationship with my own grandfather,” Ferrer said. “That generational gap was substantial, and there were times where I felt like, this guy doesn't like me at all. We don't speak about things. The things that I like he doesn't like. It was a very difficult, strenuous relationship until he introduced me to baseball and once that happened, it was literally the only place that we connected.”
(Courtesy Artist Management)
Chris Anthony Ferrer
Ferrer got to experience a full-circle moment when actor Andy Quiroga was cast as the grandfather in the play.
“Andy Quiroga was my first drama teacher in high school,” Ferrer said. “He’s the one who inspired me to go to New World School of the Arts. When he was cast, it was an emotional moment for both of us. He told me, ‘I want to make you proud,’ and I said, ‘I just want to make you proud.’ It really is a synergy situation where it's like, well, you're the one that taught me a lot of my basics, and I'm gifting something back to you.”
HOME RUN
Ferrer wrote “How to Break in a Glove” after participating in City Theatre’s Homegrown playwright development program, designed to give writers the time, tools, and guidance to create new work.
The program serves historically marginalized groups, including people of color and those with disabilities. Participants apply, submit writing samples, and are interviewed. Once in the program, they meet monthly and develop a short play. City Theatre brings in guest artists, such as playwright Christopher Demos Brown and director Teo Castellanos, as well as experts, including an entertainment lawyer and tax specialist so they can learn the other side of the business.
“I think it's an incredibly valuable program,” said Margaret M. Ledford, artistic director of City Theatre. We look for playwrights that already have a sense of their own voice and playwrights who have stories they want to tell,” said Ledford. “We've heard the David Mamets of the world for a very long time. We want to hear some other people.”
(Photo: Morgan Sophia Photography)
Gladys Ramirez
Ferrer went through the program and later wrote “How to Break in a Glove.” He had a reading with some friends and invited his City Theatre friends, who found that the play checked all the boxes for their mission.
“We were like, holy crap, this is really good,” said Gladys Ramirez, City Theatre executive director and director of “How to Break in a Glove.”
Ramirez and Ledford were certain that “How to Break in a Glove” should be part of City Theatre’s season.
“We thought, what a great way to continue working with these playwrights, like an extended residency, so let's bring Chris in and develop the play,” said Ramirez. “This is really paying homage to the intention of our program, of Homegrown and creating a pipeline for local writers. Also, something that's really important to City Theatre is celebrating our stories. This whole process has been really important for us, not in terms of, we want to premiere it, but we want to premiere a piece of theater that could go on and be produced in other places.”
City Theatre made its name producing its signature event, Summer Shorts, a program of short plays by local playwrights as well as playwrights from across the country. They produce one full-length play each season, so it’s a big deal to be chosen as the playwright whose play fills that spot.
Ferrer hopes the audience can benefit from the life lessons in “How to Break in a Glove.”
“This play is very personal to me,” said Ferrer. “It's not an autobiographical, but it is deeply inspired by my own life and my own personal experiences in one way or another. What I'm hoping for is that the truth – no matter how scary it was to put on the page – if it changes anybody in any way to at least get up and call their mom and want to have a conversation and remove the avoidant nature of the ugly talks. Then, I'm happy.”
IF YOU GO
“How to Break in a Glove”
Through Feb. 22
City Theatre at the Arsht Center, 1400 Biscayne Blvd., Miami
(Courtesy Arsht Center)
(Courtesy Arsht Center)
(Courtesy Arsht Center)
(Courtesy Arsht Center)
(Courtesy Arsht Center)