“Mujeres de Shakespeare” (Shakespeare’s Women), written and directed by Neher Jacqueline Briceño, opens July 8 during Teatro Avante’s XXVI International Hispanic Theatre Festival, which runs from July 7 through 24. According to Briceño, Mujeres de Shakespeare is inspired by and a tribute to Shakespeare’s most beloved female characters. In this interview, Briceño talks about Mujeres and what work means to her. We also discuss the biggest challenges and triumphs she encountered while perparing for the performance. Click here to read the interview in Spanish Neil de la Flor: What was your inspiration for “Mujeres de Shakespeare?”

Neher Jacqueline Briceño: “Shakespeare’s Women” has mainly female roles. As a drama teacher, I visualized an enriching educational process, not only for the students, but also for me and the Prometeo program.

ND: Would you consider this a a feminist work? If so, why or why not?

NJB: No. It’s a closer look at a time period, at the woman’s role in it and at resemblances with today’s women. The most important objective was to introduce a group of young actors to an historic moment that, in some instances, they may relate to with themes such as love, greed and power. [These are] themes that have remained in modern life, but the beauty of Shakespeare’s work is that it opens the possibility of feeling them in a different way. That is the magic of teaching his work and the closer his writings get to modern times.

Our work was based on specific moments of Shakespeare’s female characters, such as Titania (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”); Katherine (“Taming of the Shrew”); Juliet and Nurse (“Romeo and Juliet”); Isabella (“Measure for Measure”); Ophelia (“Hamlet”); and Lady Macbeth and the witches (“Macbeth”). Women involved in different circumstances but united by two common feelings: love and non-love. At the vortex of these feelings, we based our point of view.

ND: What can the audience expect from the performance?

NJB: The possibility of exploring to a greater extent the nature of these Shakespearian female characters, in a manner that is both subtle and intoxicating. We hope that each of these women will leave her particular wake of aroma and seduction on the stage.

ND: How did you prepare for this dramatic piece, and what were the major obstacles you encountered?

NJB: Many hours of reading and research by myself and the students. The most important is offering the opportunity to learn at the staging process. Obstacles? Scene and characters selection. Trying to achieve the flow and create a show based on Shakespeare’s poetry and prose. But once done with the text, the challenge was how to tell it. It required meticulous work, mainly because I wanted the actors to experience delving deeper into different genders and styles while simultaneously using a difficult space, which would limit movement while filled with passion.

ND: Biggest triumph?

NJB: The magic of the process, the interaction and the incredible educational growth of these young students who love the theater: Danly Arango, Sarah Luz Cordoba, Mariel Corona, Rosa Méndez, Boris Roa and Diana Vallejo. Also, my professional team of colleagues whose contributions were invaluable: Jorge Noa and Pedro Balmaseda (set and costume design). And for their unconditional commitment to the project, Carlos Repilado (lighting design), Carlos Cedano (technical director) and, of course, Alina Interián and Joann Yarrow, always willing to support and offer Hispanic students in this community the opportunity to learn and develop their skills through a training program for actors at professional levels.

ND: What’s next for you after the festival?

NJB: A brief rest and then several projects that include children’s and Latin American theater that will be presented before the end of the year.

Teatro Avante is a previous winner of the Knight Arts Challenge.

See the show Friday and Saturday, July 8 and 9, 8:30 p.m., Prometeo Theatre at Miami Dade College -Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. Second Ave., Miami, Tickets: www.prometeotheatre.com / 305-237-3262 (In Spanish with English supertitles.) Click here to read the interview in Spanish