Shannon Sauceda likes playing the role of the spoiled brat in "The Fresa Princesa."
“Her parents want to give her away,” said Sauceda, 26. “They think she should be married and not be such a little brat.”
Sauceda began playing the part of the young princess Thursday in Tom Fuschetto’s play presented by WILD (Writers In Literary Discussion) at South Texas College Auditorium in McAllen. The play, based on a local folk tale called “The Royal Beggar,” continues tonight and concludes with a final performance Saturday. All shows begin at 7 p.m.
Sauceda, a McAllen native, has extensive acting experience in Los Angeles, Calif., where,
among other projects, she appeared in "Rush Hour 3," starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Sauceda also has appeared in the series "Desperate Housewives."
“I am just back here for a few months to be with family,” she said. “I love being back here, I love working with all levels of talent.”
She especially enjoys working the Fuschetto, an instructor at STC.
“His plays are really, really a lot of fun,” she said.
Fuschetto said the play tells the story of a young woman who can’t decide who to marry, so her father, the king, lines up a group of young suitors.
“She can’t make up her mind about any of them, so he loses his temper, and says the next person through this door will be the one you’ll marry, by God!” Fuschetto said. “And who walks in but a beggar. That’s why the folk tale is known as The Beggar Prince.”
Fuschetto said this story is one of the few local folktales that do not involve ghosts or monsters. Instead, he believes it dates back to the time when this area was ruled by the Spanish crown.
“If you consider the salt lake, that’s of a king’s charter, that’s just north of Donna,” he said. “There are some things that have been left over from a previous time. If you even consider Reynosa, the etymology of that. (Rey means “king” in Spanish.) Of the royalty, dealing with Spain, there are touches of that, that are still here, in landmarks, names here in the Valley.”
What’s the most challenging part about this play?
“For Americans to somehow assume the roles of royalty, which is a real foreign concept anywhere in the States,” he said.
He said the characters range from middle school, to high school, college students and mature adults, “those with silver hair.”
Armandina Sesin is enjoying her part, too. “I am the mother of the spoiled brat,” she said with a laugh.
“I am loving it,” she added. “It’s just a nice experience, because I am a mother and a grandmother, so I know how kids behave. I am enjoying it very much. I worked with Tom for three or four plays, and it’s fun to work with him.”
The play ends on a positive note. The princess is forced to live below her means and learns humility, only to learn the beggar is, indeed, a handsome prince. All this time, he has been testing her to see if she was worthy of being a princess.
“I suppose that it’s one of those tales told to children to not act spoiled,” Fuschetto said. “I suppose that’s why it lives because it’s kind of like an Aesop’s fables type of thing.”
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WHAT: The Fresa Princesa
WHEN: 7 p.m. June 28 - 30
WHERE: South Texas College Auditorium
3201 W. Pecan
McAllen, Texas
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call Tom Fuschetto at 872-3487
