The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

er name is Isabel HCisterna. She is a oneâ€"woman Chilean dynamo as producer, direcâ€" tor, actor and writer â€" a brave pioneer who is introâ€" ducing a new tradition to the local arts movement â€" a pena folklorica: The Café Cabaret. & Life is a veritable cabaret for Cisterna, now in Canada 11 years. She teaches Spanâ€" ish night classes, was recently married and has an eightâ€"yearâ€"old daughter. When she first arrived in Canada from Santiago, Cisterna lived in Toronto, working in the theatre (George Ignatieff Theatre ) and touring in a show called The Guest with a fellow Chilean actor. Chileanâ€"born actor offers multicultural evening of art Her acclaimed oneâ€" woman show My Name is Isabel â€"performed at Theâ€" atre and Company‘s Studio space a few seasons back â€" showcased this gifted actor as a bag lady in conversaâ€" tion with a trash can about her own sliceâ€"ofâ€"life experiâ€" ences, good and bad, in her native Chile. Now in Waterloo, Cisterâ€" na has treaded a few more memorable theatre boards. Cisterna‘s performance as tortured lesbian roomâ€" mate Inez was highly conâ€" vincing opposite Henry Shields and Kelly Clark in last year‘s No Exit directed by Robin Bennett. Her deliâ€" cate Chilean accent and obvious stage charisma added spicy tonality to this Jean Paul Sartre classic. In her adventurous Santiâ€" ago days, Cisterna, was an integral part of the theatre movement and has always wanted to reâ€"invent that same sort of cultural mosaic By Corat Anpzewsâ€"Lesue For The Chronicle Today‘s Crimes. Today‘s Stories. Today‘s [ . SR m 4 s c“me§. A f 3\ SUNDAY 10PM Dick Wolf, the Emmy Awardâ€"Winning ' t a *C* ," ioceee ‘ s ol hn se ‘ , Pccitite â€" <@iiP DRAGNET , toe mines _ R A€: canada.com while introducing it to her Canadian friends. Cisterna is frank about arts and culâ€" ture in this area, and has often remarked that most of it does not catch her keen interest. She dreamed of something more, a way to blend her Chilean past and Canadian present to reâ€"creâ€" ate a hopeful, multiâ€"dimenâ€" sional future. Isabel Cisterna, a host of international artists, will perform this weekend at Waterloo‘s first Café Caberet. The first area Café Cabaret opens its doors this Saturday at The Waterloo Community Arts Centre. Cisterna has high hopes her dream will soon become an ingrained cultural reality. ARTS FOCUS "The show is based on an idea that we used to have in Chile," explains Cisterna. "It was called ‘pena‘ (proâ€" nounced penâ€"ya) and it was a fusion of different arts. People would get together to have fun and also get someâ€" thing to eat in a candleâ€"lit café atmosphere while lisâ€" tening to poets, singers and actors do their show, and maybe dance a little. "I have been doing most of the running around in the last month. This idea has been in the works for a few months and 1 have been forâ€" tunate enough to meet CHRONI some of the artists, create relationships with them, and also friendships as well." Cisterna wanted to capâ€" ture people‘s attention with this first presentation, so the name of the show was something she thought about carefully. "I think the word cabaret is a little bit more exotic than just to say the word café and a concert, because it isn‘t a concert. This is a multiâ€"dimensional type of exhibition and showcase. We have two newcomers to Canada, Audrei Tikhonov and Elena Klyucharova in the show. They are from Russia and the Ukraine, and they are playing folk tunes from the Ukraine, some jazz and classical music as well. From there, we jump to Mexican folk singer Manuel Balcazar, and he used to be one of those people you see on cruise ships. Bakcazar sings ballads and romantic folk songs. We also have a fairly wellâ€"known Columbian singer. Her name is Nora Garces, and she arrived from Colombia about three months ago," says Cisterna. "She was a child singer and had two albums by the age of 12. From there we also have two Argentinean opera singers. (Gabriel Almada _ and Gabriela Vera from famed Argentine choirs Coral del 800 and Coro Bridas.) They are trained in opera and big choirs from Buenos Aires, and they are here as well, doing the same thing we are all trying to do â€" get by, make a living and maybe showcase their talent once in a while." Café Cabaret will showâ€" case painting and murals Continued on page 21 Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Little Theatre is holding audiâ€" tions and a production call for its upcoming producâ€" tion of Popcorn Plays 2, a collection of 10â€"minute theatre. Auditions will be held Feb. 17â€"19 from 7â€"10 p.m. at St. John‘s Lutheran Church (corner of Willow and William streets, in Waterloo). Participants need not show up each night; however, there may have be callâ€"backs. Organizers are looking for an ensemble cast of eight to 10 actors, technicians and production staff (publicity, front of house, and general producâ€" tion}. They will be encouraging each actor to direct and stage manage one of the 10â€"minute plays. No experience is needed. No prepared piece is required. For those with a prepared piece, a comedic monoâ€" logue is preferred. Come in comfortable clothes. Perâ€" formance dates are April 17â€"19 at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on April 19 (Easter Weekend). For inforâ€" mation, call 886â€"0660. Opera Ontario and Rushes Restaurant (The Waterloo Inn) invite area residents. to enjoy fine wines, great nibbles and learn a little about opera at Opera Rush â€" the firstâ€"ever preâ€"opera cocktail party event in celebration of Opera Ontario‘s Lakmé. Opera Rush, to be held Feb. 6 from 6â€"7:30 p.m., is a casual mixâ€"andâ€"mingle affair aimed at Kitchenerâ€" Waterloo‘s young professionals. Featuring fabulous food and drink by Rushes® Chef Wiffin, Opera Rush will give participants a chance to meet the cast of Opera Ontario‘s Lakmé and get up close and personâ€" al with opera. Think opera‘s all about fat ladies singing? Think again. Opera Rush hopes to entertain guests while disâ€" pelling some of those common myths about opera such as "it‘s too expensive" (tickets start at $29), "I won‘t understand it" (Opera Ontario translates every word), "it‘s crazy fat ladies singing" (the star of Lakmé is a beautiful 26â€"yearâ€"old blonde). Thanks to fabuâ€" lous young stars like the hot Canadian singers in Lakmé and glamorous productions like Baz Luhrmann‘s Broadway La Bohéme, opera is one of the hottest selling tickets in North America! Kitchenâ€" erâ€"Waterloo is one of only two communities of its size in Canada to boast its own professional opera company and the upcoming production of Lakmé will delight the senses of all who attend. KWLT holds auditions For $25 a person, participants for Opera Rush will sample a variety of hors d‘oeuvres and wines while mingling with the cast of Opera Ontario‘s Lakmé (performing Feb. 7 at The Centre In The Square). _ To order tickets, call restaurant manager Jason Emst at 884â€"0220. GCOLIGER‘s Serving travellers since 1955 OPEN "24 /7 / 365"! www.gotravelplus.com