"It was a group process -- the seven of us sat down and worked on every aspect of it as a collective process," says Alexis Herrera of the show Rosita y Conchita. "So it's been really beautiful to see that from the beginning to now, here we are three years later, still going strong. And [the] show's still getting great response and we still love doing it."
The play -- a bilingual musical based on the children's book of the same name by Eric Gonzalez and Erich Haeger -- was first performed at the Austin Scottish Rite Theater in October of 2016 and has quickly become a Día de los Muertos tradition. Not that the cast expected that to happen; they expected that 2016 run to be the only staging of the show, but the audience had different ideas.
"The community has asked for it and we've enjoyed doing it," says Megan Ortiz, who plays Conchita. "So it's kind of become almost a little bit of a tradition, and we're really enjoying that."
"It's about a pair of twin sisters -- Rosita y Conchita -- one, Rosita, has passed on," says musician and company member Andrew Rodriguez. "Conchita is preparing an altar for her on Day of the Dead and Rosita is trying to make her way to the altar."
"I think that anybody can identify with these characters," says Ortiz. "I think anyone can identify with losing somebody and then being able to have that space to honor them."
'Rosita y Conchita' runs through November 2 at the Austin Scottish Rite Theater.
