A flame that won’t be extinguished: ‘The Sins of Sor Juana’ opens at Fresno State
Editor’s note: Fresno State University Theatre is closing out its 2024–25 Mainstage Season with The Sins of Sor Juana, written by acclaimed playwright Karen Zacarías and directed by Gina Sandí-Díaz. The production opens May 2 at the John W. Wright Theatre and runs through May 10. With its lyrical language and bold feminist themes, the play resurrects a revolutionary voice from the 17th century; one that still echoes urgently in 2025. Miguel Gastelum, the Fresno State theater box office manager and communications specialist, wrote this exclusive post for The Munro Review.
At the heart of the production is Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the legendary Mexican poet and nun whose intellect and creativity placed her at odds with a society that sought to silence her. In Zacarías’s hands, Juana is not only an icon but a woman of depth, contradiction, and blazing conviction.
“Considered one of Mexico’s national icons, Juana is remembered for her fierce defense of women’s right to study, for having the largest library of the New World, and for writing possibly the first feminist manifesto in her letter ‘Respuesta a Sor Filotea,’” says Sandí-Díaz. “Sor Juana’s work has been widely studied around the world, crafting a clear image of Sor Juana, the writer. This play, instead, presents us with Sor Juana, the woman.”
Portraying such a complex historical figure is no small feat, but actress Beyonce Rodriguez-Fabela steps into the role with a fierce commitment to authenticity.
“For the little amount of time I had to step into Sor Juana, I have put a lot of pressure on myself; because she is such an important figure in women history, that not a lot of people know about,” Rodriguez-Fabela says. “I want to do her justice and play her to the best of my ability. She has so many layers, and figuring out how to layer them together correctly was a big challenge, she has different masks that she uses for every single person she speaks to. It was so fun to figure that out, and to find the little pockets of when to keep the mask on or when to take it off.”
Director Gina Sandí-Díaz, herself deeply connected to the character and her cultural roots, first encountered “The Sins of Sor Juana” in 2017 and was struck by its poetry and its humanity. Her vision for the production centers on light; both literal and symbolic.
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“My vision for the production is to highlight the importance of standing up for yourself, of being true to yourself even at the cost of society’s rejection,” she says. “Is it worth it to live betraying our own principles and our own virtues? With those questions in mind, I wanted to highlight the impossibility of turning off the flame inside of you when that is your given right in this world.”
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That metaphor of light carries through the design, which showcases the work of Fresno State’s student artists, from lighting to costumes to sound. This production is not just a showcase for Sor Juana’s legacy, but for the emerging talents of the university’s creative community.
Rodriguez-Fabela connects personally to the play’s themes, grounding her performance in lived experience. “Yes, I am a woman in a world that is dominated by men,” she says. “I am a woman, who is being attacked for simply being a woman, things being taken away from me, my rights being removed, my womanhood being questioned. I am a woman who has opinions, and I am not afraid to talk about them.”
The result is a Sor Juana who is at once historic and immediate; a woman whose intellectual and spiritual battles still resonate with contemporary audiences.
“I hope audiences see that in telling her story, she will continue to live on,” says Rodriguez-Fabela. “I also hope in my portrayal of her, audiences will be curious about her, and they will want to learn who she was and what she stands for and how absolutely insane she was to do the things she did.”
Sandí-Díaz’s staging of the play also leans into its theatrical potential. Masks inspired by Latin American folk traditions will appear in a dream sequence, adding a layer of magical realism that pays homage to cultural heritage while deepening the surreal aspects of Sor Juana’s struggle.
“I think audiences will be able to recognize some of those elements in that scene,” says the director. “It’s a story about someone who stood up for herself when society was pressuring to submit, and I think that is universal and timeless.”
The production is further enriched by a special event on Sunday, May 4: “Tinta y Rebelión: An Afternoon of Poetry” a collaboration with the English and Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures departments. Following the matinee, attendees can enjoy readings of Sor Juana’s poetry in Spanish alongside original poems from Fresno State’s Creative Writing students. It’s a fitting tribute to a woman who used verse as both shield and sword.
The Sins of Sor Juana runs May 2–3 and May 6–10 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee on May 4 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for Fresno State faculty, staff, alumni, and military, and $10 for all students. Children under five will not be admitted.
As Sandí-Díaz puts it: “I hope that we walk out of Sor Juana with courage. Courage to set up what our core values in life are and to stand by them… and compassion also for people that have their own struggles, that don’t necessarily affect us, and we should just let them be.”
