Antonio Cunill Cabanellas (August 27, 1894 â€" February 18, 1969) was
an influential Spanish-Argentine playwright, theatre actor, director
and instructor.Cunill Cabanellas was born in Barcelona, Spain, in
1894. His father, Juan Cunill, had been a well-known actor on the
Catalan stage. He emigrated to Buenos Aires in 1915 and quickly gained
prominence in the vibrant local theatre scene, and became an early
cinematographer and actor in the Argentine cinema, appearing in a 1917
comedy, Carlitos en Mar del Plata.He worked afterwards as an assistant
director, mostly on zarzuelas and sainetes - comedy genres popular at
the time in much of the Spanish-speaking world. He began writing, as
well, and produced numerous of his own plays, notably Chaco, for which
he won a Florencio Sánchez Prize in 1933. The establishment that year
of the National Comedy at the newly nationalized Cervantes Theatre led
to Cunill's appointment as its director, and he inaugurated the new
institution in 1935. His first production was of local playwright
Gregorio de Laferrère's Locos de verano (Summer Madness), which
debuted to acclaim on April 24, 1936; he later adapted the play for
the local cinema in 1942.Cunill helped remedy the local shortage of
skilled technicians in scenography and stagecraft by founding the
National Institute for Theatrical Studies and authoring a number of
technical texts and treatises. He also became Argentina's first
vigorous promoter of local playwrights during his tenure at the
National Comedy, and of 27 plays in its repertoire over five years, 26
were Argentine. The 1941 appointment of the ultra-conservative
Director of the National Library of Argentina, Gustavo MartÃnez
ZuvirÃa, as head of the National Commission for Culture led to
Cunill's resignation, however. He continued to be prolific as director
on the local stage, producing a number of Leopoldo Marechal's works,
notably La Tres Caras de Venus (Three Faces of Venus) in 1951, his
own, notably Fin de semana (Weekend), in 1949, and William
Shakespeare's (Midsummer Night's Dream, 1953). A number of the lead
actors he discovered during this era, such as Eva Franco, Duilio
Marzio and Pepe Soriano, later became prominent in both Argentine
theatre and film.
an influential Spanish-Argentine playwright, theatre actor, director
and instructor.Cunill Cabanellas was born in Barcelona, Spain, in
1894. His father, Juan Cunill, had been a well-known actor on the
Catalan stage. He emigrated to Buenos Aires in 1915 and quickly gained
prominence in the vibrant local theatre scene, and became an early
cinematographer and actor in the Argentine cinema, appearing in a 1917
comedy, Carlitos en Mar del Plata.He worked afterwards as an assistant
director, mostly on zarzuelas and sainetes - comedy genres popular at
the time in much of the Spanish-speaking world. He began writing, as
well, and produced numerous of his own plays, notably Chaco, for which
he won a Florencio Sánchez Prize in 1933. The establishment that year
of the National Comedy at the newly nationalized Cervantes Theatre led
to Cunill's appointment as its director, and he inaugurated the new
institution in 1935. His first production was of local playwright
Gregorio de Laferrère's Locos de verano (Summer Madness), which
debuted to acclaim on April 24, 1936; he later adapted the play for
the local cinema in 1942.Cunill helped remedy the local shortage of
skilled technicians in scenography and stagecraft by founding the
National Institute for Theatrical Studies and authoring a number of
technical texts and treatises. He also became Argentina's first
vigorous promoter of local playwrights during his tenure at the
National Comedy, and of 27 plays in its repertoire over five years, 26
were Argentine. The 1941 appointment of the ultra-conservative
Director of the National Library of Argentina, Gustavo MartÃnez
ZuvirÃa, as head of the National Commission for Culture led to
Cunill's resignation, however. He continued to be prolific as director
on the local stage, producing a number of Leopoldo Marechal's works,
notably La Tres Caras de Venus (Three Faces of Venus) in 1951, his
own, notably Fin de semana (Weekend), in 1949, and William
Shakespeare's (Midsummer Night's Dream, 1953). A number of the lead
actors he discovered during this era, such as Eva Franco, Duilio
Marzio and Pepe Soriano, later became prominent in both Argentine
theatre and film.
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