AVE

A woman steps into a stranger’s house. It’s Sunday morning. She’s 23 years old, with heavy withdrawal symptoms, and taking desperate measures to move on. Directed by Lorenzo Ariel Muñoz, Bolivian artist Mariana Bredow tells it like it once was:  strung out, alone, afraid, and stepping into the home of a man she doesn’t know.  

In this powerful solo performance, Bredow is suspended in a terrifying calm between life and death. But in this dark and hopeless corner, a quiet clarity can change everything.  

AVE is neither confession nor dramatic retelling. It’s a ritual of recognition. This minimalist and intimate monologue moves beyond one woman’s memory and becomes a collective space: for survival, for grief, for the strange, enigmatic beauty of still being here — alive, seen, and not alone. 

Mariana Bredow was born into a family of artists. She graduated from the Laredo Institute and studied Theater and Opera Singing at the Conservatory of Geneva. She then pursued Dramaturgy and Directing at RESAD in Madrid. Upon returning to Bolivia, she obtained a degree in Dramatic Arts, specializing in Directing, at the National Theatre School. She also holds a diploma in Museology from UMSS and in Creative Writing from UPSA. Additionally, she deepened her studies in Buenos Aires with César Brie, Silvio Lang, and Guillermo Cacace.

Mariana was a member of the theater groups Carne de Cañón, Teatro con Leche, and Amassunu. In 2016, she received the "Best Actress" award from the Peter Travesí National Theatre Award for her performance in the monologue "Not I" by Samuel Beckett. She wrote and directed the multidisciplinary work Bach to the Future, featuring 50 artists. In 2022, Forrest Gander, 2019 Pulitzer Prize winner, translated her poetic work into English and published it in the Asymptote Journal. In May 2023, Gander published the translation of her short story Leche in Harvard Review No. 60. She works as an actress, director, theatre photographer, and jazz singer.

Lorenzo Ariel Muñoz (director) graduated in Dramatic Arts from the National Theatre School. He is a director, actor, teacher, and lighting designer. His training and theatre work have brought him into contact with notable names such as Luis Bredow, Marcos Malavia, Matias Langoff, Regis Evett, and many others. In 2012, he founded Chakana Teatro, a company he leads and with which he participates in national and international festivals. He won the Peter Travesí National Theatre Award in 2012 for Best Director and Best Play with Las Tres Viejas. With his work CHANCHO, which he wrote and directed, he won the Eduardo Abaroa 2017 and the Best Dramaturgy Award at the Peter Travesí Festival in 2019.