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Showing posts with label Chicago Latino Theater Alliance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago Latino Theater Alliance. Show all posts

Saturday, September 10, 2022

PEQUEÑOS TERRITORIOS EN RECONSTRUCCIÓN SEPTEMBER 21 – 25, 2022 IN GOODMAN THEATRE'S OWEN THEATRE

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

GOODMAN THEATRE PRESENTS 

PEQUEÑOS TERRITORIOS EN RECONSTRUCCIÓN 

IN 2022 DESTINOS—5TH CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL LATINO THEATER FESTIVAL AND IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CHICAGO LATINO THEATER ALLIANCE

***HAILING FROM MEXICO CITY’S TEATRO LÍNEA DE SOMBRA, PEQUEÑOS TERRITORIOS EN RECONSTRUCCIÓN APPEARS IN A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT SEPTEMBER 21 – 25 IN THE OWEN THEATRE***

Running time is approximately 60 minutes (no intermission)

Goodman Theatre and the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) presents the Midwest premiere of Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción by Teatro Linea de Sombra of Mexico City, appearing in a limited engagement September 21-25 at the Goodman. The production is produced as part of Destinos—the 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, a five-week festival of Latino theater artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America in shows, panels and student performances at venues citywide. Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción appears September 21 – September 25 in the 350-seat flexible Owen Theatre. Tickets ($10 –$25, subject to change) are now available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Pequenos or by phone at 312-443-3800.


Photo Credit: Julie Cherki

The Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), a transformative cultural engine helping drive the city’s local Latino theater community to a more prominent level, was founded by Myrna Salazar and the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC) and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA). Chicagoans are still stunned by the recent loss of Ms. Salazar, who passed away suddenly on August 3. “CLATA’s success would not have been possible without a visionary at the helm, a person with the tenacity and passion to bring Chicago’s Latino theater community to a level that had not yet been imagined. Now, in Myrna’s honor, CLATA is charged with the task of making sure her legacy forges ahead with the same unbridled zeal that she brought to her beloved organization, the Destinos Festival, and her everyday life,” wrote the CLATA staff in a program note dedicating this year’s Destinos to her memory.

Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción is among the six world premieres, four U.S. premieres and three Midwest premieres featured at 2022 Destinos. The complete festival line-up, with performances presented at marquee venues downtown, neighborhood storefront theaters and cultural institutions throughout Chicago, is now available at DestinosFest.org. Directed by Jorge A. Vargas, the Midwest premiere features Sonya Madrigal, Shanttal Saad, Abril Pinedo and Alicia Laguna in a story about the “City of Women” in Turbaco, Colombias where 15 years ago, a group of women displaced by armed conflict created the “League of Displaced Women” and built 98 houses with their own hands. After a short stay there, Teatro Linea de Sombra created a documentary fable posing a series of ethical questions on the potential destiny of the settlement, of the women who built it and especially of the children who inhabit it.

Photo Credit: Julie Cherki


ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jorge A. Vargas (Director) has been the artistic director of Teatro Línea de Sombra (Shadow Line Theatre) since its inception in 1993.  In the mid 1980s he studied at École de Mime Corporel Dramatique of Ettiene Decroux in Paris, which led to his first work, Galería de Moribundos (Gallery of Dying Men), and established Vargas in physical and visual theater in México City.  He subsequently trained with the International Theatre School for Latin America and the Caribbean in Havana, Cuba (1990) and Tlaxcala, Mexico (1994.) Until 2010, he alternated between devising experimental theater and directing plays written by authors such as Roland Schimmelpfenning, Jon Fosse, Anthony Neilson, Neil LaButte and Lars Norén. The Association of Theater Writers and Critics (UCCCT) twice recognized Vargas and Teatro Línea de Sombra (TLS) with Best Theatre Group in the Provinces (1982, 1991), and Vargas with two awards for Best Research Theatre Director (2001, 2005). Their work tours throughout Mexico and has toured to major festivals and theaters in France, Argentina, the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Spain, Finland, Russia, Korea, Slovenia and Macedonia. Amarillo, the hallmark work by Vargas with TLS, received the Latin ACE Award for the Best Foreign Production in New York, in 2012 and the Audience Award for the Best Performance of the 21st Exponto International Performing Arts Festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Universal Forum of Cultures Monterrey commissioned Vargas to create and direct The Forge of the World, a large-scale performance piece inside Oven 3 of Fundidora Park in Monterrey. More than a million spectators attended its 80 performances. Their most recent international co-production, which Vargas also co-directed, is Artículo 13 (Article 13) with Cie Carabosse in France, an immersive installation regarding migratory movements around the world.  Last pieces of the company are – Baños Roma (2013); Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción (2014); Durango66; El Puro Lugar,  a Site Specific piece in Jalapa Veracruz and Theatre Version ( 2016-2017); Filo de Caballo(s) (2018), a commission of the Contermporary Arts Museum in Chicago that opened in fall 2018 at Teatro El Galeón; Danzantes del Alba, a co-production of Internation Cervantino Festival Teatro UNAM and TLS (2020-2021). Their most recent project is Zona Clausurada, a scenic installation presented at Museo Universitario del Chopo, UNAM.  

Sonya Madrigal (Narrator) is thrilled to be making her Goodman Theatre acting debut. Previously Sonya choreographed and was a movement consultant on the Goodmans productions of Zulema and American Mariachi. Sonya is a proud first-generation Mexican-American from Chicago IL, where she received her BFA in Acting from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently an MFA acting candidate at the University of Iowa. Favorite Chicago credits include Day of Absence (Congo Square); Hope Part II; A Mexican Trilogy (Teatro Vista); Oedipus Rex and the premiere of David Auburn's The Adventures of Augie March (Court Theater). Recent credits include Henry V (Riverside Theater); Letters From Cuba and Our Lady of 121st. Sonya is proudly represented by Stewart Talent.  

Shanttal Saad is a Mexican-American actress, singer and songwriter with over 10 years of experience in working with performing arts with a focus on vocal proficiency and experimental music. With studies in drama, she has performed for theatrical productions in the U.S., Mexico and Europe as an actress and as a live musician working with international theater companies such as Teatro Línea de Sombra. She has created original soundtracks for theater, movies and radio. Shanttal is also known as Frida Canti in a project where she transforms into the lead performer of her own compositions and explores Latin genres, rock and folk music. 

Abril Pinedo was born in Ciudad Juárez Chihuahua in 198 and graduated from the University Theater Center, UNAM in 2010. With more than 20 years of artistic experience, she has performed in almost all areas of the performing arts. As an actress, she has participated in more than thirty productions, including Desert under lunar scenery by Alberto Villarreal; Words of love in German by Gilberto Guerrero; Bullet music by Hugo Salcedo under the direction of Alfonso Cárcamo; Nothing Always Everything Never with Colectivo Macramé directed by Mariana Gándara and Tales of Boca en Boca with Vereda Teatro, directed by Sofía Sanz. She has collaborated on numerous occasions with T3Y Teatro as director of Tania Mayrén's text, Hedda. She is the artistic director of the Colectivo La Maqueta with whom she has directed two productions, Radiocuento, music noise and sound (2016) and What can be invented, not all stories are for children (2016). She is currently working on her new project La Casa.

Alicia Laguna has trained at the Universidad de Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico. She has been the artistic co-director of Teatro Línea de Sombra (TLS) since 1993 and a company actress and a creator of plays addressing the context of Mexico’s socio-political reality for over ten years. She has toured with TLS in Europe, South America, Canada, USA, Korea, China and Russia. As an actress she has participated in movies such as Norteado, directed by Rigoberto Perezcano and has won the prize for best actress at the Abu Dabhi Film Festival. She was, along with film director Maria Berns, a co-creator of the experimental film So Long. 


THE COMPANY OF PEQUEÑOS TERRITORIOS EN RECONSTRUCCIÓN 

Sonya Madrigal

Shanttal Saad

Abril Pinedo

Alicia Laguna



Please note: Masks are currently recommended, but not required, while in the theater. Policies may change based on prevailing medical guidance. Learn more about Goodman’s current Health and Safety Protocols at GoodmanTheatre.org/Protocols.


ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE

Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. The theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.

Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.

As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Goodman Theatre’s Action Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism and Access (IDEAA) was born out of the belief that progress means action, which includes building on the decades-long commitment to using art, assets and resources to contribute to a more just, equitable and anti-racist society.

Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.

Today, Goodman Theatre is led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director Roche Schulfer. Theater leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca Gilman, Dael Orlandersmith, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.


ABOUT DESTINOS, 5TH CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL LATINO THEATER FESTIVAL

Now entering its fifth year, Destinos is the signature program of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), a transformative cultural engine helping drive the city’s local Latino theater community to a more prominent level.


CLATA, which produces Destinos, was founded in 2016 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization by Myrna Salazar and Chicago’s three most prominent Latino arts organizations: the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA). 


“In Spanish, the word ‘destinos’ has multiple meanings: destinies, destinations or fate,” explained CLATA’s late Executive Director Myrna Salazar, who passed away suddenly this past August, and to whom the 2022 festival is dedicated. “Destinos showcases Latino theater artists from Chicago, across the U.S. and Latin America to present engaging and thought-provoking stories that transcend boundaries, amplify Latino voices, and diversify Chicago stages to encourage cross-cultural conversation.” 

The organization’s goal is to create the country’s leading international Latino theater festival with an emphasis on showcasing Chicago Latino theater artists and companies. Additionally, CLATA provides local groups ongoing organizational, marketing and financial support, and works diligently to create a permanent home for Chicago’s Latino theater artists. Ultimately, CLATA strives to underscore Chicago’s reputation as one of the most exciting and culturally diverse theater cities in the world.

CLATA gratefully acknowledges ongoing support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Ford Foundation, Walder Foundation, Driehaus Foundation, Bezos Family Foundation, Creative Reaction Lab, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Shubert Foundation, a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Arts Council Agency, National Endowment for the Arts, Wintrust, Allstate, Choose Chicago, ComEd and Comcast/Xfinity.

Thursday, September 8, 2022

FEST ALERT: Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival SEPTEMBER 14-OCTOBER 16, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar

DESTINOS
5th CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL LATINO THEATER FESTIVAL, 
RETURNS SEPTEMBER 14-OCTOBER 16, 2022 WITH A WILDLY DIVERSE SLATE OF NEW DRAMAS AND COMEDIES ABOUT THE LATINO EXPERIENCE FROM CHICAGO, THE U.S. AND LATIN AMERICA

Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival will host (top, left) the U.S. premiere of Blanco Temblor by Puerto Rico’s Teatro Público, a play about mental health featuring Isel Rodríguez, September 29-October 2 at The Den Theatre. The Midwest premiere of Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción (top, right), a documentary about a group of Colombian women who built 98 houses with their own hands, from Mexico City’s Teatro Línea de Sombra, is co-presented by CLATA and Goodman Theatre, September 21-25. Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix (bottom, left) and Mariannela Cataño (middle) star in the world premiere of La Pájara de San Juan at the National Museum of Mexican Art, September 14-17. Latino favorite Flaco Navaja stars in UrbanTheater’s Midwest premiere of his first solo show Evolution of a Sonero, September 29-October 23. 


Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, Chicago’s annual citywide festival showcasing Latino theater artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America, returns September 14-October 16, 2022.

Destinos kicks off Chicago’s Hispanic Heritage Month with five weeks of Latino-centric shows, panels and student performances at downtown venues, neighborhood theaters, and cultural institutions throughout the Chicago area.

The full Destinos 2022 line-up – 13 amazing productions including six world premieres, four U.S. premieres and three Midwest premieres – is set and tickets to most productions are on sale at destinosfest.org

Chicagoans and visitors alike are encouraged to get their tickets now to experience new, vibrant solo shows and large scale productions playing on Chicago’s top stages in September and October, each celebrating the Latino experience.

Visit destinosfest.org to purchase tickets and for full show information. Sign up for CLATA’s weekly e-newsletter for first notice of festival events. Follow Destinos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, all at @latinotheater. 


Destinos is produced annually by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), a transformative cultural engine helping drive the city’s local Latino theater community to a more prominent level, founded in 2016 by Myrna Salazar, the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA). 


Chicagoans are still stunned by the recent loss of CLATA’s visionary leader, Myrna Salazar, who passed away suddenly on August 3.

“CLATA’s success would not have been possible without a visionary at the helm, a person with the tenacity and passion to bring Chicago’s Latino theater community to a level that had not yet been imagined,” wrote the CLATA staff in a program note dedicating this year’s Destinos to her memory. “Now, in her honor, CLATA is charged with the task of making sure her legacy forges ahead with the same unbridled zeal that Myrna brought to her beloved organization, the Destinos Festival, and her everyday life.” 

2022 festival highlights include three out-of-town productions from Mexico and Puerto Rico: 

The world premiere of La Pájara de San Juan, a Trump-era drama about two sisters, one documented, one not, on a fateful night in Chicago, starring Mexican TV stars María del Carmen Félix and Mariannela Cataño. It is written by Victor Salinas and Sergio Gezzi, and co-presented by CLATA and the National Museum of Mexican Art, September 14-17. Opens Wednesday, September 14 at 7:30 p.m.

The Midwest premiere of Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción, a documentary fable about a group of Colombian women who created the “League of Displaced Women” and built 98 houses with their own hands, from Mexico City’s Teatro Línea de Sombra, co-presented by CLATA and Goodman Theatre in the heart of Chicago’s Loop, September 21-25. Opens Wednesday, September 21 at 7:30 p.m.

The U.S. premiere of Blanco Temblor by Puerto Rico’s Teatro Público. This is a dramedy about mental health as told via the story of Marina del Mar, a doctor in quantum astrophysics, a Puerto Rican, bipolar, suicide survivor, with a disease from birth: she could not tremble. Performances are September 29-October 2 at The Den Theatre in Wicker Park. Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.

You want new plays by Latino writers? Destinos will see diverse new works by Chicago’s top Latino companies and artists, including:

Las Migas by Colectivo El Pozo, a world premiere drama set on the roof of a Chicago skyscraper as an eerie red moon disrupts city life below, presented at Chess Live Theater in Bridgeport, September 15-October 2. Opens Thursday, September 15 at 8 p.m.

The U.S. premiere of Bruna la Bruja Bruta by Mexican playwright Tomás Urtusástegui, starring Teatro Tariakuri Artistic Director Karla Galván as a modern-day Latina bruja who flies into her theater’s Marquette Park storefront space to get a few things off her chest before Halloween. Performances are Saturdays and Sundays, September 17-October 16. Opens Saturday, September 17 at 8 p.m.

The U.S. debut of Tebas Land by Uruguayan playwright Sergio Blanco, inspired by the Oedipus myth, about a series of meetings in a prison basketball court between a playwright and a young parricide (a person who kills a parent or close relative), presented by CLATA with the National Museum of Mexican Art, at Chicago Dramatists, September 22-October 9. Opens Thursday, September 22 at 7:30 p.m.

The world premiere of Enough to Let the Light In, produced by Teatro Vista and co-presented with Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The playwright is Paloma Nozicka, a Mexican-American actor, writer, director and filmmaker, bred in Chicago, based in L.A. Her newest work introduces us to girlfriends Marc and Cynthia, who spend a night celebrating a milestone, but it quickly devolves into chaos as buried secrets are revealed and lives are irrevocably changed. Performances are September 21-October 23 at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater. Opens Friday, September 23 at 8 p.m.

Alma, an American Blues Theatre world premiere about a single mom who has single-handedly raised her daughter on tough love, home-cooked comida, and lots of prayers. But on the eve of her daughter’s SAT, she’s nowhere to be found. Alma, written by 2019 National Latinx Playwriting Award winner Benjamin Benne, runs September 22-October 22 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Opens Wednesday and Thursday, September 28 and 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Poet, actor, singer and Latino favorite Flaco Navaja stars in his first full-length solo show Evolution of a Sonero, a Midwest premiere from UrbanTheater Company. With unabashed love for the Bronx, a gift for crafting memorable characters, and genuine good humor, Navaja and five top-notch musicians bring on the charm, the rhythm, and the soul essential to a Bronx Sonero. Don’t miss this fresh salsa epic about growing up, getting inspired, and staying on track. Performances are September 29-October 23. Opens Thursday, September 29 at 8 p.m.

The world premiere of BULL: a love story by Chicago playwright Nancy García Loza, about a Mexican American ex-con who returns to his old Chicago neighborhood, Lakeview, only to discover how much has moved on without him. BULL: a love story is a Paramount Theater BOLD Series production, October 5-November 20 at the new Copley Theatre in downtown Aurora, Illinois’ second largest city with a 40 percent Latino population. BULL also marks the first-ever expansion of Destinos into a Chicago suburb. Opens Wednesday and Thursday, October 12 and 13 at 7 p.m.

The midwest premiere of Sancocho by Visión Latino Theater Company, written by Christin Eve Cato, directed by Xavier M. Custodio. The play tells the story of two sisters, 25 years apart, who come together to discuss their father’s will while making a traditional sancocho stew that suddenly becomes peppered with revelations about their family history. Performances are October 8-30 at Windy City Playhouse. Opens Monday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m.

The U.S. premiere of Cintas de seda from Aguijón Theater in Chicago’s Belmont-Cragin/Hermosa neighborhood. Set on the eve of the Day of the Dead, this play by Norge Espinosa imagines a painter and nun coming together for an impossible dialogue with ghosts, hallucinations, and images of the past, October 13-November 20. Opens Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m.

The world premiere of The Wizards by Ricardo Gamboa, a supernatural thriller about a Brown and Black genderqueer couple who find a Quija board in their new Pilsen apartment that connects them to a ‘70s Mexican-American Motown cover band. The Wizards, co-produced by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance at Pilsen’s historic APO Cultural Center, runs October 14-November 26.


About Destinos, 5th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival

Now entering its fifth year, Destinos is the signature program of the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA), a transformative cultural engine helping drive the city’s local Latino theater community to a more prominent level. The organization’s goal is to create the country’s leading international Latino theater festival with an emphasis on showcasing Chicago Latino theater artists and companies. 

Visiting companies making their Destinos Festival debuts include Teatro Línea de Sombra (México), Teatro Público (Puerto Rico), and La Pájara de San Juan (Mexico/Washington D.C.). Participating Chicago Latino theaters are Aguijón Theater, Colectivo El Pozo, Concrete Content, Teatro Tariakuri, Teatro Vista, UrbanTheater Company and Visión Latino Theater Company. Presenting partners are Goodman Theatre, the National Museum of Mexican Art and Steppenwolf Theatre. Collaborating partners are American Blues Theater and Paramount Theater. Venue partners are APO Cultural Center, Chess Live Theater, Chicago Dramatists, The Den Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Windy City Playhouse. 

CLATA, which produces Destinos, was founded in 2016 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization by Myrna Salazar and Chicago’s three most prominent Latino arts organizations: the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), the International Latino Cultural Center (ILCC), and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance (PRAA). 

“In Spanish, the word ‘destinos’ has multiple meanings: destinies, destinations or fate,” explained CLATA’s late Executive Director Myrna Salazar, who passed away suddenly this past August, and to whom the 2022 festival is dedicated. “Destinos showcases Latino theater artists from Chicago, across the U.S. and Latin America to present engaging and thought-provoking stories that transcend boundaries, amplify Latino voices, and diversify Chicago stages to encourage cross-cultural conversation.” 

Additionally, CLATA continues to provide local groups ongoing organizational, marketing and financial support, and works diligently to create a permanent home for Chicago’s Latino theater artists. Ultimately, CLATA strives to underscore Chicago’s reputation as one of the most exciting and culturally diverse theater cities in the world.

CLATA gratefully acknowledges foundation support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Ford Foundation, Walder Foundation, Driehaus Foundation, Bezos Family Foundation, Creative Reaction Lab, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, a CityArts grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Illinois Arts Council Agency and National Endowment for the Arts. Supporting partners are Allstate, Choose Chicago, Xfinity, 3Arts, ComEd and Wintrust.

For more, visit destinosfest.org or call (312) 631-3112.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

American Blues Theater announces casting for The World Premiere of Alma September 22 – October 22, 2022

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 
September 22 – October 22, 2022  


By Benjamin Benne

Directed by Ana Velazquez

Featuring Jazmín Corona and Bryanna Ciera Colón  

American Blues Theater, under the continued leadership of Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside, announces the World Premiere production of Alma, in cooperation with Center Theatre Group. The production will run at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 Ridge Avenue in Chicago, September 22 – October 22, 2022. I'll checking out the opening performance September 29th, so check back soon for my full review. 

Tickets will be available beginning September 1 at (773) 654-3103 and www.amercanbluestheater.com.

Alma is the winner of the Blue Ink Award & National Latinx Playwriting Award and is presented in association with Chicago Latino Theater Alliance as part of the 5th Annual Destinos Festival.

Alma crossed the border 17 years ago in search of the American Dream. Now, on the eve of her U.S.-born daughter Angel’s SAT, Alma believes all their sacrifices and hard work will pay off. There’s one problem – Angel has very different plans for her future. Told in real time, playwright Benjamin Benne’s Alma is a heartfelt and complex exploration of the immigrant generation and their first-generation children.

The cast is: Jazmín Corona (Alma) and Bryanna Ciera Colón (Angel).

The creative team is: Tara A. Houston (scenic design), Rachel West* (lighting design / master electrician), Lily Walls* (costume design), Eric Backus* (sound design), Verity Neely (properties design), Gaby Labotka (fight & intimacy direction), Manny Ortiz* (technical director), Ana Maria Campoy (Spanish translations), and Shandee Vaughan* (production & stage manager).

*Denotes Ensemble Member or Artistic Affiliate of American Blues Theater

 

About the Artists

BENJAMIN BENNE he/him (Playwright) is newly graduated from the David Geffen/Yale School of Drama MFA Playwriting program and represented by Paradigm Talent Agency. He is a member of the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group at Primary Stages and currently under commission from South Coast Repertory Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre. His plays include Alma (Center Theatre Group & ArtsWest; forthcoming: Curious Theatre Company & Central Square Theater) and In His Hands (Mosaic Theater Company). His work has been developed by the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Playwrights Realm, The Lark, The Public, Roundabout, Denver Center, The Old Globe, Two River, Boston Court Pasadena, New Harmony Project, SPACE on Ryder Farm, Pillsbury House Theatre, Parley, among many others. Benjamin has been the recipient of Portland Stage’s Clauder Competition Gold Prize, Arizona Theatre Company’s National Latinx Playwriting Award, Kennedy Center/KCACTF Latinx Playwriting Award, American Blues Theater’s Blue Ink Playwriting Award, Chesley/Bumbalo Playwriting Award, Playwrights’ Center’s McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting and Many Voices Fellowship. www.benjaminbenne.com

ANA VELAZQUEZ she/her (Director) is a Mexican American director and teaching artist in her native Chicago. Her directing experience is deeply tied to new play development and is often in collaboration with playwrights exploring underrepresented stories. Her directing credits include A Los Angeles Mural for Wrights of Spring Festival at The Theatre School at DePaul; I Come From Arizona staged reading for Vittum Theater’s grand reopening at Adventure Stage Chicago; La Ofrenda at Adventure Stage Chicago; Alma for Blue Ink Festival at American Blues Theater; El Pico for A Night of New Works at Something Marvelous; Macha for Tutterow Fellows Showcase at Chicago Dramatists; Oak & Pallets for Peacebook at Collaboraction; Los Frikis for El Semillero at Victory Gardens Theater; Meet Juan(ito) Doe (co-directed) at Free Street Theater; Everybody Loves Big E for Our Chicago Project at Collaboraction; Art House and The Scream for Scrapbook 2017 at Chicago Dramatists; Epic Tales with FEMelanin for Kid’s Fringe 2016 and Raisin Puffs for Black Lives, Black Words at Black Ensemble Theatre. She received the 2018 Alta Award for Outstanding Director of Play for Meet Juan(ito) Doe (co-directed). Ana is a PlayMakers Laboratory company member. Her teaching artist experience includes Disney Musicals in Schools and PlayBuild Youth Intensive Program with Goodman Theatre; TimeLine South Living History Program with Timeline Theatre and Young Playwrights Festival with Pegasus Theatre. Ana recently completed her second residency with Teatro Comunal, a new youth program created through We the Many with Arts Midwest and The Honeywell Foundation in Wabash & North Manchester, Indiana. She received her BA in Theatre from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

JAZMÍN CORONA she/her (Alma) previously appeared in Hurricane Diane (Theater Wit); Zulema (Goodman/Sones de Mexico); Roe (Goodman Theatre); Shrew’d and Macbeth (First Folio Theatre); I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter and The Compass (u/s, Steppenwolf Theatre); 1776 (Porchlight Music Theatre); Women of 4G (Babes With Blades); A Work Of Art (Chicago Dramatists); Two Mile Hollow (First Floor Theater); Gender Breakdown (Collaboraction); Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Goose (Raven Theatre). TV credits include Chicago Fire (NBC). 

BRYANNA CIERA COLÓN she/her (Angel) is making her American Blues Theater debut in ALMA as Angel. The Chicago based performer made her national tour debut in the hit holiday musical The Elf on The Shelf: A Christmas Musical (Ella) fresh out of high school. She then went on to do In the Heights (Yolanda, Nina US, Ensemble) at the Arts Center of Costal Carolina on Hilton Head Island right after. Some of her other credits include episodes in the critically acclaimed NBC TV series Chicago Fire and the FOX TV series The Big Leap.


Dates:  Previews September 22-25, 2022

Opens September 28 and 29, 2022

Runs through October 22, 2022


Schedule:        

Thursdays: 7:30pm

Fridays: 7:30pm

Saturdays: 3:00pm and 7:30pm

Sundays: 2:30pm

 

Location: Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 Ridge Avenue in Chicago

Ticket prices: $25-$45

Box Office: Buy online at www.amercanbluestheater.com or (773) 654-3103

Group Sales discounts and Blue Card Memberships available now by calling (773) 654-3103 or visiting www.amercanbluestheater.com


About American Blues

Winner of the American Theatre Wing’s prestigious National Theatre Company Award, American Blues Theater is a premier arts organization with an intimate environment that patrons, artists, and all Chicagoans call home. American Blues Theater explores the American identity through the plays it produces and communities it serves.

The diverse and multi-generational artists have established the second-oldest professional Equity Ensemble theater in Chicago. As of 2022, the theater and artists received 221 Joseph Jefferson Awards and nominations that celebrate excellence in Chicago theater and 44 Black Theatre Alliance Awards. The artists are honored with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize nominations, Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades.   


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