LORCA, LIVING THE EXPERIENCE VIA WATER PEOPLE THEATER WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 AND WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 AT THE INSTITUTO CERVANTES OF CHICAGO

ChiIL Live Shows On Our Radar 

WATER PEOPLE THEATER ANNOUNCES CAST AND MUSICIANS FOR ITS RETURN TO LIVE PERFORMANCES WITH 

LORCA, LIVING THE EXPERIENCE 

CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 

IRAIDA TAPIAS 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 AND WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 

AT THE INSTITUTO CERVANTES OF CHICAGO

Presented in Spanish with English Subtitles, This World Premiere Combines Plays and Music Written and Composed by Federico García Lorca with Video Mapping to Immerse the Audience in Lorca’s World 

Water People Theater, celebrates 20 years of creating theater, announces the cast and musicians for its return to live performances with LORCA, Living the Experience, conceived and directed by Artistic Director Iraida Tapias, plays and music written and composed by Federico García Lorca. A show in which the audience will be immersed, like never before, in the world of the Andalusian poet. Performance are Wednesday, May 25 and Wednesday, June 1 at 7 p.m. at Instituto Cervantes, 31 W Ohio St. Tickets are $25 - $35 and are on sale now at WaterPeople.org.

LORCA, Living the Experience is a theatrical show with the protagonists of Federico García Lorca plays including “The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife,” “Doña Rosita the Spinster,” “Blood Wedding”, “The House of Bernarda Alba,” “Yerma” and “Mariana Pineda.” Through video mapping, the audience will be immersed in the world of flamenco. With these female voices, the poet speaks to the audience of the deep meaning of the word freedom.

The LORCA, Living the Experience cast includes Carlota Sosa, (Bernarda Alba); Rebeca Aleman, (Yerma, Mariana Pineda, pianist); Ana Santos, (The Mother, Neighbor, First Washer-Woman, singer); Kris Tori, (Doña Rosita, The Bride, Second Washer-Woman); Teresa Echeveste, (The Shoemaker’s Wife, Third Washer-Woman, understudy); Camilo Rasquin, (Lorca, singer); Andrea Salcedo, (guitar) and Diego Salcedo, (percussion).

The production crew includes Iraida Tapias, (director/creator); Ramon Camin (assistant director); Marisabel Munoz, (art director); Oliver Krisch and Mafer Rodriguez, (projection design and video mapping), Irene Sivianes (choreographer) and Kim Schalk, (costume designer).

ABOUT IRAIDA TAPIAS, playwright and director 

Iraida Tapias is a director, playwright, producer and artistic director of Water People Theater. During her more than 49-years career in theater, she focused on producing and directing plays of Spanish American authors, especially Venezuelan. Tapias has written seven plays, produced over 20 theatrical performances and writes and produces for film and television. She has received the National Artist Award, Venezuela, “Best Director;” Premio Municipal de Cine, Venezuela, “Scriptwriter” and La Habana Film Festival Award, “Best Producer.”

ABOUT WATER PEOPLE THEATER

Water People Theater is a non-profit Latino bilingual organization dedicated to the development of performing arts and theater. Its mission is to attract new and diverse talents to create high-quality theater that inspires a very diverse audience to seek change and contribute decidedly to equity, justice, respect and integrating all cultures. 

The name, Water People, comes from the Venezuelan indigenous group, Yekuana. It signifies people on the river who open roads in the water.

Water People Theater believes in the power of theater to bring people together to inspire action, encourage understanding and facilitate harmony among diverse communities.

Water People Theater, celebrating 20 years of creating theater, returns to live performances with LORCA, Living the Experience, conceived and directed by Artistic Director Iraida Tapias combining text and music written and composed by Federico García Lorca, Wednesday, May 25 and Wednesday, June 1 at 7 p.m. at Instituto Cervantes, 31 W Ohio St. Tickets are $25 - $30 and are on sale now at WaterPeople.org.

OPENING: THE THEATRE SCHOOL AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY PRESENTS THE ELEVATED STUDIO PRODUCTION OF THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

Federico García Lorca's 

The House of Bernarda Alba

This short run is the 2nd Federico García Lorca currently running in Chicago. Make it a Lorca fest and catch this short run and the stunning YERMA at Red Tape Theatre/Theatre Y through December 10th.

The Theatre School at DePaul University will present The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca, translated by Jo Clifford, directed by Jeremy Aluma. Performances run November 7 through November 12, 2017. Press opening is Wednesday, November 8 at 7:30 PM at The Theatre School, Room 403, 2350 N Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60614.

THE PLAY 

Lorca’s final play set in the provincial Andalusia, Spain, ignites with the funeral service of Bernarda Alba’s second husband. Ever determined that her five grown daughters maintain a house of honor, Bernarda declares they will have an eight-year mourning period of absolute seclusion. When the eldest daughter receives a large inheritance, potentially sweeping her away from this fate and into an engagement with a handsome bachelor, conflict brews among the sisters repressed by Bernarda’s rule. Set in a time of tumultuous political climate, this story explores the underbelly of what happens when a tyrant seizes power.

TICKETS: Free tickets can be reserved on October 27, 2017 at noon at the box office, by calling 773-325-7900, or emailing theatreboxoffice@depaul.edu.

TICKETS, DATES & INFORMATION 

The House of Bernarda Alba runs Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM, and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM November 7, through November 12, 2017. Free tickets can be reserved on October 27, 2017 at noon at the box office, by calling 773-325-7900, or emailing theatreboxoffice@depaul.edu. Press Opening is Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 7:30 PM. **Preview is Tuesday, November 7, 2017 at 7:30 PM. The House of Bernarda Alba will be performed in Room 403 of The Theatre School at DePaul University at 2350 N Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60614.

THE PEOPLE 

Federico García Lorca (born June 5, 1898, died August 18 or 19, 1936), was a Spanish poet and playwright who, in a career that spanned just 19 years, resurrected and revitalized the most basic strains of Spanish poetry and theatre. He is known primarily for his Andalusian works, including the poetry collections Romancero gitano (1928; Gypsy Ballads) and Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (1935; “Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías,” Eng. trans. Lament for a Bullfighter), and the tragedies Bodas de sangre (1933; Blood Wedding), Yerma (1934; Eng. trans. Yerma), and La casa de Bernarda Alba (1936; The House of Bernarda Alba). In the early 1930s Lorca helped inaugurate a second Golden Age of the Spanish theatre. He was executed by a Nationalist firing squad in the first months of the Spanish Civil War.

Jeremy Aluma is an award-winning, Jewish-American theatre director and producer of Iraqi descent. He founded the internationally touring clown troupe, Four Clowns and served as Artistic Director during their first seven years. Credits include: Abraham & Isaac (MuBe Cultural Theatre, São Paulo, Brazil); Four Clowns (La MaMa, NYC); Pinocchio and Robin Hood (South Coast Repertory); The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Red Theater, Chicago); Sublimity (Theatre Row, NYC); Lunatics & Actors (Shakespeare Center, LA); Henry’s Potato (REDCAT, LA); Beyond Dark (Odyssey Theater, LA); Jonah (Annenberg, Santa Monica); Crumble, (Lay Me Down Justin Timberlake) (Sacred Fools, LA); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Urban Theatre Movement, LA); and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Alive Theatre, Long Beach). He is the recipient of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Exchange International Grant, the City of Santa Monica, Annenberg Community Beach House Residency, and the Long Beach Arts Council Community Project Grant. Since graduating Cum Laude from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Directing, Aluma has attended prestigious training programs such as, the Master Conservatory program in Bali, Indonesia; Director’s Lab West; and The Actor’s Center in NYC. He continues to teach and take classes at The Clown School and is currently pursuing his MFA in Directing at The Theatre School at DePaul University. He is a member of Red Theater and SDC. jeremyaluma.com

The cast features Kya Brickhouse (ADELA), Kayla Forde (AMELIA), Tia Jemison (BERNARDA), Jessica Morison (MARÍA JOSEFA), Deyki Ronge (MAGDALENA), Maddy Stark (LA PONCIA), Kiah Stern (MARTIRIO), Ashlea Woodley (MAID & PRUDENCIA) and Harmony Zhang (ANGUSTIAS).

The artistic team includes Jill Cutro (Assistant Director), Erin Wilborn (Assistant Director), Trisha Mahoney (Dramaturg), Katherine Coyl (Fight Choreographer), Lindsay Mummert (Set Designer), Isabelle Laursen (Costume Designer), Gabriela Cordovi (Sound Designer), Madeline Doyle (Assistant Sound Designer) Nic McNulty (Technical Director), Kyle Cunningham (Lighting Designer), Andrei Borges (Master Electrician), Liv Hancock (Stage Manager), Hannah Smith (Assistant Stage Manager), Natalie Lawrence (Marketing Manager), and Lisa Portes (Advisor).

ABOUT THE THEATRE SCHOOL AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY 

The Theatre School trains students to the highest level of professional skill and artistry in an inclusive and diverse conservatory setting.

OPENING: FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA’S YERMA 10/27-12/10/17 Via THEATRE Y AND RED TAPE THEATRE

Chi, IL LIVE Shows On Our Radar:

THEATRE Y AND RED TAPE THEATRE UNITE AS ARTISTIC PARTNERS TO BRING NEW ADAPTATION OF 

FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA’S YERMA, 

OCTOBER 27 – DECEMBER 10, 

TO THEIR NEW SHARED SPACE: “THE READY”

 The Companies’ Initial Co-Production Reunites Jeff Award-Winning Duo Director Max Traux and Composer and Music Director Nicholas Tonozzi

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we love it when our favorites play well together. We'll be out next week to review a collaboration between Theatre Y and Red Tape Theatre, who are not only co-presenting a show, they're movin' in together! We're looking forward to seeing their new space, The Ready, as well as catching their new Yerma adaptation.

Theatre Y and Red Tape Theatre are proud to present Federico García Lorca’s tragic poem, Yerma, in a new adaptation by Theatre Y Ensemble Member Hector Álvarez to be played at the companies’ new shared, and recently named space, The Ready, 4546 N. Western Ave. Álvarez’s adaptation of Lorca’s play is directed by Red Tape Theatre Artistic Director Max Truax and features original music by Composer and Music Director Nicholas Tonozzi. The duo reunites for Yerma following the success of their first major partnership, Oracle Theatre’s 2013 five time Joseph Jefferson-award winning production of The Mother, which was awarded Best Ensemble, Best Production and a win for Tonozzi for Original Music in a Play. Tonozzi went on to earn two more Jeff Award nominations and one win for his collaborations with Oracle Theatre. For tickets or more information visit www.theatre-y.com.

Yerma, playing October 27 – December 10, is Theatre Y and Red Tape Theatre’s first co-production as well as the inaugural production to take place in the two companies’ new, shared space, The Ready. The space is 3,300-square feet and offers a flexible black box performance area with an audience capacity of up to 75 seats, a spacious lobby and rehearsal space for the two companies to utilize. Located in the heart of Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, The Ready is south of the Western Brown Line station. The space hosts both companies’ upcoming seasons, as well as staged readings, off-night and late night shows, classes and other programming and events for the community at large.

Yerma is the rarely produced second play of Lorca’s three rural tragedies about a woman driven to extremes by her desperate desire to have a child. Trapped in a passionless marriage with a husband who shows no interest in having children, her maternal longing becomes an obsession. Like much of Lorca’s other work, the play casts a critical eye upon what he called “the grotesque treatment of women” and the repression of female sexual desire.

In director Truax's production, the barrenness of Yerma’s marriage reduces her home to a prison, under the controlling force of the male gaze, personified by an ever-present male chorus. This is the "tragic poem" of a woman stretched between the burden of her family's honor and an all-consuming appetite she can't name or hold. With much of Lorca’s poems performed as songs with original music by Tonozzi, Theatre Y’s new immersive staging unearths the agony and anguish that propel Yerma toward her tragic fate. 


Katie Stimpson (Yerma)

Cast for Yerma includes: Héctor Álvarez (Man 2), Cody Beyer (Juan), Tanner Bradshaw (Man 1), Barbara Button (Old Pagan Woman), Adrian Garcia (Man 3), Arch Harmon (Man 5), Brendan Mulhern (Victor), Eric Roberts (Man 4), Laurie Roberts (Second Girl), Katie Sherman (Maria), Katie Stimpson (Yerma), Kris Tori (First Girl), Victoria Walters (Dolores), and Nick Wenz.

The production team for Yerma includes: Emily Altman (Scenic Painter), Héctor Álvarez (adaptor), Eric Backus (Sound Designer), Joanna Iwanicka (Set Designer), Melissa Lorraine (Costume and Makeup Designer), Morgan Massaro (Stage Manager), Taylor Ovca (Lighting Designer), Nicholas Tonozzi (Composer and Music Director), Max Truax (Director) and Ben Wardell (Choreographer).


ABOUT MAX TRUAX, Director
Max Truax serves as artistic director of Red Tape Theatre, where he has directed A Hedda Gabler and Brand.  He previously served as artistic director of Oracle Productions until 2016, where he directed No Beast So Fierce, The President, The Mother, The Sandman, Woyzeck, The Ghost Sonata and Termen Vox Machina. His production of The Mother received several Jeff Awards. Truax has been a resident director at Trap Door Theatre since 2008, where he has directed No Matter How Hard We Try, The Balcony, They Are Dying Out, Hamlet Machine, A Couple of Poor Polish-Speaking Romanians, and No Darkness Round My Stone. His production of A Couple of Poor Polish-Speaking Romanians performed at the Fun Underground Festival in Arad, Romania and at the Bagatela Theatre in Krakow, Poland. Truax studied visual art, performance art and post-modern choreography at Oberlin College and he received his MFA in Theatre Directing from California Institute of the Arts.


ABOUT NICHOLAS TONOZZI, Composer and Music Director
Nicholas Tonozzi is a composer and music director based in Chicago as well as an active singer. He was awarded the 2014 Joseph Jefferson Non-Equity Award for Original Music in a Play for his work on The Mother with Oracle Productions. He was honored with a second Jeff Award in 2015 for his original music in The Jungle also at Oracle.  He earned a second nomination in the same category that year for Oracle’s production of Circle Machine.  In 2014, Tonozzi worked as music director and composer for Trap Door Theater’s production of Regarding the Just, which enjoyed a run in Chicago before touring in and around Paris, France.  This was Tonozzi’s second show featured in Paris following in the footsteps of Trap Door’s production of Me Too, I am Catherine Deneuve.  Other credits include No Beast So Fierce, Hamlet Machine, Twelve Ophelias, and Anger/Fly.  Tonozzi, a tenor, may currently be heard singing as a cantor, chorister and soloist with the Schola Cantorum Cathedralis of Holy Name Cathedral.  Tonozzi returned to the Ravinia Festival in 2017 for their Lord of the Rings movie/concert series.