MCT to Offer Staged Reading of 500 YEARS, 5/4

True to its mission of nurturing local theatre artists, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) presents the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series staged reading of 500 YEARS, by Michelle Lopez-Rios. The playwright herself will perform the reading of this one-actor piece and her husband Alvaro Saar Rios will direct.

500 YEARS explores the memory of a 500-year-old Latina as she reflects on her life and the people she has known along the way. Among the characters we meet are a 16th-century Spanish court cook, the wife of a Mexican fighting at the Alamo, and an activist in Milwaukee. The piece incorporates song and dance, navigating the collision of Spanish, Mexican, and American cultures.

Playwright Michelle Lopez-Rios is an Associate Professor of Voice and Speech and head of the Acting program at UW-Milwaukee. She is also an actress, director and vocal coach. At Milwaukee Chamber Theatre she performed in BROOKLYN BOY, directed the Young Playwrights Festival one-act A ROSE FOR MRS. KEMP and served as dialect coach for THE TRAIN DRIVER, THE GOOD FATHER, DUET FOR ONE, PICNIC, and AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. She is a co-founder of The Royal Mexican Players and has also worked with Renaissance Theaterworks, Houston Shakespeare and Unity Theatre. She received her BFA from the University of Southern California and her MFA from the University of Houston.

"[500 YEARS] is an homage to my family, my history, and in particular the women," says Lopez-Rios. The idea for the story first started to form after Michelle's family began researching their genealogy. The unknown stories about the people and connections found on her family tree were ones she strove to tell but was unsure how. Inspiration came after witnessing her grandmother and godmother's battle against memory loss. "It affected me deeply," she explains, "I spent lots of time thinking about memory, stories, customs, and journeys. I wondered how ending up here in Wisconsin, so far from family, would affect the memories my son would have about his family. After visiting with my grandmother last year, and watching my toddler son interact with her, the character of Esperanza was born."

500 YEARS will be performed on Monday, May 4, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Skylight Bar & Bistro, located on the second level of the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. Tickets for the reading are Pay-What-You-Can at the door. Seating is first-come, first-served.

The Skylight Bar & Bistro, operated by Indulge Wine Room, will be open for dinner and refreshments starting at 5:30 pm. Dinner reservations are welcomed in advance by emailing skylight@getindulge.com or calling 414.291.3773.

This season, the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series is being sponsored by Konrad K. Kuchenbach. For more information about the staged reading, contact Milwaukee Chamber Theatre at 414.276.8842.