Old Globe Annouces Cast/Creative for WELCOME TO ARROYO'S

 

Executive Producer Lou Spisto today announced the cast and creative team for the West Coast Premiere of Kristoffer Diaz's Welcome to Arroyo's.  Directed by Jaime Castañeda, the hip hop-infused play will run in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre Sept. 25 - Oct. 31.  Previews run Sept. 25 - Sept. 29.  Opening night is Thursday, Sept. 30 at 7:00 p.m.  Welcome to Arroyo's will also be performed at Lincoln High School Center for the Arts Nov. 6 and 7 as part of the Globe's Southeastern San Diego Residency Project. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the Box Office.
 
In Welcome to Arroyo's, a Greek chorus of two hip hop DJs spin the tale of a brother and sister's search for their respective places in the world after the death of their mother.  Alejandro is desperate to make Arroyo's the hottest lounge in New York to honor the memory of his mother, while Molly's desire to make her "mark" as a talented graffiti artist is at odds with her new infatuation with a rookie cop.  Their struggle to move forward is made even more uncertain as they discover what might be a secret about their mother that could change the very foundation of their lives and, possibly, the history of hip hop music. 
 
The cast of Welcome to Arroyo's features Wade Allain-Marcus (Trip Goldstein), Tala Ashe (Lelly Santiago), Byron Bronson (Officer Derek), Andres Munar (Alejandro Arroyo), GQ (Nelson Cardenal) and Amirah Vann (Amalia Arroyo).
 
The creative team includes Takeshi Kata (Scenic Design), Charlotte Devaux (Costume Design), Matthew Richards (Lighting Design), Paul Peterson (Sound Design), Shammy Dee (Musical Direction), Aaron Rhyne (Projection Design) and Elizabeth Lohr (Stage Manager).
 
Welcome to Arroyo's is part of the Globe's second year of artistic programs in southeastern San Diego supported by a three-year grant from the James Irvine Foundation's Artistic Innovation Fund.  The grant enabled the Globe to initiate its Southeastern San Diego Residency Project in 2009 with a production of the hip-hop musical, Kingdom, presented at Lincoln High School Center for the Arts with a limited run at The Old Globe, in addition to a weeklong series of workshops in classrooms and in the community for students and hip-hop artists.
 
"Finding socially conscious writers with talent and a unique voice that will reach our community is central to the mission of our Southeastern San Diego Residency Project," said Executive Producer Lou Spisto.  "Kristoffer Diaz is an important new playwright who is achieving great success reaching audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
 
"This year, we have turned things around and will present Welcome to Arroyo's at the Globe before the production travels to Lincoln High School.  Between both venues, thousands of high school students will experience the show alongside our adult audiences.  It is my greatest wish that our collective shared experience with this play will in some way connect us with each other."
 
In addition to two free student matinees and two weekend public performances of Welcome to Arroyo's at Lincoln High School Center for the Arts, specially trained Old Globe Teaching Artists will work in the classroom to explore the art and story of the play and its social history.  Prior to seeing the performance, Lincoln High School students will explore elements of playwrighting, hip-hop poetry, monologues and scenes using activities and information found in The Old Globe's Study Guide which is provided to all teachers.  Playwright Kristoffer Diaz, director Jaime Castañeda and members of the cast and creative team will also visit the San Diego High School for the Performing Arts to discuss the play and its creation.  Two performances of Welcome to Arroyo's will also be performed at the Globe as part of the theater's Free Student Matinee program.
 
The Old Globe has also received local support for its programming efforts in southeast San Diego through grants from The Legler Benbough Foundation, The City of San Diego Community Development Block Grant Program, and The San Diego Foundation through a grant made possible by the Colonel Frank C. Wood Memorial Fund, Ariel W. Coggeshall Fund, Kanot-Lebow-Stroud Memorial Fund, and Mary E. Hield and Robert R. Hield Endowment Fund.
 
Kristoffer Diaz's full-length plays include The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist) and Welcome to Arroyo's.  His plays have been produced and developed at Second Stage, Victory Gardens, InterAct, Mixed Blood, American Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Atlantic, Teatro Vista, The Orchard Project, the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, The Lark, the Summer Play Festival, the Donmar Warehouse (London), and South Coast Repertory.  Diaz was one of the creators of Brink!, the apprentice anthology show at the 2009 Humana Festival of New American Plays.  He is a playwright-in-residence at Teatro Vista, a recipient of the Jerome Fellowship, the Future Aesthetics Artist Regrant and the Van Lier Fellowship (New Dramatists), a co-founder of The Unit Collective, and a member of the Ars Nova Play Group.  Diaz is currently working on commissions for Center Theatre Group, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Teatro Vista/The Goodman Theatre.
 
Jaime Castañeda directed the world premiere of Welcome to Arroyo's at Chicago's American Theatre Company where he is also an ensemble member.  His other credits include Red Light Winter (Perseverance Theatre), Biggest A**hole Ever Born (INTAR Theatre), Long Way Go Down (Hotink Festival, Harold Clurman Theatre Company), One for the Road (DirectorFest), Crave, Closer, Blue/Orange, Nocturne, Sonnets for an Old Century and Tapas (FireStarter Productions), Miracle Day (45 Bleecker Theatre), This is How it Goes (Amphibian Stage Productions), and Lincolnesque, A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant and Art (Circle Theatre).  He has also assistant directed productions at the Atlantic Theater Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Center Theatre Group and the recent revival of Speed the Plow on Broadway.  Castañeda is the recipient of a Drama League fall fellowship, a Princess Grace Award, and a TCG New Generations grant.
 
TICKETS to Welcome to Arroyo's can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE or by visiting the box office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.  Performances at the Old Globe Theatre begin on Sept. 25 and continue through Oct. 31.  Ticket prices range from $29 to $67.  Performance times:  Previews:  Saturday Sept 25 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 26 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 28 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7:00 p.m. Regular Performances:  Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m.  There is a Wednesday matinee on Oct. 13 at 2:00 p.m.  Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors and groups of 10 or more.
 
Welcome to Arroyo's will be performed at Lincoln High School Center for the Arts on Saturday Nov. 6 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 7 at 6:00 p.m.  Ticket prices are $15 for adults and $10 for students.  Admission for High School students is free with membership in the Globe's 75 Years / 7,500 Tickets program (visit www.TheOldGlobe/7500 for additional information).

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