WaterTower Theatre Announces David Lozano to Direct NATIVE GARDENS

WaterTower Theatre Artistic Director Joanie Schultz today announced the appointment of David Lozano to direct Native Gardens by Karen Zacárias. Mr. Lozano, Executive Artistic Director of Dallas' Cara Mía Theatre Co., will be making his directorial debut at WTT with Native Gardens.

René Moreno was previously scheduled to direct Native Gardens; however, he had to withdraw for personal reasons. Mr. Moreno expressed his regret and said, "I was very much looking forward to returning to WaterTower this season to direct Native Gardens, but alas life and scheduling got in the way. I am very happy for my friend and colleague David Lozano to be joining the team and I wish him and WTT the very best on this production. I look forward to seeing the show!"

Mr. Lozano's extensive resume, and commitment to telling relevant and impactful stories from a Latino perspective, made him the perfect choice to take on this production.

David said, "I'm looking forward to directing at WaterTower, and am very appreciative of Joanie for inviting me. I've devoted the majority of my career to creating and producing theatre for the North Texas Latino community, and I think Native Gardens is a perfect play for diverse audiences to tackle challenging issues regarding race, class, what is means to be American, or a foreigner, or even feel like a foreigner in your land. To me, this production of Native Gardens is a perfect opportunity to bridge Latinos into the mainstream North Texas community for an intense discussion on equity and inclusion in our theatres and our communities as a whole."

Gardens and cultures clash, turning friendly neighbors into feuding enemies in this funny Regional Premiere, written by Karen Zacárias, one of the most prominent Latina playwrights working today. Pablo, a high-poweRed Lawyer, and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, are realizing the American dream when they purchase a house next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank. But a disagreement over a longstanding fence line soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege and entitlement. The hilarious results guarantee no one comes out smelling like a rose.

To Buy Tickets: Online: www.watertowertheatre.org, By Phone: 972.450.6232, Or In-person: WaterTower Theatre at the Addison Theatre Centre
15650 Addison Road, Addison, TX 75001

David Lozano serves as the Executive Artistic Director of Cara Mía Theatre Co. and specializes in writing, directing and producing original bilingual plays for the Latino community in North Texas. Notable mainstage productions include To DIE:GO in Leaves, by Frida Kahlo (devised by Cara Mía's artistic ensemble), Nuestra Pastorela (co-written with Jeffry Farrell), and The Dreamers: A Bloodline (devised by Cara Mía). The Dreamers: A Bloodline, the first in a trilogy on immigration, was awarded the TACA Donna Wilhelm Family New Works Fund in the grant's inaugural year in 2012 and was named the "Best New Play of 2013 by Local Writers" byTheaterJones. David recently co-wrote and directed Deferred Action, the second installment of the trilogy with Lee Trull for a Cara Mía co-production with the Dallas Theater Center in April 2016. Deferred Action was also the recipient of the TACA Donna Wilhelm Family New Works Fund. In 2009, David co-wrote and directed the play Crystal City 1969 with Raul Treviño which was named the "Best New Play of 2009" by The Dallas Morning News, TheaterJones and the Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum. Notable children's and educational plays written by Lozano include Searching for the Six Flags of Texas and The Wisdom of Viejo Antonio which travel to North Texas schools, Texas museums and area cultural centers. Lozano recently completed the inaugural artEquity Facilitator Training Program at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015, and currently serves as advisory member of the national Latina/o Theatre Commons' Steering Committee. In March of 2013, Lozano accompanied a delegation of 20 US theatre artists to Cuba with the Theatre Communications Group. In 2014, he was recognized by The Dallas Observer as one of six "Masterminds of Arts & Culture". Lozano was trained by Fred Curchack from the University of Texas at Dallas, Alicia Martínez Álvarez with the Laboratorio de la Máscara in Mexico City, Jeffry Farrell at Park Cities Yoga, Joan Schirle from Dell'Arte International in Blue Lake, California, and at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Lozano has studied with various directors and master teachers from Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, France, Senegal, Spain, and the United States.

About Joanie Schultz

Joanie Schultz was recently appointed as Artistic Director of WaterTower Theatre, and has been serving in the position since January 1st, 2017. Before joining WaterTower Theatre, Joanie served as Associate Artistic Producer at Victory Gardens Theater, as part of the Leadership U One-on-One Fellowship funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation administered through TCG, the national non-profit regional theatre service organization. She is also a freelance director, with recent productions at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Studio Theatre (Washington D.C.), The Cleveland Play House, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and Victory Gardens Theater. She was a Drama League Fellow, The Goodman Theatre Michael Maggio Director Fellow; the SDSF Denham Fellow; and Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab participant. She is an ensemble member at Steep Theatre, Artistic Associate at Victory Gardens Theater, and artistic cabinet member at Studio Theatre in Washington, DC. Joanie has also served on faculty at Columbia College and University of Chicago. She received her B.A. in Theatre/Directing at Columbia College and her M.F.A. in Theatre Directing from Northwestern University.

About WaterTower Theatre:

WaterTower Theatre, celebrating its 20th Anniversary Season, is one of the leading regional theatres in North Dallas and Texas. It is consistently recognized for its artistic excellence by the Dallas Theatre League, DFW Theatre Critics Forum, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. WaterTower Theatre has a subscription base of more than 2,000 subscribers and serves an audience of over 22,000 patrons annually. WaterTower Theatre is led by Artistic Director Joanie Schultz and Managing Director Gregory Patterson.

WaterTower Theatre is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization as designate by the IRS. Like all arts organizations, WaterTower Theatre relies on both ticket income and donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, organization and government to produce world-class live professional theatre and offer community outreach and arts education programs. WaterTower Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of The Town of Addison, TACA, Texas Commission on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Shubert Foundation. WaterTower Theatre is supported, in part, through the generosity of corporate, foundation and individual donors such as Atmos Energy, The Canterbury Family, Don and Barbara Daseke, Ben Fischer and Laree Hulshoff, FastSigns Carrollton, Paul and Norma Shultz, Frost Bank, Liberty Capital Bank, Mary Kay Inc., Janiece and Jimmy Niemann, Nissan Foundation, Pinnacle, Rainmaker Advertising, Slalom Consulting, Table 13, The Civic League, The President's Circle, WTT 2.0: Securing our Future, the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors, The Corporate Council, and Women of WaterTower Theatre.

 

---

Join Team BroadwayWorld

Are you an avid theatergoer? We're looking for people like you to share your thoughts and insights with our readers. Team BroadwayWorld members get access to shows to review, conduct interviews with artists, and the opportunity to meet and network with fellow theatre lovers and arts workers.

Interested? Learn more here.

---