Olga Sanchez News

Miracle Theatre Group, the Northwest's premier Latino arts and culture organization, has announced that the nonprofit organization was recently awarded three grants.

A literary reading celebrating and commemorating the birthday of one of America's most important poets, William Stafford, will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 at 7 p.m. at El Centro Milagro (525 SE Stark St., Portland).

MIracle Thetare Group presents ¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN! - A Celebration of the Day of the Dead, Oct. 20-Nov. 13, 2011. $15 - $30; discounts for students, seniors, groups of 15+ and advance purchases Tickets can be purchased from www.milagro.org or 503-236-7253.

Miracle Theatre Group is pleased to announce that actor CarlosAlexis Cruz has been awarded a 2011 Princess Grace Theater Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. Cruz was also selected as the 2011 recipient of the Grace le Vine Theater Award. National in scope, the Princess Grace Foundation-USA is dedicated to identifying and assisting emerging talent in theater, dance and film by awarding grants in the form of scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, announces new leadership of its board of directors and seven new members. Philip Himberg, producing artistic director of the Sundance Institute Theatre Program, will assume the position of board president. He succeeds Martha Lavey, artistic director of Steppenwolf, who concluded a two year term in June. He will be joined by returning vice president, James Bundy, artistic director, Yale Repertory Theatre and newly appointed vice president Rachel Kraft, executive director, Lookingglass Theatre Company. Roche Schulfer, executive director, Goodman Theatre will serve as treasurer and Olga Sanchez, artistic director, Miracle Theatre Group, will serve again as secretary. Lavey will remain on the board as immediate past President.

"The Inquisition of Lazarillo: Raising the Question" is a conversation series that will accompany this year's production Lazarillo.

Sold to a blind beggar as a child and then passed from one master to another - each more cruel and incompetent than the previous - young Lazarillo must pilfer and deceive to survive, and is usually punished for his pains. But like his literary successors Pinocchio or Huck Finn, the endearing Lazarillo learns to fake miracles and mouse infestations, to expose hucksters and the absurdities of the establishment, all in an attempt to elevate his position in society. Based on the first picaresque novel once banned by the Inquisition, this modern interpretation set in the Bronx of the 1980s integrates hip-hop, circus and comedia dell'arte traditions to create a vibrant evening of physical theatre. Bilingual.

La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades was a pioneering book in many ways, and not just because it was published in 1554, barely 100 years after the printing press was invented. At a time when heroes and leaders were always portrayed as wealthy, refined noblemen, Lazarillo was the first picaresque novel (picaresco) - one that revolved around a poor man, a charming rogue (pícaro) whose antics revealed the hypocrisies and flaws of Spain's most powerful people.

Miracle Theatre Group, the Northwest's premier Latino arts and culture organization, announces its 2011-2012 season featuring an exciting line-up of five productions, including the world premieres of three original, company-created works.

"The Inquisition of Lazarillo: Raising the Question" is a conversation series that will accompany this year's production Lazarillo.

La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades was a pioneering book in many ways, and not just because it was published in 1554, barely 100 years after the printing press was invented. At a time when heroes and leaders were always portrayed as wealthy, refined noblemen, Lazarillo was the first picaresque novel (picaresco) - one that revolved around a poor man, a charming rogue (pícaro) whose antics revealed the hypocrisies and flaws of Spain's most powerful people.

Three seemingly disparate stories weave together in a clever combination of science fiction and magical realism to create an eccentric environment that is as unsettling as it is irresistible. Presented in English. Written by Charise Castro Smith and directed by Olga Sanchez onstage March 25-April 16, 2011 at Milagro Theatre (525 SE Stark St., Portland).

ANA EN EL TRÓPICO (Anna in the Tropics), written by Nilo Cruz and directed by Christy Drogosch

ANA EN EL TRÓPICO (Anna in the Tropics), written by Nilo Cruz and directed by Christy Drogosch

Every fall, the dead are commemorated in a lively show of dance, music and theatre in Portland's longest-running Day of the Dead celebration.

Spanish English International School (SEIS) students in the Milagro@SEIS program will present a performance of their original short play on social justice En Voz Alta, along with original music and mural at 12:20 p.m., Thursday, June 3, 2010 in the Roosevelt High School Auditorium and then again at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the Milagro Theatre.

Spanish English International School (SEIS) students in the Milagro@SEIS program will present a performance of their original short play on social justice En Voz Alta, along with original music and mural at 12:20 p.m., Thursday, June 3, 2010 in the Roosevelt High School Auditorium and then again at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the Milagro Theatre.

EL QUIJOTE - A Miracle MainStage bilingual adaptation of a play by Santiago García - will perform May 6-29, 2010. The production, based on the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, will be directed by Olga Sanchez. The show is sponsored by Urban Robotics and the National Endowment for the Arts.