Teatro Paraguas Presents UNDER ONE UMBRELLA FESTIVAL to Celebrate Diversity Among Populations and Artists

Teatro Paraguas, northern New Mexico's premier multi-lingual theatre, celebrates its ten-year anniversary with the UNDER ONE UMBRELLA FESTIVAL, inviting the diverse populations, artists and community groups of Santa Fe to develop and share their creative expressions.

The festival begins with Opening the Umbrella workshops at Capital High School on Saturday, November 16 starting at 11 am. These workshops are for people of all levels of theater experience. They are:

Manifesting Story: from idea to text with local playwright Shebana Coelho (11-1pm)

We The Griot: Storytelling and Performance in the Age of Hip Hop with Daniel Banks, director and editor of Say Word! Voices from Hip Hop Theatre. (1-4pm)

Improv with Nicole Phelps, director of Paraguas' recent acclaimed production, In the Time of Butterflies (1:30-3:30 pm)

Monologues (4-6pm) with local actors Cristina Vigil (Maria Teresa in In the Time of the Butterflies) and Jonathan Harrell (Victor Manuel inTwo Sisters and a Piano)

A $5 registration fee covers one or all workshops. Register: underonembrellafestival@gmail.com

Participants from the Opening the Umbrella workshops will showcase their work at the main UNDER ONE UMBRELLA FESTIVAL the following weekend.

The festival weekend opens on Friday, November 22 at 7 pm at Teatro Paraguas with an evening of Recuerdos Vivos New Mexico, Living Memories, featuring a Share Your Recuerdos open mic and a preview and fundraiser of When the Stars Trembled in Río Puerco.This oral history play is based on the work of celebrated folk historian Nasario Garcia, and adapted and directed by Shebana Coelho. The play makes vivid recuerdos of life in four now ghosts towns south of Cuba, New Mexico. The preview will feature select scenes from the play, a Community Dialogue with Nasario García and the cast, and an invitation to join the crowd-funding campaign to support a full production next spring at Teatro Paraguas. www.recuerdosvivosnewmexico.com

The UNDER ONE UMBRELLA FESTIVAL continues on Saturday, November 23 with events all day at Teatro Paraguas including: Community Arts Sharing showcase, Un Cafecito with the Teatro Paraguas Artists, Community Conversation, Community Groups Information Exchange, Community Arts Sharing (1pm to 3:30 pm, 4:30 to 5:30pm).

At 1 pm, a Community Arts Sharing on the main stage showcases creative expressions - a poem, a manifesto, a song, or a scene - from a diverse group of community and artistic organizations and individuals. Groups who wish to participate should submit a "creative expression" pitch by November 20 to underoneumbrellafestival@gmail.com

Un Cafecito with the Teatro Paraguas Artists (1pm to 3:30 pm, 4:30 to 5:30pm)

Beginning at 1 pm, these informal conversations will give audiences an opportunity to speak informally to Paraguas artists about production, performance and staging. Artists scheduled include: Nasarío Garcia, celebrated New Mexico folk historian and author; Caridad Svich, (via Skype) 2012 Obie Award Winner for Lifetime Achievement, playwright, In the Time of Butterflies (TP production 2013); Joey Chavez, Theatre Department Chair, New Mexico School for the Arts and playwright, Manhattan Glass (TP production, 2011); and Robert Benjamin, playwright, Parted Waters, Salt & Pepper (TP productions, 2010 and 2013).

Community Conversation (3:30pm to 4:30pm)

The festival's core event, the Community Conversation, is an informal town-hall style meeting to help shape community participation in Paraguas next ten years.

Throughout the day, Paraguas will host a Community Groups Information Exchange. Local groups are invited to set up their own tables to display information about their programs. To reserve a space, email underoneumbrellafestival@gmail.com.

The UNDER ONE UMBRELLA FESTIVAL will conclude on Sunday, 24 November with a reading of Cascarones (at 5 pm) by Irma Mayorga, directed by Daniel Banks. Texas teenager Mary-Margaret Caceres works for the transit authority giving people bus route directions and attempts to understand the mapping of her community and city. As she navigates the daily challenges her working class family faces, in a dreamlike state she encounters John Wesley Powell, Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, and the other men whose actions in the past influence her present.

Teatro Paraguas Studio is located at 3205 Calle Marie, Santa Fe.

For more information about the festival and Teatro Paraguas, visit www.teatroparaguas.org