LTC's CARNAVAL 2015 Latina/o New Works Festival Runs This Weekend

The Latina/o Theatre Commons (LTC) proudly welcomes powerhouse directors paired with eight playwrights for the groundbreaking Carnaval 2015-a theatre festival of New Latina/o work at The Theatre School at DePaul University, 2350 N. Racine, Chicago, this weekend, July 23-25.

Carnaval 2015 features an opening ceremony, eight World Premiere readings and distribution of four additional plays. Six of the eight selected directors have professional roots in the Chicago area and are well known in the region. LTC, in collaboration with Emerson College's HowlRound, a commons by and for people who make performance, is producing Carnaval 2015 in association with Teatro Vista and the Chicago Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists (ALTA). Sprearheaded by The Theatre School's Lisa Portes,Carnaval 2015 endeavors to increase the visibility of work by Latina/o playwrights and to encourage the production of that work in the nation's theatres.

Events are free and open to the public however registration is required by visiting www.LatinaoTheatreCommons.com.

Portes, the Head of MFA Directing at The Theatre School and a LTC Steering Committee Member, is the force behind the idea for Carnaval 2015. Portes strongly advocates for "a hub for Latina/o theatre artists," and sees Carnaval 2015 as a "defining step in creating a pipeline for important Latina/o plays that will expand the voices within the American Theatre."

"We are very pleased to bring Carnaval to life in Chicago to celebrate such bold and exceptional artists," Portes said. "The selected directors are some of the most exciting theatre practitioners directing today. Collectively, they represent a wealth of cultural and theatrical experiences unmatched in the field. Carnaval's inspired pairing of powerful Latina/o playwrights with extraordinary Latina/o directors promises to deliver the theatre festival event of 2015."

In addition to the readings, new works will be distributed by Migdalia Cruz (New York, NY),Amparo Garcia-Crow (Austin, TX), Virginia Grise (New York, NY) and Diane Rodriguez (Los Angeles, CA). The 12 plays were selected from nearly 100 submissions nationwide for their excellence, thematic diversity, and craft, by a panel composed of theatre professionals and academics.

Carnaval 2015 is the third in a series of national events hosted by the LTC and HowlRound, to provide opportunities for local and national theatre artists, leaders and scholars to create new partnerships between small and large institutions in celebration of the diverse voices of the New American Theatre. The 2013 LTC National Convening, hosted by HowlRound at Emerson College in Boston, MA was the first large scale gathering of Latina/o theatre practitioners since 1986. The 2014 LTC National Convening at Encuentro 2014 brought together over 300 artists, scholars, advocates, and administrators to the largest Latina/o Theatre Festival in the U.S. in over 25 years and was hosted by the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles, CA. In addition to these national events, Café Onda, the online journal of the LTC, was created as a space to foster ongoing national dialogue around Latina/o theatremaking.

The Carnaval 2015 National Advisory Board includes: David Adjmi, Kia Corthron, Nilo Cruz, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Naomi Iizuka, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Lynn Nottage, Robert O'Hara, José Rivera, Sarah Ruhl, Paula Vogel, and Chay Yew.

CARNAVAL 2015: PLAYWRIGHTS/DIRECTORS

"Parachute Men"

by Mando Alvarado (Los Angeles, CA)

directed by RICARDO GUTIERREZ (Chicago)

Guiterez (actor/director) is the current Executive Artistic Director of Teatro Vista. Most recently he directed the World Premiere of Between You, Me, and the Lampshade by Raul Castillo. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists Chicago (ALTA)-a service organization dedicated to promoting and fostering Latina/o artists in Chicago. As an actor, Gutierrez most recently appeared in Goodman Theatre's World Premiere productions of Songs for the Disappeared and Fish Men.

"Sweep"

by Georgina Escobar (New York, NY)

directed by HENRY GODINEZ (Chicago)

Godinez is a Resident Artistic Associate at Goodman Theatre, where he has served as director of The Latino Theatre Festival. Most recently Godinez directed the World Premiere production of Elaine Romero's A Work of Art at Chicago Dramatists. In the fall, he will direct the World Premiere of Charise Castro Smith's Feathers and Teeth at the Goodman Theatre. Godinez is the recipient of the 1999 TCG Alan Schneider Directing Award.

"Perfectamente Loca/Perfectly Insane"

by Magdalena Gomez (Springfield, MA)

directed by MARCELA MUÑOZ (Chicago)

Gomez (director/actor/translator/educator) is Co-Artistic Director and Managing Director of Aguijon Theater Company where she has directed Yerma, The House of Bernarda Alba, Blood Wedding, Johnny Tenorio, Perversions, Even a Sparrow Leaves Its Nest, Antigone,and La Chunga. She has also directed for Goodman Theatre, Teatro Vista, and Teatro Luna.

"the living'life of the daughter mira"

by Matthew Paul Olmos (New York, NY)

directed by CARLOS MURILLO (Chicago)

Murillo is a Chicago-based playwright and director. His play trilogy, The Javier Playswhich includeDiagram of a Paper Airplane, A Thick Description of Harry Smith, and Your Name Will Follow You Home will be published this fall by 53rd State Press. Murillo's plays have been seen throughout the U.S. and Europe. He has directed work at Goodman Theatre, Walkabout Theatre, and the Theatre School at DePaul University. Murillo currently heads the BFA Playwriting Program at The Theatre School at DePaul University.

"Mas"

by Milta Ortiz ((Tucson, AZ)

directed by TLALOC RIVAS (Iowa City, Iowa)

Rivas (director/playwright) recently directed his play Johanna: Facing Forward at the Cleveland Public Theatre and Karen Zacarias' Mariela in the Desert at Aurora Theater Company and Los Angeles Theatre Center. Other recent credits include: The New World at the Shakespeare Theatre Festival in St. Louis, Luck of the Irish, and Water by the Spoonful at the University of Iowa. Rivas is a professor of Theatre at the University of Iowa and is the recipient of the Sir John Gielgud Fellowship in Classical Directing.

"Swimming While Drowning"

By Emilio Rodriguez (Detroit, MI)

directed by ALEXANDRA MEDA (Chicago)

Meda is the Executive Producing Director for Teatro Luna: America's All Latina Theatre Company. She has directed performances in over twenty-five cities across the U.S. and overseas. Most recently she directed the World Premiere of Generation Sex at the Los Angeles Theatre Center as well as the West Coast Premiere of Your Problem With Men by Emilio Williams. She is the recent recipient of a Mellon Artistic Leadership Fellowship.

"Wolf at the Door"

by Marisela Trevino Orta (San Francisco, CA)

directed by LISA PORTES (Chicago)

Portes is a director of new American work and has directed locally and nationally at such theatres as Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theatre, South Coast Rep, McCarter Theatre, Soho Rep, Playwrights Horizons, Silk Road Rising, Teatro Vista, Next Theatre, American Blues Theatre, and Timeline Theatre Company. She heads the Directing program at The Theatre School at DePaul University and serves as Artistic Director for Chicago Playworks for Young Audiences.

"Mother Road"

by Octavio Solis (San Francisco, CA)

directed by JULIETTE CARRILLO (Los Angeles, CA)

Carrillo (director/filmmaker) is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. She has directed critically-acclaimed productions at regional theatres across the country that include: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Denver Theatre Center, and Seattle Repertory Theatre. As a member of the Cornerstone Theatre ensemble she has developed work for and with various communities across the state of California. Carrillo was an Artistic Associate and Director of the Hispanic Playwright's Project at South Coast Repertory for seven years.

CARNAVAL 2015: SCHEDULE:

Carnaval 2015 Opening Ceremonies

Thursday July 23, 2015

10-11:30am

Theatre School at DePaul University

Thursday, July 23, 2015 @ 11:30am

Matthew Paul Olmos-"the living'life of the daughter mira"

Directed by Carlos Murillo

Thursday, July 23, 2015 @ 2:30pm

Magdalena Gomez - "Perfectamente Loca"

Directed by Marcela Muñoz

Thursday, July 23, 2015 @ 5:00pm

Mando Alvarado - "Parachute Men"

Directed by Ricardo Gutierrez

Friday, July 24, 2015 @ 11:30am

Marisela Treviño Orta-"Wolf at the Door"

Directed by Lisa Portes

Friday, July 24, 2015 @ 2:30pm

Emilio Rodriguez-"Swimming While Drowning"

Directed by Alex Meda

Friday, July 24, 2015 @ 5:00pm

Milta Ortiz-"Más"

Directed by Tlaloc Rivas

Saturday, July 25, 2015 @ 11:30am

Georgina Escobar-"Sweep"

Directed by Henry Godinez

Saturday, July 25, 2015 @ 5:00pm

Octavio Solis-"Mother Road"

Directed by Juliette Carrillo

Carnaval 2015:REGISTRATION

All Carnaval 2015 events are free and open to the public, however registration is required. For more information and to register visit www.LatinaoTheatreCommons.com. For additional updates visit www.CafeOnda.com, the online journal of the LTC.