LTC to Present 2015 Carnaval of New Latina/o Work This Summer

The Latina/o Theatre Commons (LTC), in collaboration with Emerson College's HowlRound, a commons by and for people who make performance, announces the 2015 Carnaval of New Latina/o Work (Carnaval 2015) showcasing 12 new works by Latina/o playwrights from across the U.S., July 23-25, 2015 in Chicago. Eight plays are presented in readings and four others will be made available via scripts for all attendees. Carnaval 2015 is produced in association with Teatro Vista and the Chicago Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists (ALTA) and is hosted by The Theatre School at DePaul University, 2350 N. Racine. All Carnaval 2015 events are free and open to the public, however reservations are required. For more information and to RSVP visit www.LatinaoTheatreCommons.com and visit www.CafeOnda.com, the online journal of the LTC, for additional updates.

"In the last decade, the national theatre community has lost several organizations that served as connectors to one another and to the field at large for Latina/o writers, directors, actors and dramaturgs," said Lisa Portes, head of MFA Directing at The Theatre School, DePaul University and Chair of the LTC Carnaval Task Force. "Carnaval 2015 goes well beyond filling that void. Since it is an artist-led endeavor, Carnaval can champion the cultural and aesthetic diversity of our work and create a vibrant dialogue about the many-faceted experience that is Latinidad in the twenty-first century."

The plays were selected from nearly 100 submissions nation wide for their excellence, thematic diversity, and craft, by a panel composed of theatre professionals and academics. Playwrights presenting new works at Carnaval 2015 include Mando Alvarado (Los Angeles, CA), Georgina Escobar (New York, NY), Magdalena Gómez (Springfrield, MA), Matthew Paul Olmos (New York, NY), Milta Ortiz (Tucson, AZ), Emilio Rodriguez (Detroit, MI), Octavio Solis (San Francisco, CA) and Marisela Treviño Orta (San Francisco, CA). In addition, 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).

Carnaval 2015 is the third in a series of national events hosted by the LTC and HowlRound. In 2012, the LTC was created when eight Latina/o theatre practitioners met and mapped out three national events 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. 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 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 USA in over twenty-five years and was hosted by the Los Angeles Theatre Center in Los Angeles, CA. Through these events and the events to come, the LTC will cultivate a dynamic, productive dialogue that can continue beyond Carnaval 2015 and see the goals of the project fully realized through an increase of production of plays by Latina/o playwrights in the USA.

"The collaboration between HowlRound and LTC is incredibly important", said Director of HowlRound Polly Carl. "Carnaval 2015 marks the third national event produced by the LTC since the initial meeting in May 2012. This collective of dynamic and innovative artists has changed the landscape of the American Theatre using commons-based practice as their organizing principle."

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.

The new works presented at Carnaval 2015 include:

"Parachute Men" - Mando Alvarado (Los Angeles, CA)

"Sweep" - Georgina Escobar (New York, NY)

"Perfectamente Loca/Perfectly Insane"- Magdalena Gómez (New York, NY)

"the livin' life of the daughter mira" - Matthew Paul Olmos (New York, NY)

" Más" - Milta Ortiz (Tucson, AZ)

"Swimming While Drowning" - Emilio Rodriguez (Detroit, MI)

"Mother Road" - Octavio Solis (San Francisco, CA)

"Wolf at the Door" - Marisela Treviño Orta (San Francisco, CA).

New works distributed include:

"Satyricoño" - Migdalia Cruz (New York, NY),

"APPEAL - The New American Musical of Mexican Descent"- Amparo Garcia-Crow (Austin, TX)

"Siempre Norteada: Always Late, Always Lost" - Virginia Grise (New York, NY)

"The Sweetheart Deal" - Diane Rodriguez (Los Angeles, CA)

The Latina/o Theatre Commons (LTC), in collaboration with Emerson College's HowlRound, announces the Carnaval of New Latina/o Work (Carnaval 2015) showcasing twelve new works by Latina/o playwrights, July 23-25, 2015 in Chicago. Carnaval 2015 is produced in association with Teatro Vista and the Chicago Alliance of Latino Theatre Artists (ALTA) and is hosted by The Theatre School at DePaul University, 2350 N. Racine. All Carnaval 2015 events are free and open to the public however reservations are required. For more information and to RSVP visit www.LatinaoTheatreCommons.com and visit www.CafeOnda.com, the online journal of the LTC, for additional updates.

The Latina/o Theatre Commons operates as a collaborative initiative with HowlRound, a commons by and for people who make performance, housed at Emerson College. HowlRound, through Emerson College, acts as fiscal sponsor for the LTC, and provides infrastructure and mentorship to support our growth. In our actions, the LTC espouses the philosophical methods of HowlRound, and works to promote a commons-based approach to update the narrative of the American Theatre through advocacy, artmaking, convening, and scholarship.

HowlRound, located in the Office of the Arts at Emerson College, designs and develops online communication platforms and in-person gatherings that promote access, participation, organizational collaboration, field-wide research, and new teaching practices to illuminate the breadth, diversity, and impact of a commons-based approach to performance practice. For more information, visit www.HowlRound.com.

Pictured: LTC Steering Committee member José Luis Valenzuela, Artistic Director of the Latino Theater Company and the Los Angeles Theatre Center, explains his vision for Encuentro 2014.

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