OLIVES AND BLOOD Opens 10/2 at Connecticut Repertory Theatre

On October 2, OLIVES AND BLOOD will open on the stage at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, making its regional theatre and Connecticut premiere. The production marks the culmination of a journey that playwright Michael Bradford began nearly a decade earlier. The play explores the mystery surrounding the unsolved murder of the Spanish poet-playwright, Federico Garcia Lorca. Lorca, a promising and polarizing young artist, was disappeared during the Spanish Revolution.

Michael Bradford, also a professor at UConn, was doing research for a course he was teaching on 20th century drama. Already familiar with the poet-playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, Bradford was captivated by the writer's poetic voice and startling mysterious murder. It began an artistic journey for Bradford that took nearly a decade to complete.

"I knew about Lorca, but as I was preparing to teach some of his plays, I was really struck by the poetic language of his writing. I began my writing career as a poet, and I write with a poetic voice, so Lorca just really grabbed me at this moment," said Bradford.

He began to write a play about Lorca, armed with only his pen. "I wrote about four pages, and realized I didn't know enough." Bradford thoroughly researched and immersed himself in the life and writing of the poet-playwright, and the details around his unsolved murder. He gave the project some time to rest. And then a little more. Bradford needed a jumpstart.

"I had about 10 pages written. I wasn't really moving on it, and then John Eisner from the LARK called me up and said 'I have you scheduled for a workshop in 2 months, and you'll be pretty embarrassed when you show up and the play isn't written.' I really have to thank John Eisner for pushing me to buckle down and write the play," said Bradford.

Afterwards, Bradford received a Fulbright Scholarship and was able to spend time in Granada, Spain. The time he spent in Spain helped to influence the atmosphere of the play. It was then, after the play was complete that he had the opportunity to meet Lorca's neice, Laura Garcia-Lorca, and talk with her about the play. "It was an emotional experience for me. Being able to share with her what I knew of her family, and that I had written this play about her uncle. It was incredible."

OLIVES AND BLOOD received its premiere in 2012 at HERE in New York City. In the fall of 2013 it was presented at Brixton East in London, England. The reviews for the play were positive. The production at Connecticut Repertory Theatre marks the first regional theatre production of the play.

Bradford began his life in the theatre as a second career. He grew up in rural Kansas, and attended a play while stationed in Seattle during a 10 year career in the Navy. Bradford was captivated, and the experience propelled him to follow his passion and begin writing plays. He quickly experienced success and began to establish himself as a promising new playwright. His play LIVING IN THE WIND, is the tale of a slave couple separated by their master on the eve of their wedding, and suddenly reunited after Emancipation. The play premiered Off-Broadway at the American Place Theatre, receiving over ten AUDELCO award nominations. Bradford, makes his home in New London, and writes and teaches drama at the University of Connecticut.

OLIVES AND BLOOD is different than many of Bradford's previous plays. An African American writer, Bradford has found success in plays focused on aspects of the African-American experience. His play, FATHERS AND SONS, a heartfelt drama about the estrangement of fathers and sons through generations of African-American men and their potential reconciliation, received its world premiere at ACT in Seattle, WA. WILLY'S CUT AND SHINE, is the story of five men that witness a murder outside a barbershop in 1950s Georgia and their struggle to speak the truth in the face of their experiences. The play was first staged at the Lark Theatre in NYC.

"Even my agent asked me about [OLIVES AND BLOOD] when I first started writing about it. When I was in Spain, at the University of Granada, people looked at me like 'What are you doing writing about Lorca? First of all, you're not a Spaniard. Second of all you're black.' The African-American experience is my cultural experience, and I enjoy writing about that. At the end of the day I'm a human being. At the end of the day my life is bigger than the color of my skin. It may be outside my cultural sphere, but if you take your time to immerse yourself in that world, then you can write that," said Bradford.

Olives and Blood tells the story of Juan Luis Trescante, an aging fascist that is called before a judiciary tribunal to testify about his involvement in the murder of Spanish poet-playwright Federico Garcia Lorca. 40 years after Lorca's unsolved death, the aging fascist, Trescante, fights to hold onto the myth of an execution that has defined his life but failed to silence the great poet. Moving in time and space between the 1930s and 1970s, Bradford explores the last days of the talented poet, and the political and social motivations that attempted to silence his voice. Olives and Blood investigates the repression of the artist in times of political upheaval and the power of a poetic voice that resonates beyond the confines of the flesh.

"I teach theatre history and I like Aristotle's adage that the poet is more important to the life of the community than the historian. If you don't have any idea about Lorca, when you leave I think you know how he approached his work and why his work is important," said Bradford.

The cast will features Equity actors Martín Solá (Broadway's The King and I, La Boheme and Coram Boy), Nicholas Urda as Lorca, Anita Petry as Margarite/The Actress, Anthony J. Goes as Alonso/Ignacio, and Dale AJ Rose as Eduardo. The cast also includes Saul Alvarez, Whitney Andrews, Gabriel Aprea, Kent Coleman, and Derrick Holmes.

Preview performance is October 2, 2014. Opening night is Friday October 3, performances continue through October 12, 2014 onstage at the Nafe Katter Theatre on the campus of UConn in Storrs, CT. Tickets are available online at crt.uconn.edu or via phone at 860-486-2113. Subscriptions for the entire 2014-15 season are still available.