WaterTower Theatre Announces Casting and Creative Details for NATIVE GARDENS

By: May. 02, 2017
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WaterTower Theatre Artistic Director Joanie Schultz today announced casting and creative team details for the Regional Premiere of Karen Zacarías' Native Gardens, directed by David Lozano. Native Gardens will run June 2-25, 2017, in the Canterbury Family Main Stage at the Addison Theatre Centre. The cast features Stephanie Cleghorn Jasso as Tania Del Valle, Ivan Jasso as Pablo Del Valle, Lois Sonnier hart as Virginia Butley, and John S. Davies as Frank Butley.

Making their WaterTower Theatre debuts in Native Gardens will be Ivan Jasso and Stephanie Cleghorn Jasso, and David Lozano as Director.

Gardens and cultures clash, turning friendly neighbors into feuding enemies in this funny Regional Premiere written by Karen Zacarías, one of the most prominent Latina playwrights working today. Pablo, a high-poweRed Lawyer, and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, are realizing the American dream when they purchase a house next door to community stalwarts Virginia and Frank. But a disagreement over a longstanding fence line soon spirals into an all-out war of taste, class, privilege, and entitlement. The hilarious results guarantee no one comes out smelling like a rose.

Individual tickets to Native Gardens are on sale now, and are available by calling the WaterTower Theatre Box Office at 972.450.6232 or online at www.watertowertheatre.org/tickets.aspx.

The creative team, in addition to Director David Lozano, includes Clare Floyd DeVries (Set Designer), Dan Schoedel (Lighting Designer), Kellen Voss (Sound Designer), Bradley Gray (Properties Designer), Kyle Eric Bradford (Dramaturg), Caron Gitelman Grant (Stage Manager), and Hillary Collazo Abbott (Assistant Stage Manager).

Performance details:

In the Canterbury Family Main Stage at

The Addison Theatre Centre

Show Run Dates: June 2 - 25, 2017

Preview dates: Friday, June 2 and Saturday, June 3 at 8pm &

Pay-What-You-Can, Sunday, June 4 at 2pm

Opening night: Monday, June 5 at 7:30pm

Performances:

Wednesdays & Thursdays: 7:30 p.m.

Fridays: 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays: 8:00 p.m. (& 2:00 pm June 17 and 24)

Sundays: 2:00 p.m.

Ticket Prices:

Single Tickets: $22 - $40 per show

Preview Tickets: $20

How/Where to Buy Tickets:

Online: www.watertowertheatre.org

By Phone: 972.450.6232

Or In-person: WaterTower Theatre at the Addison Theatre Centre
15650 Addison Road, Addison, TX 75001

Fax: 972.450.6244
Email: boxoffice@watertowertheatre.org

Box Office Hours

Performance Weeks:
Tuesday-Saturday Noon-6 p.m.
Closed Sunday-Monday

Non-Performance Weeks:
Tuesday-Friday Noon-6 p.m.
Closed Saturday-Monday

Please note: The Box Office opens one hour before show time on performance days and remains open through intermission.

About the Director:

DAVID LOZANO, Director

Lozano serves as the Executive Artistic Director of Cara Mía Theatre Co. and specializes in writing, directing, and producing original bilingual plays for the Latino community in North Texas. Notable main stage productions include To DIE:GO in Leaves, by Frida Kahlo (devised by Cara Mía's artistic ensemble), Nuestra Pastorela (co-written with Jeffrey Farrell), and The Dreamers: A Bloodline (devised by Cara Mía). The Dreamers: A Bloodline, the first in a trilogy on immigration, was awarded the TACA Donna Wilhelm Family New Works Fund in the grant's inaugural year in 2012 and was named the "Best New Play of 2013 by Local Writers" by TheaterJones. David recently co-wrote and directed Deferred Action, the second installment of the trilogy with Lee Trull for a Cara Mía co-production with the Dallas Theater Center in April 2016. Deferred Action was also the recipient of the TACA Donna Wilhelm Family New Works Fund. In 2009, David co-wrote and directed the play Crystal City 1969 with Raul Treviño which was named the "Best New Play of 2009" by The Dallas Morning News, TheaterJones and the Dallas-Fort Worth Theatre Critics' Forum. Notable children's and educational plays written by Lozano include Searching for the Six Flags of Texas and The Wisdom of Viejo Antonio which travel to North Texas schools, Texas museums, and area cultural centers. Lozano recently completed the inaugural artEquity Facilitator Training Program at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015, and currently serves as advisory member of the national Latina/o Theatre Commons' Steering Committee. In March of 2013, Lozano accompanied a delegation of 20 US theatre artists to Cuba with the Theatre Communications Group. In 2014, he was recognized by The Dallas Observer as one of six "Masterminds of Arts & Culture". Lozano was trained by Fred Curchack from the University of Texas at Dallas, Alicia Martínez Álvarez with the Laboratorio de la Máscara in Mexico City, Jeffry Farrell at Park Cities Yoga, Joan Schirle from Dell'Arte International in Blue Lake, California, and at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Lozano has studied with various directors and master teachers from Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, France, Senegal, Spain, and the United States.

About the Cast:

John S. Davies, Frank Butley

John's 30-year career as an actor, director, teacher, and occasional writer encompasses film: RoboCop, Magnolia; television: Prison Break, Friday Night Lights; and more than 60 appearances on local stages. Other WaterTower Theatre Credits include The Big Meal and Outside Mullingar. Most recently John has been seen in A Stain Upon the Silence (Kitchen Dog Theater) and the world premiere of Deer by Aaron Mark (Stage West). Before that, he played Sycamore Holes in the world premiere of Oil at Theatre Three and Gunner Concannon in The Outgoing Tide for One Thirty Productions, both directed by Marty Van Kleeck. His solo show Oh Jesus!, or An Actor, a Cynic, and a Savior Walk into a Bar premiered at the 2016 Out of the Loop Fringe Festival where it was selected as "Best of Loop." Mr. Davies has directed for Circle Theatre, Shakespeare Dallas, and off-off-Broadway for the Storm Theater. He teaches acting and related arts at KD Conservatory and at STAGE.

Lois Sonnier hart, Virginia Butley

Lois is honored to be back at WaterTower Theatre this summer, having appeared in last season's The Big Meal (DFW Critics Forum, Outstanding Ensemble) directed by Emily Scott Banks. Lois has been seen over the years on many stages across DFW including Uptown Players (as Ida Straus in Titanic), numerous shows at Lyric Stage, Circle Theatre, and Casa Mañana, as well as Theatre Three and Stage West. Following Native Gardens, Lois will play Abby Binder in Ripcord at Circle Theatre, directed by Robin Armstrong. Regional Theatre credits include Baby: 20th Anniversary Production (Paper Mill Playhouse), Theater of the Stars, and Dallas Summer Musicals. Off Broadway/NYC : The York Theatre, 37 Arts (NYMF), Abingdon Theatre (Midtown Festival), APAC. National Tours of The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, and Fiddler on the Roof. Film/Commercial: One Life To Live (ABC), Platinum Productions, J.C.Penney Corporation, and Plastic Love (by Eduard Getaz). As a professional Fine Arts Educator, Lois previously served twelve years as Assistant Professor at Texas Wesleyan University and is currently part of the Fine Arts Faculty at TCU.

IVAN JASSO, Pablo Del Valle

Mr. Jasso is an Artistic Ensemble Member of Cara Mia Theatre Co. and a teaching artist. Ivan is a graduate of KD Conservatory and has also worked with several other theatre companies in the DFW area including Shakespeare Dallas, Kitchen Dog Theater, Undermain Theatre, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Amphibian Stage Productions, Dallas Theater Center, and The Dallas Children's Theater. He is signed with the Mary Collins Agency and was featured as Ramon on the AMC series, The Son, this season.

STEPHANIE CLEGHORN JASSO, Tania Del Valle

Mrs. Cleghorn Jasso is delighted to be working with WaterTower Theatre for the first time. She was last seen as Kath in Northside Hollow at Amphibian Stage Productions in Ft. Worth. Other local theatre companies Stephanie has had the honor of working with include DGDG, Shakespeare Dallas, Dallas Theater Center, Cara Mía Theatre Co., Undermain Theatre, The Tribe, Shakespeare in the Bar, Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, Dead White Zombies, Teatro Dallas, Hip Pocket Theatre, Artes de la Rosa, and Artisan Center Theater. In 2015 she received recognition for Outstanding Acting Performance by the DFW Theatre Critics' Forum for her work in Lydia with Cara Mía and was named Best Actress by Mark Lowry of TheaterJones. For six years Stephanie has been a teaching artist with organizations such as Cara Mía Theatre, Junior Players, Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, and Big Thought. Stephanie studied at Brigham Young University in Utah and continues her training as an actress under Blake Hackler.

About WaterTower Theatre

Founded in 1996, WaterTower Theatre (WTT) is one of Texas' leading professional theatre companies and one of the flagship arts institutions in North Texas, having played an important role as a leader in developing new talent and encouraging the growth of the DFW artistic community through its commitment to hiring local artists. Led by Artistic Director Joanie Schultz and Managing Director Gregory Patterson, it is consistently recognized for its artistic excellence by the Dallas Theatre League, DFW Theatre Critics Forum, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, D Magazine, and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others. WaterTower Theatre has a subscription base of more than 2,000 subscribers and serves an audience of over 24,000 patrons annually.

WTT Alumni currently working on Broadway/Internationally include Akron Watson (The Color Purple), Brian Gonzales (One Man, Two Guvnors and Disney's Aladdin), Major Attaway (the new Genie in Disney's Aladdin), Cedric Neal (West End, Motown), Anthony Fortino (First National Tour, Fun Home), John Campione (First National Tour, The Bridges of Madison County), Traci Lee (First National Tour, Beautiful), Clinton Greenspan and Jeremy Davis (First National Tour, Disney's Aladdin), and in many regional theatres across the country. Respected local actors such as Denise Lee, Liz Mikel, Gary Lynn Floyd, Zak Reynolds, Kyle Igneczi, Diana Sheehan, Pam Dougherty, and Emily Scott Banks credit WTT for nurturing their professional careers.

WaterTower Theatre is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization as designate by the IRS. Like all arts organizations, WaterTower Theatre relies on both ticket income and donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, organization and government to produce world-class live professional theatre and offer community outreach and arts education programs. WaterTower Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of The Town of Addison, TACA, Texas Commission on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Shubert Foundation. WaterTower Theatre is supported, in part, through the generosity of corporate, foundation and individual donors such as Atmos Energy, The Canterbury Family, Don and Barbara Daseke, Ben Fischer and Laree Hulshoff, FastSigns Carrollton, Paul and Norma Shultz, Frost Bank, Liberty Capital Bank, Mary Kay Inc., Janiece and Jimmy Niemann, The Nissan Foundation, Pinnacle, Slalom, Table 13, The Civic League, The President's Circle, the WaterTower Theatre Board of Directors, The Corporate Council, and Women of WaterTower Theatre.

 


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