Phoenix Theatre to Present LEYENDA, Today

Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis announces the World Premiere of Leyenda opening April 14, 2016 on the Steve and Livia Russell Stage. This production runs through May 1, with Bryan Fonseca serving as director.

Spanish for "legend," Leyenda is a live adaptation of Latino folk tales, based on interviews with members of the Indianapolis Latino community, with performances in English and Spanish. Leyenda includes traditional music and dancing, and explores explanations of happenings in nature, life, and mythology. This original play is part of the Phoenix Theatre's Heritage Series, which explores the history, mythology, and cultural inheritance of people of different races and cultural backgrounds, and is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts-Art Works.

Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America's rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the agency is celebrating this milestone with events and activities through September 2016. Go to arts.gov/50th to enjoy art stories from around the nation, peruse Facts & Figures, and check out the anniversary timeline. - See more at: https://www.arts.gov.

For 33 years, Bryan Fonseca has served as the Producing Director of the Phoenix Theatre. He previously worked in Indianapolis as the Producing Director of the Broad Ripple Playhouse and the assistant to the Producing Director at the Civic Theatre of Indianapolis. He was a founder and first Artistic Director of The Company Players in his hometown of Gary, Indiana. Bryan has directed for the MFA Playwrights Workshop at the Kennedy Center, The Human Race Theatre, Indiana University, Ball State University, and the Civic Theatre of Indianapolis. Over the years, he has transferred six Phoenix shows to Chicago. Bryan has received an Achievement and Service award from the Indiana Theatre Association, two Artist Fellowship awards from the Indiana State Arts Commission and two Creative Renewal Fellowships from the Arts Council of Indianapolis/Lilly Endowment. He is the first recipient of the Transformational Impact Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, with the generous funding support of Lilly Endowment Inc. In addition to his work at the Phoenix, he is an adjunct professor at IUPUI and lectures frequently at Butler University and the University of Indianapolis. He has served on the board of the National New Play Network and developed and served as the first president of the League of Indianapolis Theaters.

The cast includes Jean Arnold, Paeton Chavis, A.J. Morrison, Keith Potts , and Bridgette Richards.

Jean Arnold makes her Phoenix debut with Leyenda. She performed in off-Broadway shows and other plays in New York City before returning to Indianapolis in 1995 and has been acting in the community since 2011.

Paeton Chavis is returning to the Phoenix for the fourth time, having appeared in both Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea and Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play in 2015, as well as The Nether earlier this season.

A.J. Morrison is excited for his third run at the Phoenix, with previous productions including Bless Me, Ultima and River City. He has also performed at Beef & Boards, Actor's Theatre of Indiana, and EclecticPond.

Keith Potts is making his Phoenix debut after previously appearing in Twelfth Night with HART and in Fiddler on the Roof and Smoke on the Mountain at Beef & Boards.

Bridgette Richards appears at the Phoenix theatre for the third time for Leyenda, and was most recently seen on our stage for Bless Me, Ultima.

Tom Horan is a Writer and Sound Designer who currently teaches at Earlham College. His works have been honored with several awards, including Best-of-Fest at the Austin FronteraFest for The King and the Clockmaker, and two Austin Table Critics Awards for The Poison Squad. His play, Typhoid Mary, received development help from Stage West Theatre, The Lark Play Development, the 2014 NNPN Showcase and premiered at The Phoenix Theater, where Tom is serving his third season as playwright-in-residence. This season, in addition to Leyenda, he has developed Acid Dolphin Experiment, a kaleidoscopic look at the life of John C. Lilly. Elsewhere, his play Static will premier this June at the Source Festival in Washington D.C.

Tickets for Leyenda are on sale now. Tickets are $27 per person on Thursdays, and Sundays, $33 per person on Fridays and Saturdays, and $20 for anyone 21 & under. During CheapSeats Weekend, April 14-17, all tickets are $20.

The final two performances of Leyenda (April 30, May 1) will be in Spanish. All tickets for these two Spanish performances will be $20.

Tickets for Leyenda may be purchased by calling the box office at 317.635.7529 or visiting phoenixtheatre.org. Curtain times for the production are: Thursdays at 7 pm, Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm.

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