24th Street Theatre Announces Spring Tour of EL OGRITO

Los Angeles's acclaimed 24th Street Theatre announces the International Spring Tour of its Critic's Choice production of El Ogrito ("The Ogreling"), by Quebec-based playwright Suzanne Lebeau, translated into Spanish by Cecelia Iris Fasola. The production, directed by Jesús Castaños-Chima, features Julieta Ortiz and Gabriel Romero. The El Ogrito tour includes sojourns to San Salvador, El Salvador (March 22-29); Bogata, Colombia (March 29-April 1); and Culiacan, Mazatlan and Los Mochis, Mexico (May 3-12). El Ogrito will conclude with an inaugural tour of the Santa Ynez Valley, California (May 22).

In conjunction with with its Teatro Nuevo Internacional program, 24th Street Theatre has been invited back to El Salvador as Cultural Envoys of the US State Department. This will be the company's third trip to El Salvador with the State Department. During this week-long trip, 24th ST. will perform El Ogrito for residents of San Salvador, as well as lead workshops and classes for children and adults throughout the city.

Debbie Devine, Artistic Director of 24th Street, will work with the El Salvador Youth Symphony on performance and presentation techniques, an area of her expertise that has taken her to Canada and around the US to conduct workshops with regional symphonies and musicians of the highest caliber. El Ogrito cast member Julieta Ortiz, who starred in the independent movie Dirt, will appear at a Q & A session following the screening of the film in San Salvador.

Continuing on to Bogota, Colombia, 24th Street will perform El Ogrito at the Festival Teatro Alternativo de Bogota. Companies come internationally to perform at the festival, which is the fringe festival of the Iberoamericano Festival, the largest theatre festival in the world.
In Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, 24th Street has been asked to participate in the Festival Universitario de la Cultura, sponsored by La Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa (The Autonomous University of Sinaloa). Later this year, 24h Street will partner with the University to co-produce a production by famed South American playwright/director Aristides Vargas in Los Angeles.

In an inaugural partnership with Hollywood movie executive Lee Rosenberg, 24th Street Theatre will conclude its El Ogrito tour in Santa Ynez Valley, California. Rosenberg, a longtime resident of the Santa Ynez, desires to bring Latino entertainment and cultural events to the quickly growing but largely disenfranchised Latino population of the central valley region.

El Ogrito is part of a series of events that 24th Street will produce in the Santa Ynez valley, in partnership with Lee Rosenberg. Other events include a performance by the music group Fandango Sin Fronteras, performing Jarana music from Veracruz, Mexico, and a production by famous Argentinian playwright and director Aristides Vargas, entitled La razón blindada.

Co-founded by Debbie Devine and Jay McAdams, 24th Street Theatre has been a cultural mainstay of the Greater Los Angeles area since 1997, located at 1117 W. 24th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007.

For further information visit about 24th Street productions, educational programs and tours, visit its website: http://www.24thstreet.org.