Emilio Rodriguez News

Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor's professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, presents their semi-annual Michigan Playwrights Festival, now in its third year. Six new plays by Michigan playwrights will be presented in the fall, and an additional five plays and playwrights will be given readings next summer.

The MITTEN Lab (A Michigan Incubator for Theatre Talent Emerging Now), led by co-founders Katherine M. Carter and Rachel Sussman, has announced this year's artists for its second annual residency program in Northern Michigan, taking place October 8 through 15.

???????Black and Brown Theatre, a local professional theatre for theatre artists of color, will present the brand new stage play Mamacita August 4th-6th, 2017 at the Matrix Theatre (2730 Bagley Ave, Detroit, MI). The play stars Wayne State senior theatre student and Detroit native, Kayla Mundy as well as Southwest Detroit area actor, Justino Solis.

CMAP is pleased to bring Black & Brown's performance of Listening to Love to the stage this month, June 24 & 25 at 2:00pm, as part of the 2017 Outdoor Summer Series at 2221 Carpenter St, Detroit MI 48212.

Due to the overwhelming popularity of Swimming While Drowning by Emilio Rodriguez and directed by Francisco Garcia, we are remounting this production with a simplified set for two nights only. This late night event is pay what you will.

MILAGRO has announced the theme and productions of Season 34. Rise UP will be a passionate, narrative journey, rich in expression and consequence, exploring the power of the human spirit to overcome threats to life, identity, status, hope, and justice.

It's the last Conversation Starter of the season!  TampaRep and Creative Loafing have teamed up to bring staged readings of new and exciting plays to the Creative Loafing Space.  Our final reading for this season takes place on April 10th at 7:30pm.  This time, it's Swimming While Drowning, by Emilio Rodriguez, directed by Matthew Ray.

Playwright Emilio Rodriguez intertwines the everyday language of teenagers with heightened poetry to capture the world of two young men in an LGBT homeless shelter. Francisco Garcia, who was handpicked to direct this play by executive director Jose Gonzalez, brings an experience of creating theatre about young people's issues to his work on Swimming While Drowning. Additionally, he brings his experience of living in Los Angeles, where the play is set. There, he often worked with youth similar to the characters in Swimming While Drowning. His passion for giving a voice to under-served youth becomes apparent as he takes some time between rehearsals at Milagro to share his thoughts on the world premiere of Swimming While Drowning:

For the past six years, Theatre Kalamazoo (TK) has been providing a platform for local playwrights to develop and share new plays with the community. Theatre Kalamazoo is proud to announce that the seventh annual Theatre Kalamazoo New Play Festival will be held February 3-4, 2017 at the Judy K. Jolliffe Theatre (formerly the Epic Theatre) in downtown Kalamazoo. The free event will feature new plays by 8 local playwrights, performed and directed as staged readings by local actors and directors representing the member theatres of Theatre Kalamazoo.

Seattle Public Theater Interim Artistic Director Kelly Kitchens announced a new biennial $10,000 Emerald Prize to be awarded by the organization.

Seattle Public Theater Interim Artistic Director Kelly Kitchens announced a new biennial $10,000 Emerald Prize to be awarded by the organization.

Theatre Nova, Ann Arbor's professional playwrights' theater, now finishing up its second year of operations, is proud to announce additions to its leadership team. Founding Artistic Director, Carla Milarch, will be joined by Diane Hill and David Wolber who will both serve as Producing Artistic Directors. These experienced administrators will join the existing Theatre Nova team of Daniel C. Walker, Becky Fox, and Emilio Rodriguez in their quest to establish the group as a major theatre destination. The new, expanded team is excited to help lead the organization forward and is preparing for a number of new and exciting developments including announcing a "Supra-Season," establishing a season subscription program, continuing to improve the facility, and announcing special partnerships in the community. Theatre Nova is making a name for hot-off-the-press new works, with plays such as the new musical "Irrational" by David Wells and R. MacKenzie Lewis, and local playwright Kim Carney's poignant new work, "Katherine," along with "Mr. Joy" by Daniel Beaty, all recent critical and box office hits.

Missing Bolts Productions (Blair Baker and Zac Kline, Artistic Directors) and NoPassport Theatre Alliance & Press (Caridad Svich, Founder) have announced After Orlando, an international theatre action in response to the Pulse Nightclub shootings in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. In Southern California, future readings are scheduled at Theatre @ Boston Court (11/15), The Road Theatre and Sacred Fools (both on 12/5), and more to be announced.

Missing Bolts Productions (Blair Baker and Zac Kline, Artistic Directors) and NoPassport Theatre Alliance & Press (Caridad Svich, Founder) have announced After Orlando, an international theatre action in response to the Pulse Nightclub shootings in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016. In Southern California, future readings are scheduled at Theatre @ Boston Court (11/15), The Road Theatre and Sacred Fools (both on 12/5), and more to be announced.

The Theatre @ Boston Court, in collaboration with Missing Bolts Productions and NoPassport Theatre Alliance to present After Orlando: An International Theatre Action as a community event Tuesday, November 15th at 8pm on the Main Stage at Boston Court Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA.

After the success of Theatre Nova's inaugural Michigan Playwright's festival in December 2015, they are hosting the second annual Playwright's festival. This year the festival will run from October 18th-October 22nd. They are pleased to announce the selected playwrights and schedule for performances.

Theatre Nova, an Ann Arbor company that focuses exclusively on new and recent plays, will premiere 'Mr. Joy' by Daniel Beaty this October.

The MITTEN Lab (A Michigan Incubator for Theatre Talent Emerging Now), led by co-founders Katherine M. Carter and Rachel Sussman, has announced partnerships with Michigan theater companies Parallel 45 Theatre in Traverse City and Theatre Nova in Ann Arbor.

THE REDEMPTION SERIES at the Landing Theatre Company delves into the delicate topics of race relations, ethnicity, and diversity through short plays from across the country directed by some of Houston's finest theatre professionals. The production opens Thursday September 22, 2016 at The Docks in Houston, TX. I got the opportunity to ask Stephen Miranda questions surrounding the production and get his take on these hot button issues. Miranda is Landing Theatre Company's Interim General Manager and also happens to be on of the directors working on the production.

The Landing Theatre Company (LTC), Houston's professional company dedicated to advancing American Playwriting, opens their 2016-17 season with THE REDEMPTION SERIES: 12 original short plays in response to crisis in America.