Juan Francisco Villa News

16th Street Theater presents the premiere of EM Lewis' THE GUN SHOW directed by Kevin Christopher Fox in a limited engagement July 10 - Aug 2 at North Berwyn Park District's 16th Street Theater, 6420 16th Street in Berwyn, with a press opening of Thursday, July 10 @ 7:30 PM. 16th Street Artistic Associate and actor Juan Francisco Villa turns the spotlight on Lewis' relationship with guns as he shares true stories from the playwright's personal experiences with firearms -- from a farming community in rural Oregon to Los Angeles and New York City.

Now in its 10th year, Goodman Theatre's 2013 New Stages festival features five free new plays-two fully staged workshop productions performed in repertory plus three staged readings-in the Owen Theatre, now through December 22. All five plays celebrate Latino playwrights: The Upstairs Concierge, a contemporary farce about celebrity and baseball by Pulitzer Prize finalist (for The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity) Kristoffer Diaz; and The Solid Sand Below, an examination of the intoxicating nature of war which Martin Zimmerman developed during his time as a member of the Goodman's Playwrights Unit, and which was selected for the 2013 National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the workshop productions below!

16th Street Theater and North Berwyn Park District debut their Season Seven 2014: How To Be Good in a FREE event on Saturday, December 7 from 5:00 - 6:30 PM at Berwyn's newest music venue WIRE at 6815 Roosevelt Road in Berwyn, Illinois. Enjoy WIRE's cash bar while 16th Street performs excerpts from their 2014 Season Seven featuring four premieres by four female writers: Laura Jacqmin, Andrea Thome, EM Lewis and playwright-in-residence Shayne Kennedy. Associate Artist and scenic designer Kurt Sharp will also be remembered at this event.

Five world premiere plays and three new adaptations seen first by Chicago audiences received Jeff nominations by the Jeff Awards Committee and are among the 166 nominations in 36 categories announced for Chicago Equity theatrical productions opened between August 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013.

Victory Gardens Theater presents the world premiere of Mojada by VG Associate Artist Luis Alfaro, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew. Mojada began performances on July 12, prior to its official opening tonight. The production runs through August 11, 2013 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue. Check out a first look below!

Victory Gardens Theater presents the world premiere of Mojada by VG Associate Artist Luis Alfaro, directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew. Mojadaruns July 12-August 11, 2013 with the Press Opening on Monday, July 22, 2013 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theatre, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

TheatreSquared presents the lineup for the 2013 Arkansas New Play Festival, the theatre's fifth annual celebration of bold new works for the stage.The festival will feature staged reading performances of four plays by professional playwrights, a showcase of ten-minute plays by Arkansas high school students, and Northwest Arkansas's seventh annual 24-Hour Play-Off.

TheatreSquared today announced the lineup for the 2013 Arkansas New Play Festival, the theatre's fifth annual celebration of bold new works for the stage.The festival will feature staged reading performances of four plays by professional playwrights, a showcase of ten-minute plays by Arkansas high school students, and Northwest Arkansas's seventh annual 24-Hour Play-Off. For the first time, the Arkansas New Play Festival is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Tickets are $7 (staged reading performances), $10 (The 24 Hour Play-Off), or $30 for a New Play Pass including all festival events, and they can be reserved by calling the Walton Arts Center Box Office at (479) 443-5600 or online at theatre2.org.

North Berwyn Park District's 16th Street Theater, recipient of the 2013 Broadway in Chicago Emerging Theater Award, will host its fourth annual Summer Garden Gala fundraiser on Sunday, June 23, 2013 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. 16th Street Theater's favorite writers, including Tony Fitzpatrick, Juan Francisco Villa, Rohina Malik and Steven Simoncic will perform stories about "The American Dream'. Guests will also enjoy live music, drinks and hors d'oeuvres as they roam the beautiful gardens at the historic Arthur J. Dunham home at 3131 S. Wisconsin Ave., Berwyn. Additionally, there will be opportunities to bid on items from live and silent auctions featuring exciting 'experience packages' and works by local artists.

The recent Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award winning Celebration Theatre has announced the workshop production of a new play, Kissing Che, written by Brooklyn playwright Augusto Federico Amador and directed by award-winning New York-based director Victor Maog . Kissing Che will begin tonight, April 2nd at 7:30pm followed by a performance every Today night closing on April 23rd at the Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood.

The recent Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award winning Celebration Theatre has announced the workshop production of a new play, Kissing Che, written by Brooklyn playwright Augusto Federico Amador and directed by award-winning New York-based director Victor Maog . Kissing Che will begin Tuesday, April 2nd at 7:30pm followed by a performance every Tuesday night closing on April 23rd at the Celebration Theatre, 7051B Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood.

16th Street Theater and Teatro Vista announce the extension of their Jeff-Recommended Empanada for a Dream written and performed by Juan Francisco Villa and directed by Alex Levy thru Saturday, March 23 at North Berwyn Park District's 16th Street Theater, 6420 16th Street in Berwyn. Empanada for a Dream is the second show in 16th Street's Season Six 2013: The American Dream.

16th Street Theater and Teatro Vista present Empanada for a Dream written and performed by Juan Francisco Villa and directed by Alex Levy February 14 - March 16, 2013 at North Berwyn Park District's 16th Street Theater, 6420 16th Street in Berwyn, with a press opening of Friday, February 15 @ 7:30 PM. Empanada for a Dream is the second show in 16th Street's Season Six 2013: The American Dream.

Teatro Vista announced today its three-show line-up for the 2012-13 season - the world premiere of i put the fear of mexico in 'em by Matthew Paul Olmos, directed by Ricardo Gutierrez, running now through December 9 at Chicago Dramatists; the return of the break-out hit from this summer's inaugural Yo Solo Festival, Empanada for a Dream by Juan Francisco Villa, in a co-production with and at 16th Street Theater in Berwyn, February 14-March 16, 2013; and special access for Teatro Vista subscribers to one of the hottest shows in Chicago next spring, the world premiere of The Happiest Song Plays Last by Quiara Alegría Hudes at Goodman Theatre, directed by Teatro Vista Co-Artistic Director Edward Torres, and featuring Ensemble member Sandra Marquez, April 13-May 12, 2013.

Transport Group, the Drama Desk and OBIE award-winning theatre company, and terraNOVA Collective, creator of the longest-running solo performance festival in NYC, the soloNOVA Arts Festival, will collaborate to produce Dark Nights: Highs & Family Ties during the second dark night of Transport Group's run of House For Sale tonight, November 12th at 7:00pm at The Duke on 42nd Street.

Teatro Vista kicks off its 2012-13 season with the world premiere of i put the fear of mexico in 'em, a humorous, bold work by Matthew Paul Olmos about an American couple vacationing in Tijuana who stumble off the beaten path and are accosted by a Mexican couple in an alley. i put the fear of mexico in 'em runs now through December 9, 2012 at Chicago Dramatists, 1105 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago. Get a first look at the production below!