The Old Globe To Present Three Additional coLAB Productions This Fall

The Old Globe continues to make theatre matter to more people by inviting everyone to enjoy three unique productions of original work developed through coLAB, a program developed by the Department of Arts Engagement. coLAB unites community and artists to develop unique participatory theatre. Having the perspective of participants at the forefront of the storytelling experience is central to this artistic collaboration. Community members work with an artist over several months developing stories. The culmination of the work is a presentation with a community partner organization of a public performance and celebration. These productions take on many forms but always feature the stories and perspectives of the participants.

This year-after the 2019 Juneteenth Celebration at The George L. Stevens Senior Center, with the premiere of I Love Ruby written by Karen Ann Daniels-coLAB will celebrate three additional premieres! Pasajes/Passages will kick off the array of new work at the Chula Vista Public Library on Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5, both at 6:00 p.m. Written by Globe Teaching Artist Crystal Mercado Rosure and members of the South Bay Community, and directed by Ramón Verdugo, Pasajes-Passages is a bilingual play that interweaves the stories of four women from the South Bay who are tested by the forces of humanity as they look to better themselves and their community. There is a suggested donation of $20.00 at the door.

For the fourth consecutive year, two of the Globe's signature arts engagement programs-coLAB and AXIS-unite to celebrate the great Mexican tradition of Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) with a weekend full of unique activities and artistic expression, as well as the premiere of Hermanas (Sisters), written by Daniel Jáquez and directed by Ramón Verdugo, taking place at SAY San Diego's City Heights Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) Celebration (3795 Fairmount Ave., San Diego, 92105) on Saturday, October 26. The event will include dancing, singing, music, Aztec dancers, and other performances, as well as a display of community altars, face painting, mask making, and prizes for the best Catrina and Catrin costumes. It will run from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a performance of Hermanas at 2:00 p.m.

The free AXIS Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) Celebration will take place on Sunday, November 3 on the Globe's Copley Plaza in Balboa Park. This participatory event for the whole family will touch upon some of the traditions that encompass this celebration of deceased loved ones. It will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with Hermanas at 12:00 noon (en Español) and 1:00 p.m. (in English).

The last set of performances will be at Veterans Village of San Diego. With a play written by Old Globe Teaching Artist Gill Sotu and directed by Arts Engagement Programs Manager Katherine Harroff, on Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9, both at 7:00 p.m. at the Jack Lyons Auditorium (4141 Pacific Highway, San Diego, 92110). There is a suggested donation of $20.00 at the door.

Katherine Harroff (Director) is an Arts Engagement Programs Manager with The Old Globe. She helped develop the Community Voices playwriting program in 2012 and has instructed hundreds of adults in the San Diego community and beyond in finding their voices in theatre. In 2016 she spearheaded the first coLAB project by curating an original production of The Living Altar with City Heights community members and Old Globe performance artists. Ms. Harroff has her M.F.A. from Arizona State University in Performance Studies with an emphasis in Community-Based Theatre and Playwriting. She is the Artistic Director and head playwright for the not-for-profit, community-based production company Circle Circle dot dot, and has written and produced over 50 original community-based scripts and installation projects through her company and in residence with Arizona State University, San Diego State University, University of San Diego, UC San Diego, and several theatre companies across the U.S. She was named one of San Diego Magazine's "People to Watch" in 2013, and The San Diego Union-Tribune honored her with the same title in 2014.

Daniel Jáquez (Playwright) is a freelance director, theatre maker, and translator of plays, and he is Co-Founding Director of TuYo Theatre, a company in San Diego that creates and produces theatre that tells stories from a diverse Latinx perspective. Mr. Jáquez, a long-standing Associate Artist of Milagro, served as Artistic Director of the company's 32nd season and received Portland's Drammy Award for Best Director. In New York, he was the Director and Co-Founder of UNIT 52, INTAR Theatre's young acting company, and the Director of INTAR and Jerome Foundation's New Works Lab, an annual festival for emerging Latinx playwrights. He serves on the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee and the Lark Play Development Center's México/United States Playwright Exchange Advisory Committee. He is a member of Lincoln Center Theater's Directors Lab and of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Mr. Jáquez earned an M.F.A. in Directing from the Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre, and a B.S. in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin.

Crystal Mercado Rosure (Playwright) is a theatre artist, director, facilitator, and educator who is passionate about the intersections of theatre and her community of San Diego. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Bocón: A Community Arts Organization, which is dedicated to empowering artists of all ages to create collaborative works of art that voice social perspectives on community stages. She holds a master of fine arts in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State University and a bachelor of arts in Children's Drama from San Diego State University. She has worked as an artist in residency, teaching theatre, creative drama, puppetry, and theatre for social change in classrooms K-12 in districts all over San Diego County and Phoenix, Arizona. Nationally, she has presented and taught workshops at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, California County of Superintendents Arts Initiative conference, and Young Audiences Arts for Learning National Conferences. Empowering youth through the many forms of storytelling and personal narrative is at the center of her artistic work and pedagogy.

Gill Sotu (Playwright) is a Teaching Artist with The Old Globe, as well as the Artist in Residence at Makers Church in San Diego. He just finished an artist residency at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, where he was commissioned to write and direct two full-length plays. Mr. Sotu wrote and performed all the poetic segments to Melissa Adao's dance theatre showcase HIP HOP cabHOORAY, which won the award for Outstanding Production at the 2015 San Diego International Fringe Festival. He has opened for Grammy Award-nominated legend Sheila E, as well as Talib Kweli. He has partnered and performed with San Diego Symphony, and he has been commissioned to create plays for The Old Globe and Cal State San Marcos. He wrote and performed numerous poetry pieces for United Way of San Diego County, Fashion Week San Diego, performed the closing number for TEDxSanDiego in 2013 and 2016, and hosted TEDxSanDiego in 2017. The San Diego community continues to take notice of Mr. Sotu's talent and charisma, as he has been featured on NBC San Diego's "ArtPulse TV" and was named the 2012 and 2013 RAW San Diego Performing Artist of the Year.

Ramón Verdugo (Director) is the current Artistic Director of Tijuana Hace Teatro in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and a Mexico native. He has been an active member within the theatre community, supporting the mobility and internationalization of the arts. Mr. Verdugo has over a decade of experience under his belt as an actor, director, and producer of multiple plays throughout Baja California. As an educator, he continues to share his knowledge and appreciation for theatre arts with students worldwide. Mr. Verdugo has been a speaker at conferences in Spain, Armenia, and the United States, focusing on making the arts more accessible on an international scale.

There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. There is a 10-minute zone at The Old Globe, used only for daytime deliveries, ticket purchases, and handicapped access dropoff. Please note: GPS may guide you to this delivery address, which is different from the main entrance to our campus. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions--parking/detailed-directions.