Teatro Paraguas Presents HUNKER DOWN By Robert F. Benjamin

On Friday, August 7, 2020 at 7:00 p.m., Teatro Paraguas will present a live performance of Hunker Down, a whimsical tale of seniors coping with the COVID-19 Crisis by Los Alamos playwright Robert F. Benjamin.

Duchess Dale stars in this short one-act comedy as Bari, a widowed senior craving solace and friendship after weeks of self-isolation. Her cabin fever impels her to socialize, but her curmudgeonly neighbor, played by Don Converse, is enthusiastically committed to sheltering-in-place.

He revels in self-isolation. Can she convince him to expand his bubble? And what does "social distancing" really mean, anyhow? Hunker Down is an evocative, upbeat tale of single seniors struggling with the Great COVID Crisis of 2020.

Duchess Dale and Don Converse, a husband and wife acting team based in Santa Fe, will perform the play. Paola Vengoechea Martini will host the Zoom event, which includes a talk-back session with Robert F. Benjamin after the play.

Hunker Down has been presented on Zoom in Taos through Taos Onstage,
and in Albuquerque through the Adobe Theatre.

DUCHESS DALE: Prior to stepping into becoming a "BabyZoomer" director for Almost Adults (Santa Fe) and The Adobe Theatre (Albuquerque), Duchess helmed the Santa Fe Playhouse productions of The Normal Heart and Marjorie Prime. Her extensive Southern California résumé credits run the gamut from her award-winning role as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker to the beloved Truvy in Steel Magnolias. Last year, she shared a golden opportunity to return to acting so she could share the stage with actor, Don Converse (who also doubles as her handsome husband in real-life) onstage for Benchwarmers 2019 at the Playhouse.

DON CONVERSE: Don has played theater roles, including musicals, in productions in Michigan and California, and now New Mexico, including: Sid in The Pajama Game, George in Big, the Musical, and Amos in Big Fish, the Musical. He played Nevis in the 2016 Santa Fe Playhouse reading, Music Between Us. Don played the role as the voice of Big Brother in 1984, the part of Bernard in Flight Plan and leading roles in Benchwarmers 2018 & 2019, both at the Playhouse. Most recently he was in the courtroom drama False Witness - The Trial of Humanity's Conscience at the Swan Theater as Henry Ford. Don has also performed as a singer for audiences in many venues.

ROBERT F. BENJAMIN: Teatro Paraguas has presented several plays by Robert F. Benjamin, including Parted Waters, Salt and Pepper, Not Quite Right, and Still In The Game. Robert F. Benjamin is a late-blooming New Mexico playwright following a distinguished career as a research physicist and science educator. His plays are mostly about aging with grace, courage and humor. His full-length plays produced in Santa Fe and elsewhere are: Salt and Pepper, Not Quite Right (co-authored by Elaine Jarvik), Time Enough, plus readings of Galileo's Footsteps; also productions of twenty shorts plays, a short film and an operetta. He is a proud member of the Albuquerque Theatre Guild. Robert was recently honored as a Living Treasure in Los Alamos County.

For further information, please visit www.teatroparaguas.org or call 505-424-1601.

* Duchess Dale is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association

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