Shrewd Presents THE MADRES, An NNPN Rolling World Premiere

It's 1978 in Buenos Aires and people are disappearing right off the street. What would you do? Look away? Or march against the oppression? As a divisive government turns neighbor against neighbor, Carolina risks everything to search for her pregnant daughter, Belén. While Carolina marches, her mother receives a surprise visit from someone who may hold the key to finding her. Together, they come up with a plan to bring Belén and her unborn child home. Will it work? Will they save her? Will they save themselves?

Set against the backdrop of La Dictadura in Argentina, where over 30,000 "subversives" including students, artists, journalists, political activists, and the brave mothers looking for their loved ones were disappeared by their own government, The Madres examines one family's desperate fight, and the strength and endurance of the women known as Las Madres. Las Madres broke the silence against this oppressive regime in the 1970s, and they are still marching to this day.

The final production in this National New Play Network rolling world premiere by Stephanie Alison Walker is proudly presented by Shrewd Productions, directed by award-winning director, Lily Wolff, with assistant direction and dramaturgy by Clarissa Smith-Hernandez. The Madres boasts an incredible cast and crew including: Yesenia Garcia Herrington as Carolina, Mary Alice Carnes as Josephina, Madison Palomo as Belén, Carlo Lorenzo Garcia as Diego, and Rupert Reyes as Padre Juan, with set and prop design by Indigo Rael, costumes by Laura Gonzalez, lighting design by Patrick Anthony, sound design by Benjamin Galvan and stage management by Ashton B. Murphy. Other partners in this rolling world premiere include Teatro Vista (Chicago), Skylight Theatre Company (Los Angeles), and Moxie Theatre (San Diego).

The Madres runs August 31 - September 15, Thursdays - Saturdays at 8:00pm and Sundays at 5:00pm at the Santa Cruz Center for Culture, with talkbacks after each performance.

From Ms. Walker: "The timing of the world premiere of The Madres is remarkable because it seems people are finally listening to women. I pray that we never stop listening. There is so much we can learn from Las Madres and their brave act of resistance. Let us never forget, let us never be complacent in the face of injustice, let us always be as brave as Las Madres. Ni olvido, ni perdón!"

Championing unique perspectives and emerging artists, Shrewd Productions is focused on women's voices, new plays, and work developed though a collaborative artistic approach. We are committed to creating high-quality theatrical experiences that are thoughtful, provocative, and entertaining, featuring the work of female and LGBT artists as we seek to provide a broader array of voices in American theatre and for Austin audiences. Shrewd has been honored by over 70 nominations and multiple awards from the Austin Critic's Table, B. Iden Payne Committee, Broadway World, and Austin Theatre Examiner and inclusion on multiple "Best Of" lists in the Austin Chronicle. We are proud to be a member of the Austin New Works Theatre Community, building Austin's professional theatre community devoted to the development of original work. shrewdproductions.com

National New Play Network (NNPN) is the country's alliance of non-profit professional theaters dedicated to the development, production, and continued life of new plays. Since its founding in 1998, NNPN has supported more than 250 productions nationwide through its innovative National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program, which provides playwright and production support for new works at its Member theaters. Additional programs - its annual National Conference, National Showcase of New Plays, Travel banks and online information sessions - have helped cement the Network's position as a vital force in the new play landscape. NNPN also strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Its most recent project, the New Play Exchange, is changing the way playwrights share their work and others discover it by providing immediate access to information on nearly 17,000 new plays by living writers. NNPN's 30 Core and 80 Associate Members - along with the more than 250 affiliated artists who are its alumni, the thousands of artists and artisans employed annually by its member theaters, and the hundreds of thousands of audience members who see its supported works each year - are creating the new American theater. nnpn.org | newplayexchange.org

Stephanie's full-length plays include The Madres, The Abuelas, Friends With Guns, The Art of Disappearing, American Home, The Sister House, Three Fittings and The Box Jumper. Stephanie's work has been produced and/or developed at Los Angeles' Skylight Theatre, Moving Arts, Antaeus Theatre Company, The Road Theatre, The Blank Theatre, San Diego Rep, 16th Street Theater in Chicago, Chicago Dramatists, Boulder Ensemble Theater Company, American Blues Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville and more. Awards include: Finalist for the 2016 Saroyan/Paul Playwriting Prize for Human Rights, Winner of the Ashland New Plays Festival, Blue Ink Award, the Generations Prize, Jane Chambers Award Runner-Up, finalist for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference and the CTG/Humanitas Playwriting Prize, Four-time Finalist for the Heideman Award. Stephanie's short plays are anthologized by Smith & Kraus and have been produced all over the world. She is thrilled that her play about the Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina, The Madres, is receiving four consecutive productions in 2018 as part of a NNPN Rolling World Premiere kicking off in Los Angeles with Skylight Theatre Company, then Chicago at Teatro Vista, followed by San Diego at Moxie Theatre and then Austin with Shrewd Productions. Stephanie is also the author of the book and blog, LOVE IN THE TIME OF FORECLOSURE which has been called "A heartbreaking work of staggering acceptance" and was featured by the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Business Week Magazine, Chicago Magazine, Huffington Post Live and ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer. Stephanie is a proud member of the Playwrights Union and Antaeus Playwrights Lab. She lives in Los Angeles with her brilliant husband Bob and their spirited sons, Malcolm (7) and Graham (4.)

To post a comment, you must register and login.