The End is Near in Rivera's Apocalyptic MARISOL at Villanova Theatre

Villanova Theatre welcomes back renowned Philadelphia theatre artist James Ijames to direct José Rivera'sMarisol. This fierce fantasia set in post-apocalyptic New York is a surreal and timely piece that has been dubbed an "anti-apathy" play.In our modern world of political upheaval and existential doubt, Marisol inspires audiences to wake up and change the world around them, running November 8-20 at Villanova Theatre.

José Rivera transports audiences into a dark, dystopian world that is at once familiar and strange. Brooklyn is a war zone, coffee is extinct, the moon has disappeared, and Angels are trading in their wings for machine guns. As a celestial battle against an old and senile God brews in heaven, the rebellion spills into New York City. Without the protection of her Guardian Angel, Marisol Perez begins a surreal journey through the chaos of a crumbling world to find her way home. Met by vagrants and vagabonds at every turn, she must salvage what hope remains amidst the rubble of the apocalypse.

Inspired by writers like novelist Gabriel García Márquez and playwright Sam Shepard, José Rivera constructed Marisol weaving together elements of magical realism with his real-world experiences of living in New York City in the 1990's. Although written over two decades ago - before the massive social changes arising from the September 11 attacks and subsequent American "war on terror" -- the play remains relevant to audiences in 2016, which is one of the many reasons Ijames chose to direct this challenging and incisive piece.

Director James Ijames, "We're doing the play right now because the world is crazy," he explains. "My increasing anxiety surrounding getting up, getting dressed, eating breakfast is the fire underneath me propelling me to do Marisol. This play is Rivera's 1995 -- his emotional expression of anxiety, fear, and anticipation -- but it feels like it was written yesterday, and is communicating things that are going to hit people in the here and now."

Although the play explores serious subjects such as terrorism, political abuse, and homelessness, Marisol is infused with comic turns that keep the audience "laughing right through the misery" (Los Angeles Times). Filled with extravagant characters, startling encounters, and a storyline as whimsical as it is dire, Marisol contains equal parts of humor and heartbreak. The juxtaposition of these two elements allows audiences to glimpse the world around them with fresh eyes, questioning issues of social justice, identity, and morality alongside the play's heroine. The catastrophic world of Marisol serves as a cautionary tale; according to Ijames,"This play is about what happens when we're concerned about the wrong things."

Inspired by the political discontent, upheaval, and activism expressed in the script, Ijames seeks to match Rivera's call to action. When he was writing the play Rivera explained, "This is the first play I've written with an eye on the next generation. We need to find new heroes and new myths for our society -- the old ones just aren't working." Marisol becomes a new hero for a new time, and audiences today are the next generation Rivera crafted this play for. As audiences traverse the broKen Landscape of New York, he hopes that audiences will leave wondering "what can I do to change the world?"

Set in a world of chaos and entropy, Marisol is a play that matches our current society's fascination with the end of times. From The Walking Dead to The Hunger Games series, modern audiences are seemingly drawn to question of what the apocalypse could hold, and how each of us would survive. Villanova Theatre's talented design team has been inspired by the recent Armageddon obsession by infusing the world of 1995 with elements of today to bring the vibrant and bizarre world of Marisol to life.

Jennifer Povish's costumes are "apocalyptic chic," a combination of ripped and draped clothing to highlight the grit of humanity; Parris Bradley's colorful set design literally pulls apart as the world begins to collapse; Lighting Designer Jerold Forsyth and Sound Designer John Stovicek embellish the scenic framework with sound and lighting that will manipulate time and space.

Rachel O-Hanlon-Rodriguez
Second-year Presidential Scholar Rachel O'Hanlon-Rodriguez will take on the title role of Marisol alongside second-year Graduate Assistants Laura Barron (as June) and Patrick McAndrew (as Man With Golf Club.) Part-time student Kim Shimer (Woman With Fur), First-year Assistants Alexandra King (Angel) and Leo Bond (Lenny) as well as First-year student Nikitas Menotiades (Man With Scar Tissue) are making their Villanova Theatre debuts in Marisol.

Marisol runs at Villanova Theatre from November 8-20th, 2016. Following the performance on Thursday, November 17th Villanova Theatre will host Speaker's Night featuring the insights of Dr. Raúl Diego Rivera Hernández (see full biographical information below), as well as those of the production's director and dramaturg.

Villanova Theatre is located on the Villanova University campus in Vasey Hall (at Lancaster & Ithan Aves.). Performances will be held Tuesdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets run $21-$25, with discounts available for seniors, students, M.A. in Theatre alumni, and groups. Tickets may be purchased at the Villanova Theatre Box Office (M-S, 12 -5 p.m.) in person, by phone: (610) 519-7474, or online atwww.villanovatheatre.org.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

James Ijames, M.F.A, is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Villanova University and a Philadelphia-based actor, director and playwright. He has appeared regionally at Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Wilma Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, and InterAct Theatre Company. Ijames's own plays include The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington, Moon Man Walk, The Threshing Floor, and Osiris:Redux. His Barrymore Awards include the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Theatre Artist, Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play for Superior Donuts and Angels in America, and, most recently, the 2014 Barrymore for Outstanding Direction of a Play for his work on The Brothers Size. In 2011, Ijames received an Independence Foundation Fellowship in Performing Arts to train and create a new solo piece with Emmanuelle Delpeche and Shavon Norris called FRoNTiN. Ijames was recently awarded a 2015 Pew Fellowship and the Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize. James is a member of the InterAct Core Writers Group and a mentor for The Foundry. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta,and an M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University. Now in his third year on the faculty of Villanova's Theatre Department, Ijames teaches Acting and Collaborative Theatre Making.

José Rivera
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

José Rivera was born on March 24, 1955 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and moved to Long Island, NY with his family when he was five years old. He attended Denison College in Ohio where he majored in Theater and English. He produced four of his own plays during his four years there. Rivera then moved to New York City and worked odd jobs from a warehouse to a bookstore and eventually landed as a copywriter at a publishing company. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to write and study in London and then returned to the United States and began to write full time for both theater and film in California. He now lives in Hollywood, California with this wife and daughter.

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Dr. Raúl Diego Rivera Hernández
ABOUT SPEAKER'S NIGHT

Villanova Theatre is thrilled to welcome Dr. Raúl Diego Rivera Hernández as our guest for Marisol's Speaker's Night. Dr. Raúl Diego Rivera Hernández is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Romance Languages at Villanova University. His areas of specialization are contemporary Mexican crime fiction and new social movements in Mexico. He is the editor of the recently published book Del Internet a las calles: YoSoy132, una opción alternativa de hacer política (Editorial A Contracorriente, 2016, North Carolina State University). The publication includes twelve essays by international scholars and activists working on cyber-activism, viral politics, artivism, techno-politics and independent media, taking the student movement #YoSoy132 in Mexico as a case study. His current research project is a book-length manuscript in which he examines the representation of civil society in Mexican detective novels and journalistic chronicles undertaking an active political role to investigate cases of disappearances, mass kidnappings and human rights violations.

ABOUT VILLANOVA THEATRE

Villanova Theatre is a community of artist-scholars committed to transforming hearts and minds through the visionary production of classical, modern, and contemporary dramatic literature. Our work is fueled by the imaginative striving common to Villanova's accomplished faculty, versatile staff, and energetic graduate students. Together, we are devoted to creating a vibrant theatre enriched by and overflowing with the ideas explored in our classrooms. In all of our endeavors, we aim to share the dynamic experience of collaborative learning with our audiences in order to engage the intellect and stir the soul. As a facet of Villanova University, Villanova Theatre serves the campus community as well as thousands of theatre-goers from the Main Line and the Greater Philadelphia area.

ABOUT VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY

Since 1842, Villanova University's Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges - the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Charles Widger School of Law. As students grow intellectually, Villanova prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them.

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