Cara Mía Theatre's 2021-2022 Season Bridges Dallas Artists With Latinx And BIPOC Theatre Leaders And Activists 

Announcing the upcoming theatrical season, "Seeds of Transformation", Cara Mía Theatre continues to reimagine what a theatre can be by establishing deeper connections with diverse Dallas artists, audiences and neighborhoods.

"As Cara Mía celebrates 25 years of Latinx theatre in Dallas, our 2021-22 season marks our first year as a resident theatre of the Latino Cultural Center for the next 25 years," says Executive Artistic Director David Lozano. "Through collaborations with local, national and international theatre leaders and activists, this season will take us one step closer to becoming a national destination for Latinx theatre while investing in communities and neighborhoods throughout Dallas."

The season begins in January 2022 with the Dallas premiere of Luchadora! written by Alvaro Saar Rios and directed by Gloria Vivica Benavides. Filled with original music by Cara Mía company member Armando Monsivais and classic lucha libre wrestling choreographed by veteran luchador "Aski, the Mayan Warrior" (from Prism Movement Theater's Lucha Teotl), audiences will not want to miss this inspiring journey of a young girl who pursues her dreams of becoming a lucha libre wrestler contrary to the norms of Latinx women in the 1960's. The acting ensemble will feature Dallas' Tatiana Lucia Gantt and Los Angeles based Cara Mía ensemble member Rodney Garza.

In April 2022, Cara Mía Theatre will present the world premiere of Orígenes/Origins in association with the Laboratorio de la Máscara from Mexico City. A mythic journey through the history of immigration from Mexico and Latin America to the United States, Orígenes/Origins is created by Mexican director Alicia Martínez Álvarez, Cara Mía company members David Lozano and Frida Espinosa Müller and as well as Sorany Gutierrez (Core Team Member of Artstillery performing arts group). Obie award-winning playwright Caridad Svich from New York will collaborate with the two companies on writing the script. Featuring trademark production values of the two companies, Orígenes/Origins utilizes masks, movement and live music, celebrating 18 years of collaboration between Cara Mía Theatre and the Laboratorio de la Máscara.

A third mainstage production of the season will be announced early next year and will be performed in June at the Latino Cultural Center.

In 2022, Cara Mía Theatre will resume touring outside of Dallas with Frida Espinosa Müller's Ursula, or let yourself go with the wind, a solo performance about the border crisis through the eyes of a child. Ursula will travel through Texas with local performances in the Dallas neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, Oak Cliff and Bachman Lake.

Cara Mía Theatre's work in communities and neighborhoods will continue to expand the intersection of art, health, community building and activism. Cara Mía is continuing La Siembra Fellowship for the second year. The Siembra Fellowship provides a paid commission for up to two years for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) individuals working in Dallas that will strengthen their art making, activism and/or community building practices.

Playwright In Residence Virginia Grise will build on her previous collaborative projects with Pleasant Grove activists and artists as part of her Siembra Fellowship. Grise will facilitate a performance lab called Da Grove: Un Taller for Dreaming that will include workshops by innovative guest artists whose work is deeply rooted in community and liberation as a life practice including Sharon Day, Marguerite Angelica Monique, Chas (chaz) Jewett, Omi Osun Joni Jones and Kristiana Rae Colón. The taller (performance lab) will focus on questions, facilitated conversations, curated gatherings and art-making workshops, culminating in a public performance and a series of artistic provocations designed by taller participants. Additionally, these guest artists will join Luchadora! audiences for a series of post-performance talks at the Latino Cultural Center in the month of February. Da Grove is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Communities Foundation of Texas through North Texas Cares 2.0.

In the second year of Jodi Voice Yellowfish's Siembra Fellowship, she will expand her "Reclamation Talking Circles'' series. These circles are founded on principles of Native culture and wisdom with the objective of reclaiming one's life from the chaos of the Western world and will gather local and national artists to guide multi-generational participants through this process.

Individuals will have an opportunity to support Cara Mía's season by becoming a member online at caramiatheatre.org/plays.

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