Arts in Review Repertory Players' THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE Broadcasts Today on KPFK

KPFK's Arts in Review (AIR) Repertory Players and Pacific Radio Archives present the annual Arts in Review Holiday Special - featuring the broadcast premiere of The Christmas Truce - a dramatization of the events that led to a two-day cessation of military action on the front lines by both sides during World War I - written by Julio Martinez, directed by Irene Arranga, edited by Mark Torres.

Also featured is the 10th annual presentation of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales, read by Al Alu, as well as the music of guitarist Anna Maria Padilla, The Koto Strings and The King's Men.

Arts in Review Holiday Special airs today, December 25 (7-8pm), on KPFK 90.7FM. In Southern California, the broadcast also can be heard on 98.7 FM in Santa Barbara; 99.5 FM in Ridgecrest/China Lake; and 93.7 FM in Rancho Bernardo/North San Diego, as well as streaming live, worldwide on www.kpfk.org.

Linnea Liu Dakin (Emily Hobhouse) has performed in film, TV and theatre across the country. Some of her favorite credits include Anne in A Little Night Music, opposite John Rubinstein at Interact Theatre Company in LA; the title role in the musical Gigi, opposite Gavin MacLeod and Liliane Montevecchi at Theatre Under the Stars, TX and Pittsburgh CLO; Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, at the Arkansas Rep. Linnea made her Broadway debut in the role of Eleanor in State Fair. A founding member of AIR Rep, Linnea has performed in the radio broadcast premieres of All is Calm, All is Bright, The Nutcracker's Journey, To All a Good Night and Keeping Christmas Well.

Kevin Delaney (Corporal Philipp Frings) is a voiceover specialist who can be heard in the video games Disney Infinity, World of Warcraft, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Chicken Little: Ace in Action, The Watchmen: The End is Nigh, The Matrix: Path of Neo, plus hundreds of commercials and other projects. Kevin performed in the AIR Repertory premiere of The Gift of the Magi.

Lauri Frazier (Rosa Mayreter) a voice over actress, writer, storyteller, and creator/producer of I Love A Good Story - a monthly live show and podcast featuring true personal stories, spoken word and live original music. She has written and performed three one-person shows. Her stories have been published. As a voiceover actress, Lauri is the voice of Jane Jetson and various cartoons and commercials, including The Eye of the Future (voice of EARTH). She soon can be heard in the upcoming Dreamworks' Mr. Peabody and the Rocky and Bullwinkle short as Natasha. She is making her AIR Repertory debut.

Richard Heft (Bill) is a scholar who enjoyed a brief but lucrative career as a national television quiz show contestant. A graduate of UCLA with an MFA in Screenwriting, Heft works regularly as a script reader/staff writer at an entertainment industry website. A founding member of KPFK's AIR Repertory, he was featured in O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi and To All a Good Night, while serving as narrator for All is Calm, All is Bright, The Nutcracker's Journey and Keeping Christmas Well, most recently portraying Allen Ginsberg in AIR Repertory's October 2013 premiere of Che and Allen.

Cullen Kirkland (Bruce) has appeared locally in To Kill A Mockingbird (West Coast Ensemble), Our Town (Interact Theatre Company) and Vaudeville (Advent Theatre). For the last three years, he has made regular appearances in Ruskin Group Theatre's LA Café Plays. On Television, Cullen has guest starred on Criminal Minds, Strong Medicine and Zoey101. For AIR Repertory, he has appeared in All is Calm, All is Bright, The Nutcracker's Journey, To All a Good Night and Keeping Christmas Well.

Born in London, England, Nicolas Read (Captain Hulse) moved to the United States when he was four. Nicolas is a proud Lifetime Member of the famed Actors Studio. Stage credits include The Rainmaker, Tape, The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams, the premieres of Circus Theatricals Complexity and Sex, Relationships and Sometimes Love. Feature film credits include lead roles in the soon-to-be released Situational Awareness and Fear Ever After, as well If Tomorrow Comes (with James Franco), Deranged (with Sally Kirkland and JoBeth Williams) and My Big Fat Independent Movie. Nicolas has appeared in over 20 television shows, most recently guest starring on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, a long running stint on NBC's Days of Our Lives, while recurring on the hit show, Undressed. He has been producing the long running monologue show -Sex, Relationships and Sometimes...Love for over eight years. For AIR Rep, Nicolas has performed in The Nutcracker's Journey, To All A Good Night and Keeping Christmas Well.

Julio Martinez (playwright) has had an eclectic career in the arts - as a musician, actor/director, journalist/critic, radio host and playwright. For Pacifica Radio's Arts in Review (AIR) Repertory Players, he penned: O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi (2006); Mark Twain's Dairy of Adam and Eve (2008); All is Calm All is Bright (2009); Odyssey of the Nutcracker (2010); To All a Good Night (2011) and Dickens' Journey - which simultaneously premiered on BBC Radio and Pacifica Radio in December 2012. In October 2013, Pacifica Radio aired the national premiere of Martinez's dramatized meeting of Che Guevara and Allen Ginsberg (Che and Allen). Martinez is a frequent contributor to Ruskin Group Theatre's L.A. Café Plays and Rogue Machine's Around the Clock Plays, as well as being a regular monologist for acclaimed solo series, Story Salon.

Irene Arranga (director) has enjoyed a successful acting career, including the premiere of Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms (with Swoosie Kurtz) at Buffalo Arena; a national tour of The Miracle Worker (opposite Mercedes Ruhl); TV series regular or recurring roles on ABC's Homeroom, Welcome Back Kotter, Secrets of Midland Heights and The Guns of Paradise. On radio, Arranga performed in LA Theatre Works' The Crucible (co-produced by the BBC) and The Pentagon Papers, as well as directing KPFK's AIR Repertory productions. She frequently directs for Ruskin's L.A. Café Plays. Arranga was co-founding executive producer of The Craig Dinner Theatre in Summit, New Jersey.

Mark Torres (producer/editor) is senior producer/operations director, Pacifica Radio Archives and hosts KPFK's Travel Tips For Aztlan, a weekly Latin Alternative Music Radio show (Saturdays, 10-11PM). In a radio career spanning almost 25 years, Torres has served as technical director/editor for Radio Nation (1995-2002); producer/writer/editor for Voices of Pacifica (1996-1999); producer/writer/editor From The Vault (2007- present). In 2000, Torres was awarded the NFCB Golden Reel Award for his production of The Quentin Crisp Memorial program. His weekly Travel Tip from Aztlan has been accorded Best Radio Show honors by Los Angeles Magazine (2002).

A Child's Christmas in Wales: The great 20th century Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) wrote A Child's Christmas in Wales, a reminiscence of his youth growing up in the South Wales village of Swansea. He performed the piece on the radio in 1952, shortly before his death. The work was published posthumously in 1955. American actor Al Alu was a founding member of the prestigious American Conservatory Theater (ACT). He has performed in regional theaters across the U.S. and toured extensively in the critically acclaimed, I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it On the Road. Mr. Alu's performance is underscored by Koto Keys (keyboardist Marilyn Harris and Japanese harp virtuoso Mara Purl).

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