Casa 0101 Theater Presents Nilo Cruz's LORCA IN A GREEN DRESS, Now thru 8/26

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina López, Artistic Director, and The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College will present "Lorca in a Green Dress," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Nilo Cruz, under the direction of Jennifer Sage Holmes at Casa 0101 Theater, 2102 E. 1st Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Height, Calif., on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m., tonight, July 20 – August 26, 2012.

Set in 1936, in the play, "Lorca in a Green Dress," the great Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca arrives in the "Lorca Room" in Purgatorio, a room of the soul, where he must spend 40 days of morning following his murder at the hands of Spanish fascists. Five different actors portray aspects of the poet's personality in a surrealistic landscape that questions what it means to die, to live, to create and to love. The cast also includes a Flamenco dancer and guitarist who will perform original improvised instrumental music. This particular production will also feature original music composed by Christopher Davis with original lyrics penned by Nilo Cruz.

Playwright Nilo Cruz said: "Lorca had almost prophesized his death. He was perceived as a dissonant artist and was denounced, persecuted and assassinated because of his need to express himself. In my play, Federico García Lorca's death is dramatized five times by actors who play out his life."

Josefina López, Artistic Director of Casa 0101 Theater, said: "I have always had a fascination and admiration for the work of Federico García Lorca, dating back to my days at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. I also greatly admire the writing and work of my friend, Nilo Cruz, whom I first met back in 1988 when we were both participants in María Irene Fornés' Hispanic Playwright's Workshop at Intar Theatre in New York City. It was at that time I wrote my play 'Real Women Have Curves,' which later became a film of the same name, and Nilo went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for his play, 'Anna in the Tropics.' I am thrilled to be able to co-present Nilo's play, 'Lorca in a Green Dress' at my theatre in Boyle Heights."

Regarding the play, director Jennifer Sage Holmes said: "In 'Lorca in a Green Dress,' Nilo Cruz balances audiences on a thin line between life and death. Inspired by the poetry of Federico García Lorca, audiences are brought into a surreal world where Lorca is forced to come to terms with his own death. In doing so, Lorca realizes the beauty, and significance, of life. Our cast will feature professional actors and performers."

Original music and lyrics to be incorporated into this production of the play will include: "Puppet Dance" with music composed by Christopher Davis and lyrics written by Nilo Cruz and "Lorca in a Green Dress," and an original instrumental theme with music composed by Christopher Davis. Other songs performed in the play include: "La Señorita Del Abanico," "Concion De Jinete" and "Y Raise La Gente."

A Free Art Exhibit in The Jean Deleage Gallery at Casa 0101 Theater entitled, "Liminal" will be running in conjunction with the production of "Lorca in a Green Dress." The exhibit will open on Thursday, July 19, 2012 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. "Liminal" is a group art exhibit which will feature original art and mixed media works focused on the ephemeral transformation related to dreams, outer body experience/s and liminality. Artists to be featured in the exhibit include: Raul Baltazar, PINCHI MICHI, Art Chabolla, Ricardo Mendoza and CHATISMO. "Liminal" is also a state of being on the 'threshold' of or between different existential planes, which can also be described as a rites of passage or a ritual, a transitional passage between alternative states. Curator Lilia Ramirez states: "The exhibition is a testament of each artist's personal journey into physical and non-physical spaces of transformation."

Tickets for the play are $20 for General Admission, $17 for Students, Seniors and Groups of 10 or more, and $15 for Boyle Heights residents with identification. For tickets, please call the Casa 0101 Theater Box Office at 323-263-7684, E-mail tickets@casa0101.org or buy online at www.casa0101.org. Advance reservations are highly recommended. Theatre patrons can get a $2 discount by presenting their Metro Bus Cards at the Box Office when buying tickets. Metro bus stations are located on First Street in Boyle Heights at both Soto Street, and at Boyle Street (Mariachi Plaza), within a short walking distance to the theatre.

The cast of "Lorca in a Green Dress" will include: AdrIan Gonzalez (of Los Angeles/Miracle Mile) as Lorca as Blood; Loren Fenton (of Echo Park) as Guard; Serafín Falcón (of North Hollywood) as General; Josh Domingo (of Long Beach) as Lorca with Bicycle Pants; Carmelita Maldonado (of Boyle Heights) as Lorca as Woman 2; Teresa Meza (of Hollywood) as Lorca as Woman 1 and Woman 1 as Ana Maria; Rajesh Gopie (of West Covina) as Lorca in a White Suit and White Suit as Salvador Dalí; Edward Padilla (of Boyle Heights) as Lorca in a Green Dress (July 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, August 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 24, 25, 26); Alejandra Flores (of Elysian Park) as Flamenco Dancer (July 20, 21, 22); Edgardo Gonzalez (of Hollywood) as Flamenco Dancer (July 27, 28, 29) and Understudy for the role of General; Rocio Ponce (of Boyle Heights) as Flamenco Dancer (August 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26); Gerardo Morales (of El Sereno) as Guitar Player (July 20, 21, 22, 27, 29, August 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26); Gabriel Asuna (of Los Angeles) as Guitar Player (July 28 only); and Alex Polcyn (of Silver Lake) as Understudy for Lorca with Bicycle Pants, Lorca as Blood, Lorca in a White Suit and Lorca in a Green Dress. (Alex Polcyn will appear in the role of Lorca in a Green Dress on August 17, 18, 19).

The production team includes: Josefina López, Artistic Director, Casa 0101 Theater; Nilo Cruz, Playwright and Lyricist; Jennifer Sage Holmes, Director and Producer; Emmanuel Deleage, Executive Director, Casa 0101 Theater; Mallory Lopez, Stage Manager; Lia Kozatch, Producer; Erik Escobar, Producer; Edward Padilla, Producer; Christopher Davis, Composer; Monica French, Costume Designer; Willy Donica, Lighting Designer/Master Electrician; Jennifer Sage Holmes and Edward Padilla, Set Designers; Eugenia Sevilla, Set Painter; Sarrahh Blank, Make-Up Designer; Chloe Diaz, Assistant Stage Manager; Nisha Joshi, Assistant Stage Manager; Juan Pablo Bustos, Dramaturg; Lilia Ramirez, Art Exhibition Curator; Mark Kraus, Webmaster; Gabriela Lopez de Dennis, Soap Design Co., Graphic Designer; Ed Krieger, Production Photographer and Steve Moyer Public Relations, Press Representative.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Nilo Cruz is a Cuban-American writer whose work has been produced widely around the United States and Europe. His plays are many and include: "Dancing on her Knees," "A Park in Our House," "Two Sisters and a Piano," "A Bicycle Country," "Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams," "Lorca in a Green Dress," "Anna in the Tropics," "Beauty of the Father," "Hurricane" and "A VERY OLD Man with Enormous Wings" and translations of "Doña Rosita the Spinster," "The House of Bernarda Alba," "Life Is A Dream" and "Ay Carmela."

Cruz has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. His work has been seen at McCarter Theatre, New York's Shakespeare Festival's Public Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Repertorio Español, South Coast Rep, Arena Stage, Victory Gardens, Mark Taper Forum, ALLIANCE THEATRE in Atlanta, New York Theatre Workshop, Magic Theatre, Minneapolis Children's Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Washington's Studio Theatre, Florida Stage and many others.

Internationally, Cruz' plays have been produced in Canada, England, France, Australia, Germany, Belarus, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and in cities throughout Spain including Madrid and Seville. In 2003 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play "Anna in the Tropics" and was nominated for a Tony Awardâ. In 2009 he won The Helen Merrill and the PEN Laura Pels Mid-Career Playwriting Award as well as the Fontanals-Cisneros USA Fellowship in Literature.

He is an alumnus of New Dramatists and has taught playwriting at Brown University, Yale University and the University of Iowa. Recently he completed a set of orchestral songs, "La centinela y la paloma" ("The Keeper and the Dove") for soprano Dawn Upshaw and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Jennifer Sage Holmes (Director), Associate Professor and Chair of the Theatre and Communication Arts Department, is also the Director for The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College. Recent credits include directing and choreographing Sarah Ruhl's "Dead Man's Cell Phone," staging Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz's "Lorca in a Green Dress" and "The Beauty of the Father" with Whittier College students and the involvement of the playwright, traveling with 11 Whittier College students to the InterNational Theatre Festival in Barranquilla, Colombia to mount Cruz's "Lorca in a Green Dress" for the festival; directing children's summer theater for the Broadoaks Children's School in Whittier; creating an original performance piece, "Seeing the Deep," with 12 students from seven different colleges at the Leon Katz Rodolphi InterNational Theatre Laboratory in Smolyan, Bulgaria, and being an Oxford Round Table Discussion Leader where she delivered a paper, Creative Illiteracy: Is It Worth the Price?

Holmes' other directing credits include: "RENT," "Iphigenia and Other Daughters," "Into the Woods," "Beowulf," "Brecht on Brecht," "Cabaret," "Othello," "Our Town," "Lysistrata," "It is So if You Think It's So," "Cloud Nine," and "The Crucible." Holmes received her Ph.D. in Performance Studies and her M.A. Degree in Theatre from Northwestern University. This is her 10th year of teaching at Whittier College where she teaches, among other classes, Fundamentals of Directing, Voice & Movement, Performing Non-Fiction and World Theatre.

Casa 0101 Theater was founded by Josefina López, author of "Real Women Have Curves," in 2000 to fulfill her vision of bringing art and live theatre programs to Boyle Heights, CA. From its humble beginnings in a former tiny bridal shop, Casa 0101 has established itself as a leading arts venue for Los Angeles' East Side, currently offering year round theatrical productions, an annual film festival and classes in dramatic writing and acting, production and performance/play development to youth and adults. Casa 0101 Theater is specifically dedicated to providing vital arts, cultural and educational programs in theatre, digital filmmaking, art and dance – to Boyle Heights, thereby nurturing the future storytellers of Los Angeles who will someday transform the world. Why the name Casa 0101? Casa means house or home in Spanish. 0101 is the original language of computers. It can also mean nothing and everything, Yin and Yang, male and female, life and death, individual and group, the self and the creator-self. It is a commitment to exploring the world and oneself, the good and the bad, the light and the darkness of our soul and our world to the point where there are no borders and "0" and "1" and one. To learn more, please visit the website, www.casa0101.org.

The primary goal of The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College is to integrate educational and creative connections between Whittier College and arts organizations in the Greater Los Angeles area. Under the directorship of Jennifer Sage Holmes, the center has been bringing artists, scholars and members of arts organizations from around the globe to the campus as well as taking students and faculty to experience arts in Los Angeles. Through this rich curriculum enhancement, students are educated about the arts in their community on local, national and international levels. To learn more, visit the website.

Federico García Lorca was born on June 5, 1898. His full name was Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca, with García being the first, or family name, and García, being the second or maternal family name. Lorca was a renowned Spanish Poet, dramatist and theatre director who achieved international recognition. Among his greatest works are the plays "The House of Bernarda Alba" and "Blood Wedding," to name a few. During the Spanish Civil War Lorca was assassinated by fascists on August 19, 1936, although his remains have never been found.

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