Casa 0101 Opens TAMALES DE PUERCO (PORK TAMALES), a Trilingual Play in English, Spanish & American Sign Language

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina López, Artistic Director, will present the play, "Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales)," A Trilingual Play in English, Spanish and American Sign Language, written by Mercedes Floresislas, directed by Edward Padilla. Opening Night is tonight, April 5, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. The play will be presented in a Limited Run for four weeks from tonight, April 5 - 28, 2013 at the New Casa 0101 Theater; 2102 E. First Street (at St. Louis Street); Boyle Heights, CA 90033.

The play can be described as follows: When Norma's husband resorts to violence to cope with her son's deafness, Norma must flee and maneuver in three languages to survive and protect her child. Recommended for mature audiences only.

The cast will include: Arturo Aranda (of Silverlake as Reynaldo Reyes); Alfredo Avila (of Arlington Heights as Tomas); Oscar Basulto (of Los Angeles as Boss); Brian M. Cole (of Los Angeles as Deaf Actor); Maria Correa (of La Puente as Female Deaf Street Vendor); Jaden Delgado (of Los Angeles as Mauricio Morales on April 3, 5, 7, 13, 19, 21 and 27, 2013); Mercedes Floresislas (of Los Angeles as Mother/Street Customer/Cop/Ensemble); Ramona Pilar Gonzales (of South Pasadena as Detective Cohen/Doctor/Ensemble); Cristal Gonzalez (of Los Angeles as Norma Morales); Dickie Hearts(of West Hollywood as Deaf Actor); Michael Anthony Martinez-Islas (of Boyle Heights as Health Inspector/Street Vendor/Homeless Man/Ensemble); Scott McMaster (of Park LaBrea as Cesar); Lynn Moran (of Sylmar as Karla); Miriam Peniche (of North Hollywood as Tana); Antonio Perez (of Los Angeles as Detective Ramos) and Olin Tonatiuh (of Boyle Heights as Mauricio Morales on April 4, 6, 12, 14, 20, 26 and 28, 2013).

This production is made possible in part thanks to the generous support of Casa 0101 sponsors, including The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, the California Endowment, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Herb Alpert Foundation, Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles - A Designated Local Authority, the California Foundation for Stronger Communities, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and Metro.

The director of the production, Edward Padilla said: "Audiences coming to see this production will be in for a very special and atypical theatrical experience they may not have ever seen before. Three languages, English, Spanish and American Sign Language, are used interchangeably in the play. Supertitles, in both Spanish and English, will also be incorporated into the performances as well, which will help to underscore the telling of the story."

Casa 0101 Theater Artistic Director, Josefina López said: "When Mercedes Floresislas first began to tell me about the story of her life, and how, upon the birth of her Deaf son, she had to learn all about a world she had up to that point had no frame of reference for, I was deeply touched. Mercedes expressed an interest in writing about her Deaf experience in a play, and I encouraged her to do so, as I felt she could be a voice for the bilingual and bicultural community that didn't have a voice in the theatre."

The History of the Play:
Playwright Mercedes Floresislas first met Josefina López in January 2007 during a writing workshop López was leading. At that time, Floresislas discussed a dream she had of writing a story based on her Deaf experience. By September 8, 2007, Floresisas had finished writing "Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales)" and by the end of September of that same year she had a table read of the play. López had become a mentor to her.

The play, "Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales)" received a Workshop Production at Little Casa 0101 Theater from November 14 - December 7, 2008 in Boyle Heights, CA. When the late Dr. Larry Fleischer, the Department Head of Deaf Studies at California State University Northridge (CSUN) and a prominent Deaf leader saw the play in 2008 at Little Casa, he immediately invited Floresislas to present the World Premiere presentation of the play at CSUN, where it was performed on March 26, 27 and 28, 2009. The CSUN production of the play was presently jointly by the Department of Deaf Studies, the Department of Chicano/a Studies and the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literature there. Dr. Fleischer was planning a U.S. college tour of the play when he suddenly passed away soon thereafter.

In April of 2009, Floresislas received an inquiry about her play from the Talent Development & Diversity Department at NBC Universal. Aside from being a playwright and the mother of a Deaf child, Mercedes Floresislas is also a clinical social worker. The current Casa 0101 Theater Main Stage Production of "Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales," being presented from April 3 - 28, 2013, features the playwright, Mercedes Floresislas, and her real life Deaf son, Michael Anthony Martinez-Islas appearing in multiple supporting roles in the show.

About The Playwright:
Mercedes Floresislas (Producer, Playwright, American Sign Language Consultant, Mother, Street Customer, Cop, Ensemble) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, but nurtured in Boyle Heights, CA. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from UCLA and her Master's degree in Social Work from California State Los Angeles. Floresislas became involved with Casa 0101 when she realized that her Latino Deaf students and her Deaf son never had the opportunity to see Deaf Latinos and their stories represented in the media. Through the Casa 0101 playwriting class and the unwavering mentorship of Josefina López ("Real Women Have Curves"), Floresislas completed her first play, "Tamales de Puerco (Pork Tamales)," within a few months. Floresislas' acting credits include "Tamales de Puerco (Pork Tamales)" and "Rosa Out of Control." Floresislas' production credits include Josefina López' "Trio Los Machos" and her very own "Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales)."

On The Creation of the Play, Mercedes Floresislas, the Playwright had this to say in 2008:
"The idea of "Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales)" started one day when, while eavesdropping on my son and his Deaf friends, I caught them teasing him for wanting to be an actor. His friends told him: 'You can't be an actor! You're Mexican and Deaf! If you were Mexican, you could. Or just Deaf, you could too, but both? Have you ever seen a Deaf Mexican on television?'

"Although I tried to take the opportunity to give the 'you can be all you can be' lecture, I failed miserably. After all, what did I know? In their minds I was just being a mom! Besides, if they've never seen it, how could these Deaf children believe me?

"When I became a teacher I became painfully aware of the tragic face of the statistics: 90% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, most of whom never learn to communicate in their child's natural language: Signs. None of the parents of my Latino Deaf students could communicate effectively with their Deaf children. The linguistic isolation faced by my young students was heartbreaking and the effects are long lasting as I learned when I became a Substance Abuse Counselor (and later a Sex Offender Treatment Specialist for Deaf and Hard of Hearing).

"Along the way, I have also met amazing, inspiring Deaf (in the heart) parents and family members who despite obstacles and difficulties managed to learn American Sign Language - the only proven protective factor against mental illness, low self-esteem, and underperformance among the Deaf and Hard of Hearing."

"Since most of my son's friends were also Deaf Latinos, I knew his world would be limited by the knowledge base of his peers and their parents. I knew I needed to do more than just offer weekend American Sign Language classes to parents, I needed to expand my son's and his friends' horizons by pushing their constrictive borders. Languages anchor people to time and space and I wanted to inhibit these limitations.

"I first went to Josefina López' writing workshop in 2007 with the intention of writing a story that included my Deaf experience. I wrote the play, 'Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales)' during my first workshop with her. It was her encouragement and support that kept me writing since it became so overwhelming at times and I was tempted to quit. The workshop production of my play 'Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales)' almost didn't happen because we couldn't find a trilingual actress to play the part of Norma.

"At that point the producers of the workshop production asked me to step into the role of Norma. 'I was ready to say no, I'm not an actress!' Then Josefina López called me, out of the blue and told me: 'This story needs to be told; you can't deny these characters their voice just because you are afraid.' She reminded me not only of my son's and his friends' misconceptions, but also of all the people who live with self limiting beliefs. She said: 'The story is more important than your fears.'

"Josefina López' encouragement also came when I doubted my position in my graduate program. I remember one time when I was ready to quit she called me (also out the blue) and once I finished crying and reciting all the reasons why I was not good enough for the program, she reminded me that the people I wanted to serve were more important than my fears. It was Josefina Lopez' passion to empower the oppressed that encouraged me to become a playwright and a clinical social worker."

Now in 2013, Mercedes Floresislas, has this to say about her play:
"As the years have passed since I wrote 'Tamales De Puerco (Pork Tamales),' and with a few years as a therapist under my belt, I have reflected on the real reason I wrote this play. 'Tamales de Puerco (Pork Tamales)' is an expression of gratitude to the Deaf Community for my life. When my son Michael was born, it was obvious 'something was off' but it took more than two years to figure out that he was simply profoundly Deaf."

"Prior to his diagnosis I was at the end of my proverbial rope: I was severely affected by an unidentified post partum depression and the compounding effects of an abusive relationship; I was ready to check out. I was convinced that he was the perfect baby and that I had caused whatever was affecting him. I pitied him for having such a lousy mother. Although his diagnosis gave me the courage to find a better life, it still took years for the effects of depression and abuse to disappear since 'not good enough' was my identity.

"It wasn't until I fully embraced American Sign Language as my son's language that my life changed. I realized that the only thing I had to do was try and that alone made it impossible to fail for no matter how badly I signed, I would still manage to communicate how important he is to me. How could I possibly fail? The Deaf Community nurtured and guided me. By embracing the challenge to be my son's voice and bridge to the hearing world despite my severe anxiety and depression, I was healed. My depression lifted, my anxiety became silent, my world expanded, my family grew, and my view of myself also changed. My life has been so extraordinary because of the voice my son's hearing impairment forced me to acknowledge. My son and my Deaf family taught me to find and use my voice and, who needs speech when you have a voice?"

Preview Performances at $15 per ticket will be given on Wednesday and Thursday, April 3 and 4, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. The Opening Night Performance will be held on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 8:00 p.m., followed by a performance on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Thereafter performances will be given on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and on Sundays at 5:00 p.m. through April 28, 2013. Concurrently with the run of the play there will be an art exhibition entitled, "The Culture of Communication," which is curated by Margaret Garcia. The exhibition will be in The Jean Deleage Art Gallery at Casa 0101 Theater.

Ticket prices for Opening Night on Friday, April 5, 2013 are $25 each, which includes the performance and post-show reception. Tickets for performances during the rest of the four-week limited run of the show from April 6 - 28, 2013 will be $20 per person for General Admission; $17 per person for Seniors; and $15 per person for Students/Boyle Heights residents. Discounts for Groups are also available. 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. 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. Like us on Facebook.

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