Playwrights' Arena Announces Cast of SOUTHERNMOST

Jon Lawrence Rivera, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Arena - the first and oldest theater dedicated to discovering, nurturing, and producing original works written exclusively by Los Angeles playwrights - is thrilled to announce the cast for SOUTHERNMOST by Mary Lyon Kamitaki, which includes Amielynn Abellera, Kimberly Alexander, Aaron Ikeda, Alberto Issac, and Sharon Omi

The play centers around a daughter's return home to Hawaii for a vacation, when her father is taken aback at her modern, mainland lifestyle as well as her refusal to support his latest venture: a coffee farm in their backyard. His determination clashes with his daughter's resistance, both to the coffee and her rural Hawaiian roots. Faced with the threat of an impending lava flow, will they embrace the future, or risk losing everything?

Mary Lyon Kamitaki is an emerging Los Angeles playwright born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. After graduating from Pomona College, she went on to earn an MFA in Dramatic Writing at the University of Southern California's School of Dramatic Arts in 2018. Her work includes plays, screenplays, and television scripts that center young women and families with a particular focus on coming-of-age stories. Her plays have received readings and a workshop production at USC and been named semifinalists in both the Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the Eugene O'Neil Theater Center's 2017 National Playwrights Conference.

The play will be directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera who is the recipient of the first Career Achievement Award from Stage Raw. He recently directed the following critically-acclaimed world premieres for Playwrights' Arena: I GO SOMEWHERE ELSE by Inda Craig-Galván, BILLY BOY by Nick Salamone; LITTLE WOMEN [a multi-cultural transposition] by Velina Hasu Houston; THE HOTEL PLAY by Paula Cizmar, Velina Hasu Houston, Jennifer Maisel, Nahal Navidar, Julie Oni, Janine Salinas Schoenberg and Laurie Woolery; BLOODLETTING by Boni B. Alvarez (also at the Kirk Douglas Theatre); @THESPEEDOFJAKE by Jennifer Maisel; CIRCUS UGLY by Gabriel Rivas Gomez; PAINTING IN RED by Luis Alfaro. He is the recipient of a NY Fringe Festival Award, an LA Weekly Award, and a five-time Ovation Award nominee.

Production Team includes: Justin Huen (scenic design), Lily Bartenstein (lighting design), Jesse Mandapat (sound design), Mylette Nora (costume design). Casting Director was Raul Clayton Staggs. It will be staged managed by Letitia Chang and produced for Playwrights' Arena by Henry 'Heno' Fernandez with Giovanni Ortega as Associate Producer.

Opening set for Saturday, April 6, 2019, 4 PM at Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles. One preview on Friday, April 5, 8 PM, with regular performances on Saturdays 8 PM, Sundays 4 PM and Mondays 8 PM plus two Saturday 4 PM matinees on April 6 and 20. It closes on Monday, April 29, 2018.

Tickets are $30 advance on line or $40 at the door. For reservations go to www.playwrightsarena.orgor call 800-838-3006.

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