The Actors' Gang Presents Its First Fully Bilingual Play YBOR CITY

Ybor City, a new play written and directed by Mariana Da Silva with movement direction by Stephanie G. Galindo, will have thirteen performances only March 7 to March 30 at The Actors' Gang in Culver City. 

Performed in English and Spanish with supertitles in both languages. Tickets are available at www.theactorsgang.com and by phone at 310-838-4264. Pay-What-You-Can are on Thursdays available at the door. There will be post show talkbacks on Fridays.
 
Ybor City in Tampa, Florida which dates from the 1880s, was founded by Vincente Martinez-Ybor, who moved his cigar factory from Cuba to Florida; others followed.  Ybor built the community including housing for cigar factory workers, then a highly specialized trade.
 
The area was populated by thousands of Cuban immigrants in addition to immigrants from Spain, Italy, and other countries – and for the next half century, it annually stocked the world with hundreds of millions of cigars.  The entire enterprise -- a town owned and populated by immigrants -- was highly successful and had a strikingly multi-racial and multi-ethnic population. 
 
To both tell the stories of this remarkable community and her own migrant experience, Da Silva has created a sensory rich production that combines music, movement, projections, and language.  It is The Actors' Gang first fully bilingual production in English and Spanish with larger scale pieces choreographed by Galindo, set to popular Latin songs. This 90-minute play will include supertitles in both languages. Ybor City's cast is made up from The Actors' Gang ensemble.

As Da Silva wrote in Ybor City, “The play recounts a long-lasting oral tradition which became cemented as part of the cigar factory culture – that of the factory worker reader, or lector. Lectors read from a variety of printed materials, including novels and newspapers [as the workers labored].  Despite factory owners placing severe limitations on a lector's reading material, lectors began reading political pamphlets and texts.  This fostered a radical consciousness among the cigar workers, many of whom died on the job. This awakening leads to the first female storyteller whose refusal to back down lead to unionism, regular strikes, and work stoppages.”
 
Ybor City's cigar culture flourished until the Great Depression. Worldwide demand plummeted following the mechanization of the manufacture of cigars. This modernization led to the eventual abandonment of this formerly vibrant neighborhood.
 
The Actors' Gang Artistic Director Tim Robbins, who has guided the writing and production of Ybor City, said, “This innovative approach invites audiences into a mesmerizing world where movement and language converge, transcending cultural and linguistic barriers.  With Ybor City, as the lector reads to the workers – particularly Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote and Henry David Thoreau's essays – we also celebrate the transformative power of literature.  Ybor City portrays a vibrant culture at its peak – blending historical drama, fantastic realism, supernatural intrigue, and the revolutionary spirit -- as it speaks directly to the human heart, which is part of The Actors' Gang artistic mission. And we are thrilled that the cast represents the wide variety of ethnic and gender diversity that makes up this city.”
 
The inception of Ybor City began during the unprecedented challenges of 2020. Robbins and The Actors' Gang ensemble gathered online weekly, finding solace and inspiration in Studs Terkel's “Hard Times.” The poignant readings and performances fueled the creation of We Live On, a Zoom play that paid homage to the power of resilience and community.
 
The compelling narrative introduced audiences to Jose Yglesias, a nonfictional person in Terkel's book. Yglesias was a cigar factory worker in Ybor City— a town built on the dreams and aspirations of Cubans and Europeans seeking a better life in America. Ybor City's rich tapestry of cultures, social clubs, celebrations, and exploitation comes to life, highlighting the enduring legacy of resilience and resistance.
 
Da Silva said, “When I heard the story of Jose Yglesias, in We Live On, I knew there was more to be explored. In Ybor City, lectors were integral to the daily lives of factory workers, influencing their thoughts and actions through the power of storytelling—a tradition that resonates with today's podcast culture. Ybor City explores the parallels between past and present, weaving together threads of history, culture, and community that transcend time. Like all The Actors' Gang shows, this story is filled with laughter as well as challenging truths.”

About the Director

 
Mariana Da Silva is a multi-talented actress and writer.  In 2020, Mariana expanded her creative horizons by participating as a writer in CBS's Pipeline Challenge, demonstrating her ability to craft compelling narratives that resonate with audiences across diverse backgrounds. As an artist of Brazilian/Mexican background her unique perspective enriches her storytelling. It highlights the complexities, nuances, and richness of her Latinx culture and heritage.  Previously she participated in Telemundo's prestigious ‘Taller Telemundo' training program, led by Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza.
 
Mariana is a leader committed to fostering inclusivity in the entertainment industry. As the founder of El Cine, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, she champions accessible film education, meaningful conversations, and celebratory screenings that elevate and honor the Latin community's contributions to cinema. Through El Cine, Mariana empowers aspiring filmmakers, artists, and storytellers, creating opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and growth.

About

The Actors' Gang was founded in 1981 by a group of punk rock theater artists looking to create a new style of relevant, entertaining theater in Los Angeles. The Actors' Gang mission is to present new, unconventional, and uncompromising plays and dynamic reinterpretations of the classics, to restore the ancient sense of the stage as a shared sacred space, to introduce theater to children and help them find their own creative voices, and to bring the freedom of self-expression to the incarcerated.
 
Over the past 40 years, The Actors' Gang has performed for audiences in Los Angeles and worldwide, on five continents and in 40 U.S. States. Our groundbreaking Prison Project is currently in fourteen California prisons, serving incarcerated women, men and children with rehabilitation programs that significantly reduce recidivism. Each year, thousands of children in Los Angeles public schools discover confidence and creativity with our Education Department through in-school immersion and after-school programs, and by participating in classes that encourage acceptance, respect, and team building in fun and impactful ways.
 
In 1981, we started this journey in garages, art galleries, and street corners, and performed midnight shows in small venues and on dark Hollywood streets. We wanted to tell stories that meant something about the world around us, stories that stood boldly in front of power and mercilessly exposed hypocrisy. We wanted to tell stories about love and heroism and the nobility and dignity of the poor.
 
“We,” back then, meant eight UCLA students. Four decades later, we are 50 Committed Artists touring throughout the world, still doing theater, still telling timely stories, all while running nationally recognized programs in prisons, re-entry facilities, and schools. Our teachers have been joined by formerly incarcerated participants, a relentless staff, and a growing number of women, men, and youth who are using the tools we provide to make life altering change happen.

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