MI ABUELA, QUEEN OF NIGHTMARES Sets Cast & Creative Team For Hispanic Heritage Month Run At The Tank

The award-winning drama Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares will have its world premiere at The Tank theatre in Midtown Manhattan this September for a total of 16 performances (Sept. 8-Oct. 1). Written by Salvadoran-American playwright Christine Stoddard, the show will be directed by Mexican director Fiamma Piacentini in this full production world premiere. The play coincides with National Hispanic Heritage Month and The Tank's 20th anniversary season. Here are the cast and creative team bios:

CAST BIOS

Andie Fuentes (MAYA) is overjoyed to be returning to The Tank to celebrate her Mexican roots alongside this company. Originally from El Paso, Texas, Andie is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma School of Drama. She is currently represented by Malissa Young Mgmt and DDO. Recent credits include: Val (Autopsy of a Night at a Bar, The Tank NYC), Rose (Flower Power, The Tank, NYC), Ophelia (Hamlet, Oklahoma Shakespeare), First Witch (Macbeth, Oklahoma Shakespeare), and Jane Fairfax (Emma, Oklahoma Shakespeare). Andie would like to thank her family, friends and the Abuela team for all of their support and love. Special shout-out to her abuelitas extreme, Rosalba Urbina and Luchy Uranga. Y un beso para mi mami, Ariadna Márquez.

Lupita Asto (MAMI) was born and raised in New Jersey, just across the Hudson. Her family is from Guatemala and Peru. She graduated from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy with her Bachelors in Musical Theatre and with a certificate from Oneida's Dance Studio. She has been a part of improv shows at the Magnet Theatre and a Comedy Sketch show at The Asylum NYC. She currently takes classes to continue her training in the performing arts and is fluent in Spanish. She is excited to work on her next show, "Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares" by Christine Stoddard opening in September.

Adriana Ascencio (SALVADORAN WOMAN/JAGUAR) is a Salvadoran American actor born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. She's a recent graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting professional conservatory. Her recent projects include If the Bells Would Ring (The Tank), The B is for Bullsh!t (Stella Adler Studio), Water by the Spoonful (u/s, The Heights Players) and the lead in the short film Claudia which premiered at NYC's Newfest Film Festival in 2022. adrianaascencio.com

Ash Patlan (SALVADORAN WOMAN/JAGUAR/OWL) Off-Broadway: The Winter Guard Play Reading (New York Theatre Workshop). Regional Theatre: We've Come to Believe (43rd Humana Festival of New American Plays); The Wilting, Halfway, Fifth-Third Bank's A Christmas Carol, And We're Live, and Mayflower (Actors Theatre of Louisville); The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Pioneer Theatre Company). Ash served as apprentice for both Pioneer Theatre Company and Actors Theatre and is a graduate from the University of Utah's Actor Training Program. Ash is so excited to be in her first production at the Tank and hopes you all enjoy. Let's go!

Telba Cavero (ABUELA). Some of her credits include: Saltimbanquis, The Wizard of Oz, Beauty & The Beast (Lima, Perú); Blood's Wedding, The Darkness of Your Eyes, Quíntuples, La lechuga (NYC); Directing work: Honey Brown Eyes, Master Class (Virtual Play). BFA: CofC.

Addy Marsh (FATHER/SHERIFF/JAGUAR) is an excited newcomer to the NYC stage! His professional career began with regional theater in his home state of Wisconsin, starring in book musicals such as Legally Blonde, Crazy for You, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In 2019, he came to NYC to study at the Maggie Flanigan studio with renown Meisner teacher Charlie Sandlan and graduated in 2022. Some of his favorite roles he has played while studying were Dauphin in The Lark and Orin in Mourning Becomes Electra. Addy is thrilled to make his off off Broadway debut as Father/Sheriff/Jaguar and wants to especially thank his partner, Jon, and dog Ari for their love and support!

ARTISTIC TEAM BIOS

Christine Stoddard (playwright/producer/prop designer) is a Salvadoran-American writer, director, actor, artist, and filmmaker. Born to a Salvadoran mother and American father, she was raised in Virginia, where she was recognized as one of Style Weekly's Top 40 Under 40. She is the creator of Quail Bell Magazine, Forget Fairytales comics, the Quail Tales comedy show series, and the TV/radio show Badass Lady-Folk. Her books include Water for the Cactus Woman, Belladonna Magic, Naomi & The Reckoning, and other titles. Her feature film Sirena's Gallery is distributed by Summer Hill Entertainment and her short Bottled is streamable on Amazon Prime. In 2023, Brooklyn Magazine named her one of its Top 50 Most Fascinating People. She holds an MFA in Digital & Interdisciplinary Art Practice from The City College of New York and is pursuing her MA in oral history at Columbia University while participating in the BMI Bookwriting Basics Workshop. WorldOfChristineStoddard.com

Fiamma Piacentini (director/costume designer) is a New York City based Director, Actor, Movement Artist, and Photographer from Mexico City, Mexico. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to direct "Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares" by Christine Stoddard at The Tank! Previously, Fiamma played the role of Abuela for the workshop version of the same play at the Gene Frankel Theater, where she also served as movement director. Other directing credits include "las:sitas: a movement exploration of the divine feminine" at the Fringe NYC Festival. Thank you so much to Christine and The Tank for this amazing opportunity, I am so grateful to be a part of bringing more Latine stories to the NYC stage. www.fiammapiacentini.com

Rodrigo Escalante (set designer) is originally from El Salvador, Rodrigo is a New York City based designer. Recent work has been seen at Theaterworks Hartford, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Opera House Arts, Cape Fear Regional Theatre, The New School, Barnard College, Columbia University, Waterwell Theatre, INTAR, American Stage and The Public Theatre Shakespeare Initiative. Rodrigo is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, for more of his work visit www.rodrigoescalante.com

Jen Leno (lighting designer) uses she/they pronouns and is a lighting designer, programmer, and generative artist out of Brooklyn, NY. They hold an MFA in Lighting Design from Brooklyn College and a BFA in Fine Art- Painting. Jen's expertise in color theory and composition are central features of her work as a lighting designer. She hopes to continue to create work that centers the narratives of traditionally underrepresented communities in theater, especially the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. Jen believes good theater-making asks questions about our values, our ability to empathize, and inspires us to consider expanding beyond the confines of our limited, personal perspectives. She is thrilled to be a part of this production and would like to thank all of her friends and family for their support as she pursues her dreams.

Sebastian Gutierrez (sound designer) is psyched to be back in NYC as part of Mi Abuela. A graduate from Carnegie Mellon University with an MFA in sound design, he is an audio artist and composer based out of Los Angeles. Previous credits include Yerma (Shotgun Players), Shakespeare LIVE '23 (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), The End is the Future is Now (CMU), Woyzeck (CMU), Everybody (CMU), Our House is Haunted (Dixon Place) and Down the Road (Access Theater). Other ventures include forays into video game sound design and the composition of music intended for cats, which is a real thing.

Madeline C. Yara (stage manager) is a multidisciplinary artist and UNC-Chapel Hill graduate who has recently moved to NYC. A musician at heart, she has music directed community and student theatre across North Carolina and is now working in technical theatre/sound design. She has most recently sound designed All We Know of Love & Fire in collaboration with the Tank and is very excited to be a part of Mi Abuela Queen of Nightmares!

Ana Camila (production intern) is a Salvadoran-American actress. She was born and raised in El Salvador. She is currently based in New York City where she continues her studies at the William Esper Studio. She is eager to learn and continue growing as an artist. She was part of several short films in El Salvador including "Cenizas," featured in Festival Icaro 2023. She is also a volunteer at Times Square Church in Production and Translation. She hopes to touch lives through storytelling and inspire others.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION COMPANY

Quail Bell Press & Productions is the multi-faceted arts, entertainment, and media brainchild of Christine Stoddard. Invested in the imaginary, the nostalgic, and the otherworldly, we produce feminist and BIPOC-centered narratives across creative media. Find out more at www.quailbell.com.

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