OH...! OLLANTAY... Closes February 14 at Teatro La Tea

Rasgos Group Theatre and Teatro LaTea's production of "OH...! OLLANTAY...", directed by Walter Ventosilla, will close on February 14.

All tickets $18.00 and available via www.smarttix.com or by calling Teatro LaTea at (212) 529-1948.

"Oh...! Ollantay's" story is one passed down by the Incas from generation to generation, making this a unique experience to see in the United States, and among the first recorded plays written in the Americas. The play tells of a noble commoner who defies his community because of his love for the princess Cusi Coyllor, and thereby puts the empire into a state of rebellion. The story combines tragedy and comedy, and has a vivid cast of male and female characters. Similar to the many tales of the ancient Greeks, this one also utilizes a chorus - but contains a very unique point of view, one that is rarely seen. It is a love story, one of passions, pride, and ultimately forgiveness. This is an ensemble piece with the company of actors all playing multiple roles - all bilingual, and from many parts of Latin America. It's presented as a multi-sensory experience told with the aid of puppets, masks and live Andean music. It's a rare and magical look into the Incan culture. **The show is suitable for children 10 and up.**

The cast includes: Carlos Bernales, Bill Blechingberg, Marisol Carrere, Ana Maria Estrada, Julio Granados, and Gabriela Kohen. The show's director is Walter Ventosilla, costume design by Julio Granados/Maria Del Carmen Bernales, music/sound design by Carlos David Bernales, graphic design by Julio Granados and photography by Alfredo Hureca.

Carlos Bernales: (Actor) Bernales has performed as a solo pianist as well as a member of various chamber ensembles at several prestigious venues such as the Dag Hammarskjold auditorium of the United Nations, Museum of Art of Queens, Flushing Town Hall, Lefrak Concert Hall of Queens College, Rutgers University of New Jersey, the Langston Hughes Library of the City of New York, HITN (Hispanic Television Network) Channel, La Tea, National Conservatory of Perú. Bernales has written works for soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestra. His musical creation is rooted as much in western classical music as in the classical music of other cultures and in a special way in the music of his country, Perú. Many of his works have been commissioned for American theater, television and radio. His works have been performed at the Museum of Art of Queens, Flushing Town Hall, Lefrak Concert Hall of Queens College, the Langston Hughes Library of the City of New York, HITN, NBC, La Tea, Repertorio Español, 1280 AM and WBAI.

Bill Blechingberg: (Actor, founding member of Rasgos) seen in Monserrat,nominated for his first ACE award as Best Actor. Also appeared in The Three Penny Opera, and Las Leandras. He has appeared in Mario Vargas Llosa's, Los Cachorros, for which he was nominated for best actor for the ACE awards. LATEA Associate Artistic Director. Nominated as Best Director for Hay Que Apagar El Fuego. Part of the OBIE-nominated production of The Flying Machine's production of Frankenstein, which toured the USA.

Marisol Carrere: (Actress) Hunter College, B.A. Theatre Arts (Cum Laude for Acting), Le Universitè De Reims, France. Theatre: La Pequena Cabana (ACE Nom. 2006, collab./translate/ adaption), Romeo & Julieta, Brief Conversations (collab./translate), Los Suenos Del Coqui (ACE Nom. 2007), The Imaginary Invalid collab./translate/adaption, Gritando En Sliencio collab./translate. Film & TV: Guiding Light, Dreamer, Crack Down Big City Blues, Que Le Parece (Telemundo), PA for MTV, and various commercials. She is also a playwright and producer.

Ana Maria Estrada: (Actress, founding member of Rasgos Group Theatre) she began her career as a child actor in Lima-Cocolido, acting alongside veteran actors such as Aurora Colina and Edgar Guillen. Other credits include Los Cachorros (Hispanic Critics' ACE Award), La Noche De Los Asasinos (ACE Award), Isabela Tres Carabelas y un Sinverguenza, Montserrat, Los Vampiros, Mariana Pineda, Las Mariposas son Libres, Nosotras Ellas y el Duende, The Public, El Grito de Tarzan, and Cada Quien su Vida.

Gabriela Kohen: (Actor/translator) a founding member of Rasgos Group Theatre. She has performed in the company as Chabuca in The Cubs, Beda in The Night of the Murderers, and Juana La Loca in Isabel, Three Sailing Ships and a Wish Guy, in an English translation. She received her MFA from The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Gabriela wrote and performed her autobiographical one-woman-show, Decoding the Tablecloth, which she toured around the country, winning the award for Outstanding Solo Show at the NY International Fringe Festival. She can be heard as the voice of the Wicked Witch in the animated The Wizard of Oz and Bastian in the animated Neverending Story, both for HBO en Espanol. She has also written and translated a series of children's books.

Julio Granados: (Actor/costume designer/graphic designer) in Peru he worked with the renowned theatre Company, CAUTROTABLAS, touring Germany with Los Clasicos de Shakespeare. He played the leading role in the film El Corazon de Jose which was featured in the International Film Festival in Europe. Julio has designed many corporate and entertainment logos, and has won a variety of prestigious international awards for graphic design and illustrations. Jorge is a published author and illustrator of a number of books, and is a recording artist with a catalogue of original pop music to his credit.

Walter Ventosilla: (Director) writer, playwright and theater director. Ventosilla has published Cuentos de Tierra y Eucaliptos (1982 and 1996), Asunción (1994), Luis bandolero Luis (2005), and A Quien Corresponda (2008). As a playwright his works include Obras de Teatro para la Mujer and Antología del Nuevo Teatro Peruano. With his Setiembre Theater Group he participated in international theater festivals, and in 1987 he was selected one of the 10 most creative young writers in Peru. In 1990, his children's play El Lago Encantado was translated into French and played in Paris the same year; and in 2000 his play Para danzar a la vida was translated into English and played in New York. Ventosilla directed the New York staging of Inti Raymi, the Sun Feast with more than 50 actors and actresses, performed outdoors in 2007. He's currently teaching Acting and the Preparation of the Actor workshop at Instituto de Arte Teatral IATI in NYC, culminating his complete works, writing a new short story and a second novel.

RASGOS GROUP THEATRE was founded in 1991 to touch audiences with the love of Latin American theatre. RASGOS theatre members have performed on the Spanish and English stages throughout North and South America, offering audiences the works of those rarely seen and often overlooked. With their first production, The Cubs (Los Cachorros), RASGOS GROUP THEATRE firmly established itself as a pillar of Latin American theatre. Their ensemble portrayal of Mario Vargas Llosa's work depicting adolescence in Peru earned Manuel Arenas the Hispanic Critics' ACE award (Latin equivalent to Outer Critics' Circle Award) for Best Director, while Bill Blechingberg was nominated for Best Actor, and the production was nominated for Best Play. Other RASGOS works have included: The Night of the Murderers (La Noche De Los Asasinos, ACE Award, Best Director), Isabelle's Three Caravels and Sinverguenza (Isabela Tres Carabelas y un Sinverguenza), and Pancho Villa.

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