TNC's 2016 Dream Up Festival to Present ALPHA 66

Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival Presents
"Alpha 66"
A New Drama About the Struggles of a Family in 1960s Communist Cuba

How long do the bonds of family last under the weight of an oppressive regime? "Alpha 66" by Robby Ramos explores this question by examining the story of a Cuban family during Fidel Castro's rise to power in the 1960s. When three siblings are called in for interrogation over the crimes of the young brother, tempers flash, allegiances are challenged and the overreaching power of the tyrannical government becomes realized. Marion Elaine directs.

The story takes place in a Cuban prison, in two separate interrogation rooms, where siblings Rafa and Ava are being investigated for supposedly spreading a poster of Che Guevara in drag. Rafa is interrogated by his estranged brother Papo, who left his family to aid in Castro's revolution, while Ava is left to fend off Madre, the cruel warden of the prison. Rafa's and Ava's association with the "terrorist" group Alpha 66 becomes apparent, and Papo must decide whether to betray the government to protect his family or remain steadfast and loyal to the powers that employ him. All the while, Bill Kenny, an American radio host, broadcasts anti-communist messages into the country, mirroring the mental states of the siblings entangled in the affair.

Alpha 66 is an anti-Castro paramilitary terror group formed in 1961. Largely based in Miami, Florida, and active during the 1960s and 1970s, Alpha 66 planned several assassinations of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Though none of these attempts materialized, and hopes of an invasion to free Cuba from communist rule dissipated with the failure of the United States' Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961, the group is officially still active today. Though many consider them a terrorist group on account of their violent actions against pro-Castro speakers in 1970s Miami, none of the founding members of Alpha 66 have been tried for crimes.

The Sinteatro-Intimus Theatre Company will produce the play. The cast will include Robby Ramos, David Wasson, Aminta de Lara. Set design is by Marion Elaine and Robby Ramos. Lighting design is by Aminta de Lara and David Wasson.

Robby Ramos is a New York based actor and playwright, originally from Miami, Florida. A graduate of T. Schreiber Studio's One Year Conservatory, Ramos has appeared in productions at the Signature Theatre and the LaMama Experimental Theatre Club. In 2014, Ramos was awarded the Best Actor Award by the Venus/Adonis Theatre Festival. He participates in Unit 52, an acting unit of INTAR. He is a co-founder of Sinteatro-Intimus.

Marion Elaine (director) is a New York actress and a co-founder of Sinteatro-Intimus. Elaine is a graduate of Hunter College, where she got a BA in Theatre and Media Studies. Before helping to found Sinteatro-Intimus, Elaine was involved with the New Mercury Theatre Company, which donates all its proceeds to different charities in the New York tri-state area. She recently starred in the independent film "Do You Think I'm Pretty?" She is the Assistant Artistic Director as the Possibility Project in New York City.

WHERE AND WHEN:
September 9 at 9:00 PM, September 10 at 5:00 PM, September 11 at 8:00 PM, September 12 at 9:00 PM, September 14 at 9:00 PM.
Community Theater, Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at East 10th Street)
Presented by Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Artistic Director) as part of the Dream Up Festival 2016.
Ticket Price: $15.00
Box office: (212) 254-1109, www.dreamupfestival.org
Runs for 1:30. Reviewers are invited to all performances.

The seventh annual Dream Up Festival is dedicated to new works. Presented by Theater for the New City, the Festival will run from August 28 to September 18, 2016 and will feature a variety of original dramas, comedies, musicals, adaptations and experimental plays. The Festival celebrates the arts in a time when cultural and arts funding is in sharp decline due to a number of social and market forces. Now an East Village tradition, it challenges the audience to reflect on the innovative and imaginative ways that they interact with the theater.

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