Desert Ensemble Theatre to Present Tony Padilla's ENDANGERED SPECIES

Desert Ensemble Theatre today announced its production of Endangered Species, a play in one act written and directed by Tony Padilla, one of the Desert's most prolific and acclaimed playwrights. Performances are March 11-13 and 18-20, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm. The production is at the Pearl McManus Theater in the Palm Springs Woman's Club at 314 S. Cahuilla Road. Tickets are $20 and are now on sale via www.detctheatre.org or by calling 760-565-2476.

This drama has been performed by small municipalities throughout Italy as a means of prompting dialog about our social and human condition today. It deals with good people committing a horrible sin of omission and questions how we treat each other. It won the International Medal at the 2009 Schegge D'Autore playwriting festival, Rome.

The plot involves a middle-aged couple that finds a baby in a trashcan in Central Park and discusses their responsibility. Two women in the park at the same time have very different emotional responses to the situation. The cast includes four popular Coachella Valley actors: Alan Berry, Bonnie Gilgallon, Denise Strand and Yo Younger.

Each performance will be followed by a Q&A session hosted by Padilla. Endangered Species replaces Padilla's previously announced Look at Me, which will be produced in a later season.

Tony Padilla was co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of the former Playwrights' Circle in Palm Springs, where he produced and directed many award winning new plays. His short play Reckoning is published in Three Genres, a 2008 college text book by Stephen Minot and published by Prentice Hall. In 2014, the Desert Theatre League awarded him Bill Groves Award for Original Writing for his comedy Becoming Ava.