Trinity Rep Closes Season with LIKE SHEEP TO WATER, OR FUENTE OVEJUNA

Trinity Rep concludes its 53rd season with the Golden Age drama, Like Sheep to Water, or Fuente Ovejuna by Lope De Vega, translated and adapted by Curt Columbus, directed by Mark Valdez. Like Sheep to Water, or Fuente Ovejuna runs May 11 - June 11, 2017. Tickets are on sale now by phone at (401) 351-4242, online at www.trinityrep.com, or in person at the theater's box office at 201 Washington Street, Providence.

In 15th-century Spain, a menacing Commander terrorizes a small town's citizens-especially the women. Pushed to their limit, the people of Fuente Ovejuna rise up against their oppressor in a fierce act of unity and bravery. Based on actual events, the story was immortalized by one of Spain's greatest and most influentiAl Golden Age dramatists. Now, Trinity Rep's adaptation of this timeless masterpiece reverberates with fresh urgency.

"It's so clear to me that this is one of the plays for our time," said director Mark Valdez. "I believe that it reflects the zeitgeist of where we are, culturally and politically, even though it was written 400 years ago. Our production is built at the intersection where history and our modern time meet."

"Most of Trinity Rep's audiences will be encountering Lope De Vega's work for the first time, and yet, he is one of the most important and prolific writers in world literature," added artistic director Curt Columbus. "Lope De Vega set out to write a play about the nature of power, its potential for abuse, and whether those oppressed choose to fight. Could there be more resonant, topical subject for a play in America today?"

Curt Columbus spent over a year translating and adapting the prolific Golden Age text. Combined with Jerediah Gonzalez's original score written specifically for this production, Trinity Rep's Like Sheep to Water, or Fuente Ovejuna is simultaneously a revived classic and an innovative, poignant retelling. The cast includes Trinity Rep resident Acting Company members Stephen Berenson, Angela Brazil,Timothy Crowe, Janice Duclos, FrEd Sullivan, Jr., Rachael Warren, and Joe Wilson, Jr. Guest actors Daniel Duque-Estrada (Trinity Rep's recent A Midummer Night's Dream), Benjamin Grills, Orlando Hernández, and Jonathan Olivera with Brown/Trinity Rep MFA actorsAnita Castillo-Halorssen, Octavia Chavez-Richmond, and Marcel Mascaro join the cast.

A cast of teenagers play the role of the villagers: Angelique Dina, Kafui Glover, Wenricka Griffith, Valearie Kane, and Yanasia Tarr.Bedros Kevorkian plays the village boy.

The creative team includes Michael McGarty (set design), Garry Lennon (costume design), Emily Christoffersen (wig designer) Karin Olson (lighting design), Peter Sasha Hurowitz (sound design), Jerediah Gonzalez (original music/music direction), Craig Handel (fight direction), Patricia Ybarra (dramaturgy), and stage manager Kristen Gibbs.

Director Mark Valdez is an artist and organizer based in Los Angeles. He has worked at such theaters as the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Cornerstone Theater Company, East West Players, Mark Taper Forum, and Mixed Blood. Current projects include a commission from the Alliance to create a new play with and for the residents of Buford Highway, as well as a new play, Curious, with playwright Jose Cruz Gonzalez. Mark is a Doris Duke Foundation Artist-In-Residence with Mixed Blood and the recipient of a Princess Grace Foundation Award, a NALAC Artist Award, and was a finalist for the Alan Schneider Director Award.

Special events surrounding Like Sheep to Water, or Fuente Ovejuna include Lunch and Learn on Friday, May 19th at noon, post-show talkbacks on Sunday, May 21st and Wednesday, May 24th following the matinees, Teens Talk Back on Friday, May 26th after the performance, Great Writers: Shakespeare and Lope De Vega on Monday, June 6th at 7pm, and Ovation & Conversation with Christina Bevilacqua on Sunday, June 11th following the evening performance. All events are included in the price of a ticket and are welcome to all ticket holders. As always, the pre-show prologue will take place one hour before every performance led by a member of the cast.

Trinity Rep's 53rd season is sponsored by Ocean State Job Lot and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA). Like Sheep to Water, or Fuente Ovejuna is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Trinity Repertory Company

The State Theater of Rhode Island, Trinity Repertory Company is now in its 53rd season. Since its founding in 1963, Trinity Repertory Company has been one of the most respected regional theaters in the country. Featuring one of the last permanent resident acting companies in America, Trinity Rep presents a balance of world premiere, contemporary, and classic works for an estimated annual audience of approximately 110,000. Since 1963, the theater has produced 68 world premieres, mounted national and international tours, and trained hundreds of new actors and directors through its MFA program.

Subscriptions for the 2017-2018 season now on sale. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the box office at (401) 351-4242 or visit Trinity Rep's website at www.trinityrep.com.

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