San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Presents DEATH AND THE ARTIST

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company (BATCO) presents Death and the Artist: A Latino folktale about how death brings meaning to life. The show takes place at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts from Friday October 18th through November 3rd 2019 (over Halloween and Día de los Muertos), with a press and VIP preview on October 17th. Attendees are invited to don their best costume for our special Halloween night show on October 31st or come dressed in your best Calaca at any performance for a chance to win a special prize.

Adapted from Mercedes Rein & Jorge Curi's Death and the Blacksmith (El Herrero y la Muerte) by Chilean Playwright and Bay Area resident Carlos Barón, Death and the Artist is directed by BATCO Co-Founder Marcelo Javier.

When an old Californio and ex-coyote named Pobreza (Poverty) tricks Death up a tree in his final moments on Earth, he faces the dilemma "would you risk the fate of the world for a better life?". With death gone, chaos ensues and everyone from the Governor to St. Peter and the Devil try to persuade Pobreza to let Death go to save humanity. This dark comedy brings emblematic characters to life in a theatre experience that will take the audience on an emotional rollercoaster full of farce, fear, and fun.

With Latino culture at the heart of this creative adaptation, BATCO's musical dramedy juggles past and present conversations around life, death, inequity, and immigration, touching on moral questions we all face.

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The mid-1990's and mid 2000's productions of Carlos Barón's play were well-received, "...because the play is based on a very engaging folk legend, with issues that affect all human beings ...and because the script made people laugh." Said playwright Carlos Barón. He continued:

" I am very happy and proud to see my re-writing of "Death & The Artist" being produced by BATCO. I believe that the script will still make people laugh, but what's different is that BATCO has also challenged me. They have challenged me to explore the main subjects of the script more deeply: What if Death stops in the world? What's the difference between poverty and misery? Will the rich ever be satisfied? What should we fear more: dying or not living?" And, could I incorporate current issues that occupy our minds, such as immigration?

A talented, diverse cast uses over-the-top characters, a folk story setting, and humor to make important issues accessible to people from all backgrounds.

"As a child I grew up in SF going to the Día de los Muertos parade every year in the Mission. Instead of being fearful of it all, I marched through the streets in awe of how humorous and silly all this death stuff was. Now as the director of Death and the Artist, that same little kid is chuckling while talking about some really dark stuff like immigration, poverty and death." said Marcelo Javier Pereira, Director

"Death and The Artist deals with heady subjects indeed, but the basic intent of the 2019 production remains: we want people to laugh...but we also want them to think, to be so impacted by the show so that they'll continue talking about it long after the curtain falls...or at least until they get to their hard-earned parking spot."

Said Carlos Barón.

Tickets are available online at www.sfbatco.org.

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