24th St.Theatre's International Tour of 'El Ogrito' Ends in Santa Ynez Valley 5/22

Los Angeles's acclaimed 24th Street Theatre announces the concluding event of the International Spring Tour of its critically-lauded staging of "El Ogrito" ("The Ogreling"), by Quebec-based playwright Suzanne Lebeau, translated into Spanish by Cecelia Iris Fasola. The production, directed by Jesús Castaños-Chima, featuring Julieta Ortiz and Gabriel Romero, will be presented in the Santa Ynez Valley, produced by noted Hollywood movie executive, Lee Rosenberg. "El Ogrito" will perform Saturday, May 22nd (8pm) at the Santa Ynez High School Theater in Sana Ynez. Festival activities, including music, folklorico dancing and food, begin at 6 pm.

In conjunction with its Teatro Nuevo Internacional program, 24th Street Theatre began its 2010 tour in San Salvador, El Salvador (March 22-29) as Cultural Envoys of the U.S. State Department. The tour continued to Bogata, Colombia (March 29-April l), where El Ogrito was presented at the Festival Teatro Alternativo de Bogota. The international tour concluded at Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico (May 3-12) at the Festival Universitario de la Cultura, sponsored by La Universidad Autonoma de Sinaloa (The Autonomous University of Sinaloa).

In an inaugural partnership with Lee Rosenberg, 24th Street Theatre will conclude its El Ogrito tour in Santa Ynez Valley, California, produced by Rosenberg's Vineyard VAlley Theatre Company (VVTC). Rosenberg, a longtime resident of the Santa Ynez, desires to bring Latino entertainment and cultural events to the quickly growing but largely disenfranchised Latino population of the central valley region.

Lee Rosenberg founded the partnership of Adams, Ray & Rosenberg, which became the largest and most successful literary agency in Hollywood. In 1984, he co-founded Triad Artists, Inc., one of the four largest full-service talent agencies in the world, which was acquired by the William Morris Agency in 1993. Rosenberg currently is President of Telerex Partners.

Rosenberg formed and is President and CFO of the Vineyard VAlley Theatre Company (VVTC), a non-profit theatrical and entertainment organization whose mission is to bring the highest quality theatrical presentations to the Santa Ynez Valley. The organization produced "Troubled Love" in May of 2007 to standing room only audiences at the 700 seat Solvang Theaterfest venue. Additionally, in association with Opera Santa Barbara, VVTC presented a romantic operatic benefit event, "The Voices of Romance," on July 18th, 2008.

"El Ogrito" is the first of a planned series of events in the Santa Ynez valley, produced by the Vineyard VAlley Theatre Company and curated by 24th Street Theatre. In conjunction with this presentation, Rosenberg is also conducting an extensive outreach effort to schools in the area, encouraging teachers to discuss the play in English, French and Spanish and to bring their students to the performance.

Co-founded by Debbie Devine and Jay McAdams, 24th Street Theatre has been a cultural mainstay of the Greater Los Angeles area since 1997, located at 1117 W. 24th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007. The Theatre's 2009 U.S. premiere of "El Ogrito" received a "Critics Choice" award from the L.A. Times, declaring it ..."a superbly mounted, satisfyingly dark production...a deliciously unexpurgated fairy tale." For further information visit about 24th Street productions, educational programs and tours, visit its website: http://www.24thstreet.org.

"El Ogrito" performs Saturday, May 22 at 8pm. Festival activities begin at 6pm. The Santa Ynez High School Theater is located at 2975 East Highway 246, Santa Ynez, CA. Ticket prices are: $15. For tickets and information, call 805-448-0042.

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