Caminos to Hold Inaugural Festival from Aluna Theatre

Following a record season that included nine Dora nominations for two major productions, and six wins for their co-production of Blood Wedding | Bodas de Sangre with Modern Times, Aluna Theatre is thrilled to announce the inaugural CAMINOS, presented in partnership with Native Earth Performing Arts.

This new festival runs November 3 - 8, 2015 in Native Earth's Aki Studio and in Ada Slaight Hall at Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas St East). CAMINOS is a week of new propuestas (performance proposals) from some of the most exciting panamerican voices working in theatre and dance. CAMINOS explores the Pan-America that lives here in Toronto. Each evening features performance experiments and a lively exchange of ideas and new works from Rosa Labordé, Carmen Aguirre, and Aluna's Bilingual Ensemble, as well as Irish-Australian-Colombian Walter J. Broderick performing his adaptation ofBeckett's First Love.

"CAMINOS is our way of inviting audiences to re-imagine the Americas, or more concretely, to see themselves as part of that re-imagining. In the arts we tend to look at 'the old continent' as our reference point, but we, as Canadians, play a key role in the cultural, economic and social vibrancy of our hemisphere," said Aluna Artistic Director Beatriz Pizano. "Exploring a number of rich cultural heritages and how they breathe, develop, and transform in Canada is an exciting proposition - Propuesta can in fact be translated as a proposal, an act of suggesting, an offering, an overture. The coming together of this plurality also breeds new ways of creating and presenting theatre and performance."

Each night of CAMINOS features a different offering. Nightly presentations include works-in-development, presentations on translation by Aluna's Bilingual Ensemble and our popular late night cabaret programming on Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are sold for the entire evening of programming, and are $15 for Tuesday-Thursday nights, $20 for Friday and Saturday night (including the Cabarets), and a weeklong festival pass can be purchased for $50. The festival also features scheduled conversations on translation and cultural interpretation with artists, social innovators, and academics, and presentations on approaches to translation by Aluna's Bilingual Ensemble.

The discussions about translation are part of Aluna's Interpretation Lab, a year-and-a-half long experimental workshop exploring how to break the barriers of language - through image, action, technology, and translation. The festival is programmed and produced by Aluna Theatre's Beatriz Pizano, Artistic Director; Trevor Schwellnus, Artistic Producer; and Sue Balint, Producer.

Programming and schedule: Staying AliveCreator / Performer: Martha ChavesDirector: Beatriz Pizano A tale about love, loss, death and survival. When a daughter gets news about hermother's illness, she takes the long way home after many years of estrangement.

Tuesday, November 3rd, 8:30pm. Primer Amor | First LoveTranslated and adapted by Walter J. Broderick from a short story by Samuel BeckettPerformer: Walter J. Broderick An old man tells of how, at the age of twenty-five, he was expelled from his home on the death of his father and obliged to live rough. On a park bench he meets a woman who takes him to live with her. In Spanish with English surtitles.

Wednesday, November 4th, 8:30pm. Marine LifePlaywright: Rosa LabordéDirector: Guillermo VerdecchiaPerformers: Fabrizio Fillipo, Nicola Correira-Damude, Scott McCordLighting / Set Design: Trevor SchwellnusSound Design: Thomas Ryder-Payne An environmental activist dedicated to improving the state of marine life finds that her personal life and relationships both threaten and echo her seemingly straightforward mission. Labordé offers another look at this work in progress.

Thursday, November 5th and Friday, November 6th, 8:30pm. Carmen Aguirre's Broken TailbonePlaywright/Performer: Carmen AguirreDJ: El MacheteroDirector / Dramaturg: Brian QuirtProducer: Rupal Shah Daring, sexy and fun, Broken Tailbone is a window into the hidden world of Latin American dancehalls, through the eyes of celebrated writer and performer Carmen Aguirre. Carmen leads a public Latin American dance lesson, woven together with hilarious and moving stories. Commissioned, developed and produced by Nightswimming.

Saturday, November 7th, 8:00pm. PerdidaCreator / Performer: Lilia Leon Perdida ('lost woman' in Spanish) reveals the journey of a woman who must excavate herself in order to find her path. Through dance, theatre and live music, Perdida explores ancestral memory and the feeling of being lost between cultures.

Tuesday, November 3rd, 8:00pm. The Stones ProjectCreators: Anita La Selva & The Stones EnsembleLead Creator / Director: Anita La SelvaPerformers: Tosha Doiron, Roshanak Jeberi, Lilia Leon, Katelyn McCulloch, Michelle Polak, Roula Said A layered, multi-disciplinary approach exposes a world of images and rituals. TheStones Project explores the practice of stoning in our global culture.

Wednesday, November 4th, 8:00pm. Morir de Pie | Die Standing A devised theatre project by the companyDirector: Sebastian Marziali Performers: Kristina Abbondanza, Khadijah Robert-Abdullah, Andrew Burke, Pooria FardSound Design: Sina Shahrestani When is enough, enough? A satirical and corporal examination of the moments that push us towards revolution and what awaits us on the other end.

Thursday, November 5th, 8:00pm. AyelenWriter/Director: Gilda Monreal Performers: Ximena Huizi, Ohm, Lido Pimienta, Marcelo ArroyoSet and Costumer Design: Shalak Attack, Bruno Smoky Makeup: Shalak AttackLighting Design: Andre du ToitCreature Sound Production: Shalak, Fiya, Cito Music: Brandon Valdivia Stage Manager: Solange RibeiroProduction Assistant: Bertha LeeDramaturge: Rosa Labordé Back after its smash SummerWorks 2015 success. Ayelen is a survival story set in the midst of mining exploitation. The only way to find peace is to confront darkness.

Friday, November 6th, 7:00pm. CacaoDirector / Choreographer / Dancer - Victoria Mata Collaborative Creative Director - Rehana TejparPercussionist / Composer - Y Josephine Cacao is a dance-theater-drumming interpretation of a young girls' journey home to Venezuala. Curiosity, history and secrecy lead her to the sacred teachings of Cacao, the bean of chocolate.

Friday, November 6th, 8:00pm. Cabarets Friday, November 6th, 9:30pm and Saturday, November 7th, 9:00pmStay with us late at the festival for a drink and a dynamic showcase of music, dance, burlesque and performance work. Featured artists include: Dainty Smith, Joe Recinos, Camila Diaz-Varela, Nico Contreras, Y Josephine, Shandra Spears, Ximena Huizi and the PRESENCIA Music Project featuring Ruben Esguerra, Brandon Valdivia and Jorge Cantor.

Conversatorios - A ConferenceSaturday, November 7th, 1:00 - 6:00pm

Demonstrations and conversations about accessibility of theatre through language, technology, and alternative approaches to creating work. Includes a look at Cahoots Theatre's current work, Ultrasound, with deaf artists; a Cree language scene exploration from Tomson Highway's Rez Sisters, and conversations with translators and academics.

Intertribal GatheringSunday, November 8th, 3:00pm - 4:30pmThe Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA) is proud to showcase Ontario artists creating performance in their language. Join us for a celebration of Indigenous language in performance to close CAMINOS 2015 and usher in theWeesageechak Begins To Dance Festival. This event is PWYC. To learn more please visit: caminos.ca

Get social: @AlunaTheatre | #alunaCAMINOS TicketingEvening tickets $15 (Tues-Thurs) or $20 (Friday & Saturday) available at nativeearth.ca/CAMINOS2015

Full week passes $50 available for purchase by telephone at 416-531-1402 (limited quantity, through Nov. 1)Evening tickets give access to all programming for that day. Cabaret-only tickets available for $5.Box Office: 416-531-1402 or boxoffice@nativeearth.ca LocationAki Studio and Ada Slaight Hall, Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas Street East)

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