The Sol Project, the national theatre initiative dedicated to amplifying Latinx voices, has unveiled the lineup for its third annual SolFest: A Latinx Theater Festival. With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, the three-day festival will be held virtually this year, featuring new plays, a sneak peek at a new musical, short films, panels and conversations, interactive projects, and more.
Created in partnership with Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (Pregones/PRTT), the Play At Home initiative and North Star Projects, SolFest 2020: Virtual Edition will stream for free August 3, 4, and 5.
Kicking things off August 3 will be a look at the new musical in development, Torched!. Written by Rosalba Rolón with original music by Desmar Guevara, the presentation will feature Álvaro Benavides, Rosal Colón, Caridad de La Luz, Desmar Guevara, Gabo Lugo, and Omar Pérez.
The work-in-progress is paired with two selections from Pregones/PRTT’s 21 Islands International Short Film Fest, curated by Melissa Ramos: The Bathtub, directed by Jonay García from Tenerife, and Noon Express, directed by Alberto Martín from Cuba. This final episode of Pregones/PRTT’s REMOJO 2020 series also kicks off the first day of SolFest 2020: Virtual Edition.
On August 4, The Sol Project, in collaboration with North Star Projects, will host a night of conversations, art sharing, and new work from Latinx storytellers across different mediums. Artists include Alexandra Meda, Miranda Gonzalez, Alexis Elisa Macedo, Jesus Mario Contreras, Christin Eve Cato, Andres Santiago Pina, Ashley Marie Ortiz, Yadira De La Riva, and Caridad "La Bruja" De La Luz.
Specially customized for SolFest, the August 4 lineup also includes an interactive and immersive sneak peek of Carla’s Quince, an immersive virtual theatre experience to mobilize the Latinx vote, created collaboratively by The Voting Project Ensemble, featuring Ashley Alvarez; Jason Aguirre, the co-facilitator; Galia Backal, associate director; Yadira De La Riva; Jorge Donoso; Estefanía Fadul the director; Michael Leon,;Camila Pérez Santiago; María Peyramaure; and Christina Watanabe, the designer.
The online festival will culminate with presentations of three short plays commissioned as part of the Play at Home initiative. The evening will include: Soñar es luchar by Virginia Grise, directed by Kendra Ware and featuring Paula Alvarez-Espinosa, Marlene Beltran, Lydia Li, and Carissa Pinckney; the human is sad; let’s start a band by juliany taveras, directed by Georgina Escobar and featuring Rayanne Gonzalez, Andrea Negrete, Tanya Perez, Cristina Pitter, Imani Russell, and Jackie Torres; and Magic Garden by Cándido Tirado, directed by Eddie Torres and featuring Karen Aldridge, John Burgos, Rinska Carrasco, Milton Cordero, Gabrielle Flores, Eddie Martinez, and Gabe Ruiz.
After the readings, the evening will continue with a panel discussion facilitated by SolFest Producer Adriana Gaviria featuring the three featured playwrights and past SolFest playwrights, including Guadalís Del Carmen, Cusi Cram, Evelina Fernández, Darrel Alejandro Holnes, and Karen Zacarías.
To register for SolFest and receive streaming links to view these works, visit the Sol Project’s website at solproject.org.
