"Making It On Their Own Terms: Theater Actors and Directors Speak Out," a panel on April 30 sponsored by The New York Times, features Esparza (Company), Rubin-Vega (Anna in the Tropics), Lauren Velez (They Call Me La Lupe), and director Moisés Kaufman (I Am My Own Wife) and will by moderated by the Times' Campbell Robertson.
The festival will also include productions from Latino companies in New York. The Red Rose from Pregones Theater, directed by Rosalba Rolón and starring Grammy-nominated Puerto Rican artist Danny Rivera, will be seen May 3-5 at the Daryl Roth Theatre. Daughter of a Cuban Revolutionary from INTAR Theater, a solo performance by Marissa Chibas, plays May 9-13 at the DR2 Theatre.
Shows from international groups will include Hamlet from Asociación Proyecto Hamlet Colombia in Bogotá, at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, May 4 and 5; Aiguardent (Brandy) from Cia. Marta Carrasco in Barcelona, at La Mama May 11 and 12; and La Omisión de la Familia Coleman (The Coleman Family's Omission) from Teatro Timbre 4 in Buenos Aires, at La Mama May 11 and 12.
Family shows include Ruandi at Teatro IATI, a puppet play, which will be presented May 3-6 and Los Titingós De Juan Bobo at Teatro Círculo, which goes up May 9-13.
The festival will also include the Young Playwrights Latino Challenge Awards, a playwriting contest judged by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos ("The Mambo Kings"), Lori Marie Carlson (an editor and novelist), Eddie Gallardo and the Pulitzer finalist Quiara Alegria Hudes (In The Heights, Elliot, a Solider's Fugue). An awards ceremony at the Daryl Roth Theatre May 6 will recognize the best three plays with cash awards and feature a short reading with professional actors of the winning play. Conciertos Intimos: Intimate Concerts at Joe's Pub will feature Rubin-Vega (May 4), Danny Rivera in collaboration with Nelson Gonzalez, (May 7) and Frankie Negron (May 7).
Other panels include "Then and Now: A History of Latino Theater" featuring Jorge Huerta (of University of California, San Diego), Beatriz Rizk (Teatro Avante), Alberto Sandoval (Mt. Holyoke) and Henry Godinez (Goodman Theatre), moderated by Jason Ramirez (Bronx Community College, CUNY) on May 5. "The Latino Artistic Home: Forging An Identity" will feature Federico Restrepo (Loco 7), Angel Gil Orrios (Thalia Spanish Theatre), Nelson Landrieu (La Tea Theater), Silvia Sierra (Grupo Artificio), Manuel A. Morán (Teatro SEA, Inc.), Michael Alassa (Duo Theater), Alicia Kaplan (Danisarte) and Pietro Gonzales (LaMicro Theater) on May 8. "The Many Voices in Opera" will feature Juan Pons, Eduardo Valdes and Elaine Alvarez on May 9.
The festival is produced by the Latino International Theater Festival of New York, a new organization that supports Latino theatre year-round.
For tickets and more information visit www.teatrostagefest.org.
