festival IRENE PLAYS, schedule AND TICKETS
*All Festival Irene events take place at the Rosenthal Theater, Inner-city Arts, 720 Kohler Street, Los Angeles
Thursday, march 31
|
8PM
Letters from Cuba by María Irene Fornés Directed by Elisa Bocanegra Inspired by three decades of letters María Irene Fornés received from her brother in Havana, "Letters from Cuba" moves back and forth in time and place, connecting a young dancer and her relatives in Cuba. The evening will also include live dance, songs from Fornés’ musical Promenade plus an introduction that includes selections from Fornés’ celebrated students! "Ms. Fornes's script is fearless in confronting profound concepts like love and art with both simple declaration and poetic imagery. " — New York Times |
Friday, april 1
Starring: Nick Tarabay
|
8PM
The Conduct of Life by María Irene Fornés Directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela Considered to be amongst María Irene Fornés’ greatest work, The Conduct of Life tells the story of Orlando, a military officer and professional torturer who takes out the frustrations of his defeated ambitions on his wife Leticia, their feisty maid, and a young woman he keeps in sexual bondage. “When considering the strengths of Fornes’s text, it is hard not to be moved and terrified by the power dynamics in evidence.” — Stage Raw |
Saturday, April 2
|
2PM
Giving Up the Ghost by Cherríe Moraga Directed by Sylvia Blush This tour-de-fource tells the story of three women, Corky, Marisa and Amalia. Through poetic monologues, the audience is taken on a journey into their lives as they reject the traditional patriarchal views on women and embrace their sexuality. Giving Up the Ghost, is considered by many to be a classic in feminist theater. 3:30PM
Panel Discussion Featuring Anne Garcia-Romero, Cherríe Moraga, Luis Alfaro & Migdalia Cruz La Maestra: María Irene Fornés & Her Students in Contemporary American Theatre This is a FREE event. It is ticketed so you must get a ticket below. PLEASE note, a ticket to Giving Up the Ghost does not guarantee you a seat at the panel discussion. Must be purchased separately. 8PM
FUR by Migdalia Cruz Directed by Beth Lopes Nena loves Michael, but Michael loves Citrona, a young hirsute woman with a deep sense of loneliness and a passion for Beatles Love Songs. Join us for this darkly comic take on Beauty and the Beast. Produced around the world, FUR is written by long-time Fornés student and revered playwright, Migdalia Cruz. Presented with LIVE music by Tylana Renga of Grammy-winning band Quetzal and her string trio! |
Sunday, April 3
Starring: Ivonne Coll
|
2PM
Queer is Not Yet Here by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas Directed by Elisa Bocanegra It's the 90's and four brave friends experience love, loss, hope and laughter amidst a time when HIV was on the rise. Cortiñas powerful language includes movement and Patti Smith lyrics. Selected scenes from María Irene Fornés’ What of the Night? will be part of the evening’s program also. 4PM Cafécito Mixer | Free Admission Hosted by Jesus Reyes and Chantal Rodriguez, Ph.D. with special guest, Anne Garcia-Romero Join us for a complimentary coffee, pastry and chat with playwright and author of the new book,The Fornés Frame, Anne Garcia-Romero. This mixer, hosted by Center Theatre Group's Jesus Reyes and scholar Chantal Rodriguez, is not to be missed. 7PM This Golden State Part One: DELANO by Luis Alfaro Directed by Diane Rodriguez Pastor Elias and his wife return to Delano to take over a congregation in trouble. The church is currently run by a witty senior, Hermana Cantu, who serves us a healthy dose of food, wisdom and laughter. "The tamales need more salt!" Join us in this comedy-drama, the first in a new trilogy, written by MacArthur Genius Grant-winner, Luis Alfaro. |
thursday, april 7
Starring:
Adam Rodriguez |
8PM
The Cook by Eduardo Machado Directed by José Cruz González As Fidel Castro storms Habana, a wealthy Batistlano is forced to flee to America with her husband and unborn child. Adria begs her cook, a proud and loyal woman who values her mistress's friendship, to promise she will protect the mansion from the communist upheaval. Over the next forty years Gladys keeps this promise, despite tremendous loss. When Adria's daughter vacations in Cuba and comes to see her mother's old house, Gladys is forced to confront harsh truths. Not only has Adria forgotten her, but now Glayds is accused of leading a life of betrayal in a house that isn't hers. Gladys's struggle mirrors the cultural divide in Cuba that separates the delicately preserved past from the need to survive. "First rate.... Machado uses the kitchen as a metaphor to examine the oppression and betrayals of both exile and revolution. A shining theatrical experience.''—The New Yorker |
friday, april 8
|
|
|
|
8PM
Tierra Fornés: An Evening Featuring the work of Octavio Solis and Lisa Loomer alongside María Irene Fornés’, MUD. Directed by Yetta Gottesman One of Fornés' most celebrated plays, MUD is a short tale of an isolated trio whose living situation does not follow the norm. As each character strives for knowledge, they begin to grasp the fact that consciousness is not within their physical or mental limits. Introduced with scenes and monologues from Lisa Loomers' The Waiting Room, Living Out, Cafe Vida and Homefree. Also featuring SCARECROW by Octavio Solis as a special prologue, presented with live music and song! |
Saturday,april 9
Starring: Lesley Fera
|
2PM
Any Place But Here by Caridad Svich Directed by Elisa Bocanegra A savagely comic drama set in a US landscape of economic desolation where two sets of verbally aggressive couple struggles to find meaning in a world where it is increasingly difficult to do so. A surrealistic and often brutal account of the disintegration of relationships. “In this particular play, all the choices Caridad makes are so special. The last four scenes are simply magical. The play has the tormented element of emotional violence, but it is also full of tenderness and poetry.”— María Irene Fornés 4PM
Cafécito Mixer Hosted by HERO Producing Artistic Director, Elisa Bocanegra Join us for a complimentary coffee, pastry and chat! 8PM
Summer in Gossensass by María Irene Fornés Directed by Juliette Carrillo Two friends fight to produce the first English performance of Hedda Gabbler. They must surmount obstacles including a rival production which includes the Prince of Wales' miscast girlfriend and a translator who does not know the original's Norwegian language. In the process they chart a course for a new future. |
sunday, april 10
|
2PM
Beauty of the Father by Nilo Cruz Directed by Elisa Bocanegra This play by Pulitzer Prize–winner Nilo Cruz is set in Andalusia, Spain, where the restless ghost of the Spanish poet Federico García Lorca still wanders through the streets and converses with the living. BEAUTY OF THE FATHER is about a young American girl who travels to this part of the world to meet her estranged father and becomes romantically involved with his Moroccan companion. This passionate triangle explores the conflict between love and sacrifice. 7PM Fefu and Her Friends by María Irene Fornés Directed by Diane Rodriguez. Written and first produced in 1977 by playwright María Irene Fornés, “Fefu and Her Friends” follows a group of seven women over the course of one day in the spring of 1935 as they prepare a presentation about fundraising for the arts in education. Taught by many universities and widely-produced, Fefu and Her Friends is a classic in feminist theater. "A wonderful, important play." — Susan Sontag |
All plays are presented as staged readings. Audience members help select which one of María Irene Fornés' plays gets a full production! The more you attend the more we receive your input! Please sign-up for our mailing list for more announcements.