(l to r) Ephraim López adn Carlos Ibarra
After the death of their mother, the father of two young Mexican boys leaves them with their grandmother, while he goes to the United States looking for better work. When the grandmother dies, the boys are shunted off to distant relatives, and when that situation becomes too difficult, they decide to head off on their own to find their father.
“This is a very moving story about two boys’ devotion to their father and each other. Their journey and their often humorous sibling behavior, put a very human face on the plight many immigrants and would-be immigrants face today,” said John Pietrowski, Artistic Director. “It’s a good kick-off piece for our Plays Without Borders series, where we are looking at many of the global issues that inevitably effect our lives.”
Drew Francis will design the set and Cindy Capraro is the Costume Designer. Lighting Design is by Josh Benghiat and Sound Design by Jeff Knapp. Danielle Constance is the Production Stage Manager.
It will be a Studio Presentation at The Growing Stage as part of their mainstage series from January 16-31, 2010. The show is also a part of Young Audiences New Jersey 2009-2010 performance offerings.
Our Dad Is In Atlantis is also scheduled to be performed at Leheigh University on October 30 and 31 and will be in Bethlehem, PA during the week of October 26. For those interested in scheduling the production at their location, additional tour dates include November 2-24, November 30-December 22 and January 4-February 26. There may be additional tour dates available upon request.
Book Clubs at Playwrights Theatre
Playwrights Theatre will continue its successful book club project. Instead of reading a book, book club members read the play (script provided by Playwrights Theatre). They then see the production and stay after the performance for a post-show discussion with the Artistic Director.
Ladies Night at Playwrights Theatre will be on Thursday, October 8. Beginning at 5:00pm in the lobby of Playwrights Theatre, ladies will be able to mingle among the tables of women owned/women run businesses for various products and services. Participating businesses can be found at www.ptnj.org/
About the Playwright:
Javier Malpica was born in Mexico City in 1965. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Physics, he completed his diploma in Literary Creation at the Writers’ School of SOGEM (The Society of Mexican Writers). He has written more than ten plays (many of them co written with his brother Antonio), most of which have been produced. He has received various prizes and honors for his work, including the Victor Hugo Rascón Banda Prize for Our Dad Is In Atlantis. His other plays include: Letters in the Matter (winner, INBA National Prize for Theater), Seventh Round, Maria Frankenstein, Canon (winner, Theater Prize for Young Creators), Return to Midnight (finalist, New Theater), The Last Journey (second place, Tomás Urtusástegui Prize for Theater for Young Audiences), All the Voices (Honorable Mention, Manuel Herrera Prize), The End of History (winner, New Theater), Essay of a Coma (Program of Collaborations)
In 2006, he earned a grant to go to New York (invited by the Lark Play Development Center) for a translation and a public reading of his play Our Dad Is In Atlantis. Also during that year, he was invited by the Theatre Communications Group in Minneapolis for a public reading of his play Our Dad Is In Atlantis in representation of the latinamerican theatre and as part of the Global Tapas event.
The play was also selected for a public reading on the Woolly Mammoth Theatre) by the NNPN (National New Play Network), in Washington, D.C. The play won the Global Age Project, Award that was given by the Aurora Theatre Company of Berkeley, California, and also was staged there in a public reading.
In 2008 Our Dad Is In Atlantis was produced by the Working Theatre and Queens Theatre in the Park, and opened at the Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street in NY City on April 4 (directed by Debbie Savits). It also opened in Indianapolis at Phoenix Theatre (directed by Sharin Gamble) on May 8. The play was published by the American Theatre magazine in the July/August issue.
About the Translator:
Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas’ many awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts; as well as the Helen Merrill Award; “playwright of the year” in El Nuevo Herald¹s 1999 year-end list; a Writers Community Residency from the YMCA National Writer's Voice; and the Robert Chesley Award, among others. His first play Maleta Mulata was produced by Campo Santo + Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco. His second play Sleepwalkers was produced by the Area Stage in 1999, where it was awarded a Carbonell Award for Best New Work given by the South Florida Critics Circle. Sleepwalkers was further developed and remounted by the Alliance Theatre in 2002. Tight Embrace was produced by INTAR in New York, and his play Blind Mouth Singing recently completed a run at Chicago's Teatro Vista, a production the Chicago Tribune praised as having "visionary wit". Blind Mouth Singing will be remounted by the National Asian American Theater Company in New York this Spring. His most recent play, Bird In The Hand, was developed at this year's Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. He has been commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, and Hartford Stage. He is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, and is a member of New Dramatists and the Playwrights Coalition at MCC.
About Playwrights Theatre:
Playwrights Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional (Actors’ Equity) theatre. A community of professional playwrights, theatre artists, and arts educators, Playwrights Theatre provides opportunities for writers to develop their works in a nurturing environment and connect with new audiences. Our New Play Development Program is a multi-step process through which playwrights, theatre artists, and audiences collaborate to bring selected texts from rough draft to finished production. Our Education Programs introduce students of all ages and backgrounds to the possibilities inherent in thinking and communicating creatively. Playwrights Theatre's New Jersey Writers Project provides hands-on workshops led by professional writers-in-residence to students in schools and community centers throughout the state reaching over 15,000 students annually.
We are honored that for the years 2010-2012 the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) designated Playwrights Theatre as a Major Arts Institution.
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Playwrights Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre comprised of playwrights, theatre artists, and arts educators. We provide opportunities for writers to develop their works in a nurturing environment and connect with new audiences.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
