Nettles Artists to Premiere First Professional Play by Latina Artist with Down Syndrome at IHTF

MIAMI - July 7, 2015 - PRLog -- In honor of this year’s celebration of Brazil, the Nettles Artist Collective will premiere Apple of My Eye, also known as Menina Dos Meus Olhos, on July 17–19 at the 30th International Hispanic Theater Festival (IHTF) in the Koubek Theater in Miami. As the only Latina-run physical theater company in New York City, The Nettles Artist Collective and its production partner MetaSocial are thrilled that the multimedia play promotes the work of playwright Tathiana Piancastelli, a Brazilian artist and activist who has Down syndrome. For ticket information, please visit: http://www.koubekcenter.org/events.aspx.

Through experimental vocal techniques, video and movement, director Debora Balardini and the Nettles ensemble explores Piancastelli’s outlook on love, discrimination and disdain for people deemed disabled by society and the dangers of turning a blind eye to modern-day slavery. Piancastelli plays the lead protagonist, Bella, a young woman who, despite her differences, is in search of love and social acceptance.

Piancastelli’s original work was first discovered by Balardini in 2012 in a private class in New York City. Balardini was moved by the storytelling quality of the work. Piancastelli’s creative peers at Nettles support her as an equal, an actress, an activist and TV presenter who sought to explore how differences can transcend expectations of what qualifies as normal. Balardini went on to direct the first sold-out run with a Nettles cast of ten actors. The overwhelming response inspired an Indie GoGo campaign for the Apple of My Eye theater tour that is currently 88% funded.

Apple of My Eye is currently on festival tour and will premiere in Miami, Brazil and Europe. The cast also includes Braulio Cruz, Carolina Ravassa, Sandro Isaac, Sandie Luna, Andressa Furletti, Fabio Costaprado, Ibsen Santos, Tathiana Piancastelli, Jaime Puerta and Caca Macedo.

Performances in Portuguese with English subtitles:

Friday, July 17, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 18, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 19, 5:00 p.m.

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Debora Balardini (director, www.deborabalardini.com):

Debora Balardini has been teaching and performing for the past twenty years in several countries, including Japan, Argentina, Chile, the United States, France and her native Brazil. She has an extensive dance background in ballet, jazz and tap as well as Hatha yoga. As an actress, she has been exposed to various physical theater techniques such as Grotowski, Stemwerk, Suzuki, View Points, and most recently Choreographic Theatre and Roy Hart Technique. Her directing credits include: Meu Vazio é o Movinento, Inside. Not Looking Out, The Serpent by Nelson Rodrigues and Infinite While It Lasts based on the life and works of Vinicius de Moraes. She is a workshop leader and co-founder and artistic director of the Nettles Artists as well as co-founder and director of Group .BR.

Tathiana Piancastelli (playwright, actress):

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Tathiana Piancastelli is an actress, activist and TV presenter. She began her career in the performing arts after studying theater in Campinas, Brazil, from 2003 to 2010. She has appeared in several plays, including Golden Mouth, A Man's a Man, Flare Stars and the musical Grease as well as commercials for GloboTV and EPTV. She was Brazil’s representative at the 2010 International Down Syndrome Day at the United Nations. She currently hosts the program To Be Different in conjunction with the nonprofit MetaSocial Institute.

Nettles Artists Collective (Producer, nettlesartists.com):

Nettles Artists Collective is a New York-based group of immigrant artists, performers and producers with a mission to imbue the American performing arts scene with authentic global voices and universal vision. They carry a commitment to diversify the U.S. audience through the donations of tickets to people that would not otherwise have access to, or be exposed to, theater. They work to create an approach to theater that is transparent, permeable and constantly changing. Instead of fighting against prejudice, they celebrate differences.

MetaSocial Institute (Producer, metasocial.org.br):

MetaSocial Institute has worked for over 20 years developing programs to promote social inclusion in the media. The group’s goal is to show a positive, cheerful and colorful representation of all people, regardless of their limitations, with the belief that all people have the same human value and therefore deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. MetaSocial is a nonprofit organization that works primarily through partnerships.