The Madres (2018)
Written by Stephanie Alison Walker
Directed by Sara Guerrero
Produced by Gary Grossman, Tony Abatemarco, Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx
Associate Producers: Elissa Barrett, Joshua Gershick, Kate Luhr, Marcelo Tubert
THE MADRES: Skylight Theatre Company is producing the first of four productions nationally as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Partner theatres are: Teatro Vista (Chicago, IL), Moxie Theatre (San Diego, CA), Shrewd Productions (Austin, TX).
- performed in English -
THE STORY: What would you do for your family?
With courage and resilience, a family faces a world gone made in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A divisive government is turning the country against itself. Do you keep your head down as the rhetoric builds? Do you stand up for your beliefs if they could endanger everyone you love? By the end of this powerful, award-winning play, you’ll be asking yourself, “What would I do.”
SCHEDULE
Skylight Theatre
March 3 - April 29, 2018
Beyond Conversation follows Sunday performances.
110 minutes, one intermission.
2017 - 2018 Season
MEDIA
2018
THE ARTISTS OF THE MADRES
THE MADRES is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.
Stephanie Alison Walker
Writer
Stephanie is a Los Angeles based award-winning playwright. Her full-length plays include The Madres, The Abuelas, Friends With Guns, The Art of Disappearing, American Home, The Sister House, Three Fittings and The Box Jumper. Stephanie's work has been produced and/or developed at Skylight Theatre, Moving Arts, Antaeus Theatre Company, The Road Theatre, Inkwell Theatre, The Blank Theatre, San Diego Rep, 16th Street Theater in Chicago, Chicago Dramatists, Boulder Ensemble Theater Company, American Blues Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville and more. Her play, The Madres is part of a 2018 NNPN Rolling World Premiere and will receive four consecutive productions with: Skylight Theatre Company (Los Angeles), Teatro Vista (Chicago), Moxie Theatre (San Diego) and Shrewd Productions (Austin).
Awards include: Finalist for the 2016 Saroyan/Paul Playwriting Prize for Human Rights, Winner of the Ashland New Plays Festival, Blue Ink Award, the Generations Prize, Jane Chambers Award Runner-Up, finalist for the O’Neill Playwrights Conference and the CTG/Humanitas Playwriting Prize, Four-time Finalist for the Heideman Award. Stephanie’s short plays are anthologized by Smith & Kraus and have been produced all over the world.
Stephanie is also the author of the book and blog, LOVE IN THE TIME OF FORECLOSURE which has been called “A heartbreaking work of staggering acceptance” and was featured by the Los Angeles Times, NPR, Business Week Magazine, Chicago Magazine, Huffington Post Live and ABC World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer. A member of the Playwrights Union and Antaeus Playwrights Lab. You can follow Stephanie on Twitter @littof and read her plays on the New Play Exchange.
Sara Guerrero
Director
Sara is a Southern California native and the founding Artistic Director of the award-winning, Santa Ana-based Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble (breathoffire.org). She has been recognized as one of the "People to Watch" by American Theatre Magazine, and “Best [Artistic] Director" and “Person of Interest” by OC WEEKLY.
A CalArts theatre graduate, Guerrero is a professional versatile theatre artist whose mission is to model, share and create theatre-making opportunities for and with her community. She holds an extensive list of work and credits with many major institutes, organizations, universities, schools, and communities. Previously, she served as the community engagement director for SCR’s Dialogue/Diálogos Project (two-year community theatre-making project) and was producing associate to the project’s production, El Largo Camino de Hoy / The Long Road Today by José Cruz González. She supports herself as a teaching & theatre artist.
Arianna Ortiz
Actress
Arianna trained as a performer at the California Institute of the Arts (CALARTS). She has been seen at theaters such as The Mark Taper Forum, The Geffen Playhouse, The BRAVA Theater Center in San Francisco, The Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company, The Theater at Boston Court and San Diego Rep. She’s has a recurring role on NBC’s acclaimed primetime drama, 'This is Us' for season two. Other television credits include ‘Parenthood', 'Jane the Virgin', 'Life in Pieces', BET’s ‘Rebel', Comedy Central’s ‘Review', and 'Shameless' to name a few.
On film, she will next be seen in the romantic comedy Off the Menu starring Dania Ramirez (Devious Maids) and Santino Fontana (Frozen, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and the dark comic thriller Extra Curricular Activities opposite Timothy Simons from HBO’s Veep. Arianna produced and starred in the horror short film The Wound, which has been distributed several times over, won multiple film festivals and can now be seen on Youtube. She co-wrote, produced and directed the comedy micro web series ‘Spinster’ and has directed and produced several music videos. Her first short film as writer/director, Still Life with Couch, was distributed through Ouat Media in Toronto.
Margarita Lamas
Actress
Margarita Lamas left Argentina in 1966, spending the next five decades living between Canada and the United States. She attended Concordia University in Montreal graduating with a B.F.A. in Performing Arts and moved to Los Angeles in 1987 where she has lived ever since. Although most of her acting career has been on the stages of the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, Margarita has also performed at the Odyssey Theatre, the NoHo Arts Centre, Teatro Sinergia and, most recently, with the Teatro de las Americas in Oxnard.
One of her interests is languages, which has resulted in being responsible for many Spanish-to-English play translations, diction and elocution coaching in both English and Spanish, as well as the occasional directing assignment. French and Italian round out her language skills and she has performed in all four.
Denise Blasor
Actress
Denise Blasor was Artistic Director of LADiversified Theater Company. She is a founding member of LAAFO, KOAN, East LA Classic Theater and currently an Associate Artistic Director of the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts.
Plays directed/adapted in Los Angeles include House of Bernarda Alba, Life is a Dream, The Three Sisters, Blood Wedding, The Wide Sea, Pedro Infante, Anna in The Tropics, No Exit, Marisol, Wild in Wichita which she performed/directed at LATC, BFA, Teatro Las Americas and Frida Khalo Theatre.
She directed/choreographed the Multi Media piece Tormenta Omnia at the Craft & Folk Art Museum in collaboration with artist Gronk and the Passion Play Cristo Vive at the historic Million Dollar Theatre. Her short film Dentro de la Casa de Bernarda Alba was nominated by the ImagenAwards as Best Short Film.
Natalie Llerena
Actress
Natalie Llerena is from the Washington, DC area and is a company member with The Road Theatre, some of her favorite training has been with New York's Atlantic Theatre Company, DC's premiere physical theater, Synetic, AMAW, and the Upright Citizen's Brigade. She is also an active creator in the Los Angeles Immersive theatre community.
Recent Film/Theater credits include: St. Jimmy (American Idiot), Lindsey Copeland's Hedgehog, and production on Sean Baker's The Florida Project. To learn more visit: nataliellerena.com or follow @nataliellerena
Alexander Pimentel
Actor
ALEXANDER PIMENTEL (Diego, the Soldier) was last seen at Skylight in the world premiere of The End Times. Most recently he was cast in the lead role for a workshop of the new musical Havana Music Hall. Some of his favorite past credits include: Gabe in Next to Normal, Hal in Henry IV, Fabrizio in The Light in the Piazza, and Ronald in the world premiere of Cruel Intentions: The Musical. He received a B.M. from Westminster Choir College. and a M.A. from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. For more info go to his website: www.alexpp.com
Gabriel Romero
Actor
Born in Mexico, Gabriel began acting professionally touring in musicals such as Barnum and Something's Afoot. He holds a BFA in Stage Management from the University of Southern California, was an Allen Lee Hughes Fellow at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and an Assistant Director at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where he also served as Artistic Director/Teacher of Teatro Meta, a bilingual in-schools program. Best known for his portrayal of an openly gay character in the award-winning sitcom Los Beltrán on Telemundo, he also worked as Host/MC for E! Entertainment’s FYE, Fashion Week of the Americas, ModArte, Latin Pride, Day of the Dead, and NGOs like GLASS, BIENESTAR and The Latino Commission on AIDS.
Recent stage performances include War of the Worlds with the LA Phil, Galileo and Crescent City with The Industry, an international tour of The Ogreling with 24th Street Theatre, Seven Spots on the Sun (u/s) at The Theatre @ Boston Court, and King of the Lighthouse at the Lee Strasberg Theatre. Among his voice over credits are Disney’s Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Archer on FX, The Bold and the Beautiful for CBS, ABC's Handy Manny, Maya and Miguel with PBS, the Scarface and Saints Row video games, El Chapo on Netflix, several audio books on Amazon, and numerous bilingual promos and commercials.
Gabriel began playing the piano at age six, trained as a dancer and gymnast, studied bio energetics, sound healing, and hypnotherapy, and worked closely with the Maya Itza Council of Elders and Priests to build the LolBe Ceremonial Center in Yucatán. He currently runs LOVE & LIGHT Inc., a Spiritual Entertainment company in Los Angeles
BEYOND CONVERSATION
BEYOND CONVERSATION follows Sunday matinee performances
Enhance your experience.
We hope to bring more to the conversation begun by the play THE MADRES. Informal chats with invited guests last 20-25 minutes and begin immediately after the performance.
Details and Special Guests
Sun. March 11 - Latinx Arts on the Frontlines
Sun. March 18 - Art as Resistance
Sun. March 25 - Survivors of the Argentine Genocide
Sun. April 1 - #MadresTambien, Part I
Sun. April 8 - It Can't Happen Here Can It?
Sun. April 15 - LA Rising, Part I: Gun Reform Now
Sun. April 22 - #MadresTambien, Part II
Sun. April 29 - LA Rising, Part II: Immigration Reform Now
All guests are subject to availability
DESIGNERS
SCENIC DESIGN: Christopher Scott Murillo
LIGHT DESIGN: Wes Chew
COSTUME DESIGN: Josephine Siu
SOUND DESIGN: Corinne Carrillo
PROP MASTER: David Phillips
PRODUCTION STAFF
CASTING DIRECTOR: Raul Clayton Staggs
PUBLICIST: Judith Borne
MARKETING ART DESIGN: Llance Bower
PROGRAM DESIGN: Guillermo Perez
PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHER: Ed Kreiger
REVIEWS
MESMERIZES. GO SEE The Madres... Incredibly strong performances [by] two female powerhouses... smart script.
- BroadwayWorld
RECOMMENDED - TOP TEN! ...a harrowing, gut-wrenching climax - StageRaw
SHOULD NOT BE MISSED
- PeoplesWorld
A MUST-SEE production...stunning cast. POWERFUL - Splash Magazines
FANTASTIC PERFORMANCES. It puts a human face on political tragedies without being preachy. It’s particularly timely with the oppression happening in this country these days. - ArtsInLA
POWERFUL
- Night-Tinted Glasses
If you're looking for a powerful night of theatre that will keep you on the EDGE OF YOUR SEAT, look no further than Skylight's successful world premiere. An incredibly important story.
- Annenberg Media