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Crossing Borders

Tickets: FREE

Festival Curator/Casting: José Zayas

Line Producer/Asst. Video Editing: Kat West

Video Editor: Jaime Vallés with AJV Media

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Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) is an annual celebration of new plays by Latinx theater artists. This year, the festival is curated by José Zayas, and takes place in a series of recorded Zoom readings for free virtual viewing, available from September 13 through October 10.

Click “Book Now” to receive access to all four Crossing Borders readings. An email with the access link will be sent to all who register.

You will be able to access the stream through Oct 10/2021. Closed Captioning is available.

Ciertas Astillas/Certain Shards

By Paz Pardo

Directed by José Zayas

A splintered playwright tries to find a way to tell her story; two wanderers walk away from their memories—or lack thereof; two private investigators search for a missing person in a warehouse of boxes slowly filling with chinchillas. CIERTAS ASTILLAS/CERTAIN SHARDS is a fragmented fable of identity, memory and motherhood, grappling with the playwright’s family history that was lost when her father emigrated to the US from Argentina and her grandmother’s memory was stolen by Alzheimer’s. Don’t starve before the show, get your quick sandwich from publix ad.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Writer

Paz Pardo
Paz Pardo

Paz Pardo’s plays include YOU/EMMA (most recently at Pear Ave Theatre in Mountain View, CA), Milton, MI (LTC Carnaval reading 2018, Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist 2016, NPC semi finalist 2019), Movimiento Perpetuo/Perpetual Motion, which she has performed in eleven cities in three countries, Duct Tape Girl and Fetish Chick Conquer the World (The BootStrap Theater Foundation, NYC), and RubberMatch (RED CARAVAN, NYC; NPC semifinalist 2015). She worked as a dramaturg on the TEAM’s Mission Drift and 600 Highwaymen’s EMPIRE CITY. She and Enrique Lozano are the Grande/Bravo translation team. Her writing has appeared in The Brooklyn Review, Encountering Ensemble, HowlRound, and Volume 1 of the I Scream Social Anthology. Djerassi Resident Artists Program, 2019. MFA, UT Austin Michener Center for Writers, 2018. BA, Stanford, 2009. Fulbright Award, Buenos Aires, 2012.

Director

José Zayas
José Zayas

José Zayas (he/him/his) is an award-winning director. He has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally, and internationally. Credits include: El Perro del Hortelano (Gala Theatre), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts), The Queen of Basel (Studio Theatre, DC), Exquisita Agonía (Repertorio Español), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, MASS MoCA, US & European Tours), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed Up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse, The Flea Theater), Undocumented (Joe’s Pub), Pinkolandia and El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theater), The House of the Spirits (Teatro Espressivo, Gala Theatre, Denver Center, ACE, HOLA, and Ovation Awards for Best Production and Direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Burundanga (Repertorio Español, ACE and HOLA Awards for Best Production and Direction for the latter two), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist (PS 122, The Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS 122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Privilege, Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica). José has premiered works by Stephin Merritt, Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot, Susan Kim, and Jordi Galceran. ​Notable fellowships and affiliations include: a Drama League Fellowship, Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Lab, Soho Repertory Theater’s Writer/Director Lab, and the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) and he was the Resident Director at Repertorio Español from 2008-2018. José was born in Puerto Rico. He holds a BA from Harvard University and an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University. https://www.josezayasdirector.com/

Stage Manager

Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime
Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime

Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime (el) has worked in theatre since 1992 when he was pushed out of the nest (Lehman College) and told he was ready to start working professionally by his professors and TD. Mr. Arroyo has had the distinct pleasure of having a career in New York City, regionally, and has toured nationally and internationally.  Mr. Arroyo has worked for Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Ma-Yi Theater Company, The Ensemble Studio Theatre, Irish Repertory Theatre, NYSF The Public Theater, Primary Stages, Theatre For A New Audience, Theater for the New City, the York Theatre Company, Michael Mao Dance, Ballet Tech, Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, and Westchester Broadway Theatre. These are all companies that have always strived for diversity and inclusion in their offices, on stage and off, companies that believed in me, nourished my career, and my spirit.

Olivia Jampol

Olivia Jampol (she/her) is an actor and filmmaker who grew up in Costa Rica and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. Passionate about boundary-pushing story-telling, she has been fortunate to develop and perform a plethora of new work with some of the most pioneering voices in New York City theater. She has participated in dozens of readings and workshops at institutions such as Ars Nova, American Repertory Theater, Bedlam, The Flea Theater, HB Studio, Pipeline Theatre Company, Primary Stages, Clubbed Thumb, The Bushwick Starr, Hartford Stage, Ensemble Studio Theatre, among many others. Her other love is filmmaking; she has written & directed a number of shorts mostly shot on 16mm, and is currently developing her first feature, a bilingual magical realism thriller set in Argentina, which she plans to direct and star in. Harvard BA, SAG-AFTRA/AEA, www.oliviajampol.com

Irene Sofia Lucio

Irene Sofia Lucio (she/her/hers) Broadway: Slave Play, Wit. Off-Broadway: Romeo y Julieta (The Public Theater), Slave Play, Love and Information (New York Theatre Workshop), Orange Julius (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), Undertaking (BAM), King Liz (Second Stage Theater), We Play for the Gods (WP). Regional Credits: Yale Repertory Theatre, Studio Theater DC, Cal Shakes among others. TV credits include: The Americans, Bartlett, Madam Secretary, Gossip Girl, Casi Casi. Co-Creator of BUTS Web series, (NBC Short Film Festival winner, Imagen Award Nom). Education: Princeton University and Yale School of Drama. Native of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Jacqueline Guillén

Jacqueline Guillén (she/her/ella) is a bilingual Mexican actress, born and raised in border towns of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico & Brownsville, Texas. She received her BFA in Acting from Texas State University and studied with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK. Her work includes numerous commercials such as an AT&T spot with Elijah Wood, radio spots, theatrical productions, and TV shows. TV credits include Bull (CBS), Blue Bloods (CBS), Orange is The New Black (Netflix), & Search Party (HBO Max). She was last seen at Roundabout Company in the world premiere of Hilary Bettis’ 72 Miles to Go… directed by Jo Bonney. Jacqui was a finalist for the 2020 Nosotros Ya Tu Sabes Monologue Slam presented by NBC.  She currently resides in New York City with her fiancé and her puppy child, Ramona.

Socorro Santiago

Socorro Santiago (she/hers/ella)  performed in the Broadway production of The Bacchae at Circle in the Square Theatre and has performed Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, NYTW, Ma-Yi Theater, Ars Nova, Roundabout Theatre Company, amongst others. She produced, wrote, and performed in her play Dancing With the Dead at INTAR. Regionally, she has performed at the Sundance Theatre Lab, Long Wharf Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Huntington Theatre (IRNE nomination), and Two River Theater, where she was last seen in Guadalupe in the Guest Room by Tony Meneses. She was in the touring company of Small Mouth Sounds, directed by Rachel Chavkin. TV/Film credits include Blue Bloods, Prodigal Son, Madame Secretary, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: SVU, All My Children (ALMA Award for her work as Isabella Santos), All Good Things, Devil’s Advocate, Vampires vs The Bronx, Widows Dir: Steven McQueen. Ms. Santiago can currently be seen online in Clubbed Thumb’s Streaming of The Woman’s Party.

Karina Curet

Karina Curet (she/her/hers) Karina was born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico, and holds a BFA in Acting from SUNY Purchase (’15) and is currently earning her MFA at NYU’s Graduate Acting program. She has played roles like Juliet in Romeo & Juliet (dir. Chris McCann) and Marianne in Odon Van Horvath’s Tales From the Vienna Woods. In 2019 she wrote, produced, and co-starred in the play Agua Por Todas Partes, which premiered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at Teatro Victoria Espinosa. TV Credits include Startup, The Oath, Trail of Ashes and Hurricane Flora.

Machine Learning

By Francisco Mendoza
Directed by José Zayas

When his estranged, alcoholic father is diagnosed with liver cancer, computer scientist Jorge dreams up a nursing app to manage the disease in his stead. As the machine’s capabilities grow, however, the possibility of leaving it in charge of the treatment becomes more real, forcing Jorge to reckon with his responsibilities as a son—and as a creator.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Writer

Francisco Mendoza
Francisco Mendoza

Francisco Mendoza

is an Argentinian writer currently living in Brooklyn, NY after spending several years in Brazil. His work has been developed or presented at The New Group, the MacDowell Colony, and Northern Stage, among others. His scripts include stage plays Machine Learning (The Lark’s Playwrights Week, Yale Drama Series (Runner-up), San Diego Rep Latinx Festival), Tooth for Tooth (Finalist, Sundance Theater Lab; Finalist, Princess Grace Fellowship), and Patriarch (Great Plains Theatre Conference); TV pilot Land Most Loved (Finalist, Sundance Lab); and podcast Hairy Legs Hannah’s Feminist Quarter-Hour (Austin Film Festival), which he co-wrote and directed. notrealmendoza.com

Director

José Zayas
José Zayas

José Zayas (he/him/his) is an award-winning director. He has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally, and internationally. Credits include: El Perro del Hortelano (Gala Theatre), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts), The Queen of Basel (Studio Theatre, DC), Exquisita Agonía (Repertorio Español), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, MASS MoCA, US & European Tours), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed Up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse, The Flea Theater), Undocumented (Joe’s Pub), Pinkolandia and El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theater), The House of the Spirits (Teatro Espressivo, Gala Theatre, Denver Center, ACE, HOLA, and Ovation Awards for Best Production and Direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Burundanga (Repertorio Español, ACE and HOLA Awards for Best Production and Direction for the latter two), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist (PS 122, The Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS 122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Privilege, Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica). José has premiered works by Stephin Merritt, Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot, Susan Kim, and Jordi Galceran. ​Notable fellowships and affiliations include: a Drama League Fellowship, Lincoln Center Theater’s Directors Lab, Soho Repertory Theater’s Writer/Director Lab, and the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) and he was the Resident Director at Repertorio Español from 2008-2018. José was born in Puerto Rico. He holds a BA from Harvard University and an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University. https://www.josezayasdirector.com/

Stage Manager

Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime
Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime

Elis Cesar Arroyo Jaime (el) has worked in theatre since 1992 when he was pushed out of the nest (Lehman College) and told he was ready to start working professionally by his professors and TD. Mr. Arroyo has had the distinct pleasure of having a career in New York City, regionally, and has toured nationally and internationally.  Mr. Arroyo has worked for Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Ma-Yi Theater Company, The Ensemble Studio Theatre, Irish Repertory Theatre, NYSF The Public Theater, Primary Stages, Theatre For A New Audience, Theater for the New City, the York Theatre Company, Michael Mao Dance, Ballet Tech, Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, and Westchester Broadway Theatre. These are all companies that have always strived for diversity and inclusion in their offices, on stage and off, companies that believed in me, nourished my career, and my spirit.

Jake Ryan Lozano

Jake Ryan Lozano (he/they) is a Chicano artist from San Antonio, TX, currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. His work is dedicated to the love from his grandparents and all the queer, brown kids figuring it out. 

Reynaldo Piniella

Reynaldo Piniella (he/him/his) is an actor, writer, educator, and activist from East New York, Brooklyn. He’s been seen Off-Broadway in The Death of the Last Black Man…, Venus (Signature Theatre), The Skin of Our Teeth (Theater for a New Audience), Lockdown (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), The Space Between the Letters (The Public Theater/UTR), Terminus (NYTW Next Door). Regional work includes Baltimore Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Sundance Theatre Lab in Morocco, the O’Neill and the Cleveland Play House. TV credits include Blue Bloods, Sneaky Pete, Flesh & Bone, Greenleaf, The Carrie Diaries, Law & Order: SVU, NYC 22, Us & Them, Louie, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Film credits include Madeline’s Madeline, Shadows, One Percent More Humid, and Broken City. He has received fellowships from TCG, NALAC, Weeksville Heritage Center, and the All Stars Project, commissions from Baltimore Center Stage and Single Carrot Theater and residencies from The Public Theater’s Shakespeare Initiative and HB Studio. His play Real Life RPG has been produced by San Diego Repertory Theatre, Pioneer Theater Guild and Shakesqueer Theater Company. His Black Doves won the Thomas Barbour award for Playwriting. Follow him @ReynaldoRey. www.reynaldopiniella.com  

Aadya Bedi

Aadya Bedi (she/her/hers)  Selected works include Playwrights Horizons’ Wives, Soho Repertory Theater’s Passage, The Culture Project’s Betrayed (Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play), EST Marathon Series’ Jesus in Manhattan. Regionally, she was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her work at The Wilma’s Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad. Other regional work includes: Yale Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cleveland Play House, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Williams College, and New York Stage & Film. TV/Film credits include Fireflies, Koel, Enemy Within, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, High Maintenance, and Grant Street Shaving Co.

Gerardo Rodriguez

GERARDO RODRIGUEZ (he/him/his) (HÉCTOR) most recently appeared in The Coop’s inaugural Off-Broadway production of Terra Firma by Barbara Hammond. Other select theatre credits include Summer and Smoke (CSC), Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement (INTAR), It Can’t Happen Here (Berkeley Rep), Se Llama Christina (INTAR), To the Bone (Cherry Lane), Seven Spots on the Sun (Cincinnati Playhouse), La Ruta (Working Theater), Lucy Loves Me (INTAR), Elemeno Pea (Humana Festival), Dramatis Personae (Playwrights Realm), Chad Deity (Mixed Blood). TV/Film includes Elementary, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Shades of Blue, Search Party, Person of Interest, Law & Order CI and Law & Order SVU, Blind, Misty Button, The Artist’s Wife, Cruzando, Winter of Frozen Dreams, Don’t Let Me Drown, Last Night at Angelo’s, and Fish. MFA-ART/MXAT.

Donovan Monzón-Sanders

Donovan Monzón-Sanders is a 9-year-old born in NYC. He has a passion for performing and finds great joy playing the piano and singing. Previous roles include Young Emilio in ON YOUR FEET The Musical! at Westchester Broadway Theatre. Thanks to God, his parents, manager, agents, his family, and friends. Instagram/Facebook: @donovan_take3 

Matthew Cubillos

Matthew Cubillos (he/him/his) (STAGE DIRECTIONS – MACHINE LEARNING) is a Hispanic actor based in Brooklyn, NY. He was born and raised in El Paso, TX. After graduating from high school, Matthew studied Theatre at Texas Tech University and received his BFA in Acting in 2019. Since living in New York City, he has started to perform Off-off Broadway while also acting in short films and commercials. 

SYZYGY or, the ceasing of the sun

By juliany f. taveras
Directed by Dominique Rider

On the cusp of the 22nd century, in a city (or whatever it is that’s left), a star-crossed, makeshift family of five is born. a meditation on how love & chaos behave when it feels like the world is falling apart, SYZYGY is both a microscope on a handful of humans & a telescope on the world they struggle to survive in & care for. Climate & cosmos; past & present; bodies & burdens; life & legacy—what does it mean for us if, in fact, the world has always been ending? How do we love? How do we fight?

Two River Theater recognizes Francesca Fernandez McKenzie’s participation in the 10th Annual Crossing Borders (Virtual) Festival as a Still Standing Artist in Residence at Stonehenge NYC.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Writer

juliany f. taveras
juliany f. taveras

juliany f. taveras is a writer, facilitator, & aspiring gardener from Ayití by way of Lenapehoking. they wake up every day on a strange & miraculous planet with the mission of crafting new, just worlds into existence. everything they do // make // dream of centers bodies in diaspora & exists in relentless pursuit of Black liberation & Indigenous sovereignty.

 

Director

Dominique Rider
Dominique Rider

Dominique Rider is a director based in Brooklyn, New York. They believe in l[i/o]ving like it is the end of the world. Dominique’s work is concerned with answering the question: “What is a world unmade by slavery?” They have worked as a director, collaborator, and curator at New York Stage and Film, Two River Theater, The New Group, Roundabout, Princeton, Audible, BRIClab, NYU, Harlem9, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Haiti Cultural Exchange, MCC, The Old Globe, The Lark, Soho Repertory Theater, The Atlantic, The Bushwick Starr, Clubbed Thumb, Long Wharf Theatre, and WP. Dominique is the director in residence for the National Black Theatre through 2022, a 2021 BRIClab resident artist, a 2019 NAMT directing observer, a co-producer for CLASSIX, and an inaugural member of Roundabout Theatre Company’s Directing Group.

Stage Manager

Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez
Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez

Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez (she/they/ella/elle) is a Boston-based stage manager and director. SM credits include: Front Porch @ Starlight, Vanity Fair, A Christmas Carol 2018 & 2019, and Journey to the West (Central Square Theater), Keyping, Lonely Planet, and Statements After an Arrest… (New Repertory Theatre) King Lear (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Three Musketeers, The Salonnieres and Being Earnest (Greater Boston Stage Company), Caroline or Change (Moonbox Productions), Who is Eartha Mae (Bridge Repertory Theatre), The Music Man and Anything Goes (Reagle Music Theatre). Her directing work was most recently seen at the Women & Science Festival with Central Square Theater. They have also directed with Front Porch Arts Collective, Flat Earth Theatre, The Calliope Project Theater, Ministry of Theater, and Kidstock Creative Theatre. She was the Artistic Director of The Calliope Project and is now a company member and director at Flat Earth Theater. Proud member and elected delegate of Actors Equity Association. 

Jackie Torres

Jackie Torres (she/they) is an Afro Boricua poet, playwright, actor, educator, organizer and mal’criada whose work focuses on art as a tool for organizing and education, a method of cultural preservation, and a ritual of healing. She is a co-founder of Pa’lante NYC, a collective of poets dedicated to political education, mutual aid, and the revolutionary possibilities of words. Their work is always dedicated to those in their respective communities: Black people, QTGNC people, neurodivergent and chronically ill people, Caribbean people, and the visions for the future they conjure and conspire to make material.

Francesca Fernandez McKenzie

Francesca Fernandez McKenzie is an actor originally from the San Francisco Bay Area based in New York City. Before graduating from Yale School of Drama, she was a theater maker in New Orleans. She has shared her work in NYC (59E59, Daryl Roth Theater, The Lark, Playwrights Realm) and regionally (Cal Shakes, Magic Theatre, Horizon Theater, Southern Rep, Cleveland Play House, Theater Mu). TV/Film credits include Blue Bloods and The Locker Room Series. She is a co-founder of Encompass Collective and a recipient of the inaugural Stonehenge NYC Still Standing Artist Residency.

Esco Jouléy

Esco Jouléy is an actor, singer, dancer, clown, movement artist, and creator located in New York City. Credits include: Television: State of the Union (upcoming, Sundance TV), High Maintenance (HBO), Inventing Anna (Netflix), Monsterland (Hulu), In a Man’s World (Bravo, movement coach) ABC Discovers Showcase. Theatre: InterstateRunawaysGalateaThe Demise (Magic Theater Player), Beowulf. Esco was a resident actor at the historic Barter Theater for three and a half years. As a movement artist, Esco is the creator and performer of “One”, a mute character that lives in the same world as the great artists Charlie Chaplin, Burt Williams, and Harpo Marx. Esco has used this character to explore the language of movement and how one would communicate with people if one could not speak. Esco is a Penn State University graduate with a BA in Integrative Arts and a minor in Dance. Esco also graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. Esco was awarded the Robert J. Prindle and Doris P. Prindle Memorial Award and the Lauren M. Becker Memorial Award in creative art. More information about Esco and their work can be found at escojouley.com, @escojouley, onezlife.com, and @onezlife.

Imani Russell

Imani Russell (they/them/elle) is an actor, singer-songwriter, poet, and playwright from Crown Heights (unceded Lenape land). Trained in classical music, musical theatre, and acting, Imani has performed Off-Broadway and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is an emerging voice-over artist. They also write music under the name NANí and recently released a two-song EP titled sweetbitter creature. Imani believes in Black queer+trans power and safety, indigenous sovereignty, and art as an act of love.

Socorro Santiago

Socorro Santiago (she/hers/ella)  performed in the Broadway production of The Bacchae at Circle in the Square Theatre and has performed Off-Broadway at The Public Theater, NYTW, Ma-Yi Theater, Ars Nova, Roundabout Theatre Company, amongst others. She produced, wrote, and performed in her play Dancing With the Dead at INTAR. Regionally, she has performed at the Sundance Theatre Lab, Long Wharf Theatre, American Conservatory Theater, Huntington Theatre (IRNE nomination), and Two River Theater, where she was last seen in Guadalupe in the Guest Room by Tony Meneses. She was in the touring company of Small Mouth Sounds, directed by Rachel Chavkin. TV/Film credits include Blue Bloods, Prodigal Son, Madame Secretary, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: SVU, All My Children (ALMA Award for her work as Isabella Santos), All Good Things, Devil’s Advocate, Vampires vs The Bronx, Widows Dir: Steven McQueen. Ms. Santiago can currently be seen online in Clubbed Thumb’s Streaming of The Woman’s Party.

Andrea Negrete

Andrea Negrete (she/they) is an actor, facilitator, writer, and collaborative creator from the Rio Grande Valley. Recent credits include: Three Girls Never Learnt the Way Home by Matthew Paul Olmos (Cherry Lane Theatre and Dorset Theatre Festival), The Opportunities of Extinction (Cherry Lane Theatre), Saints Go Marching (Signature Theatre), Let’s Get Ready Together (The Tank), TV credits include: Tell Me A Story (CBS), The Other Two (Comedy Central). She’s a graduate of Vassar College.

Optional Boss Battle

By Nick Malakhow

Directed by Rebecca Martínez

Like teens all over the world, Alonso and Ruben are forced into remote learning in March of 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. Icy acquaintances at their bougie prep school, they forge an unlikely friendship when new-in-town, grieving Ruben realizes he lives just around the corner from agoraphobic Alonso in Hackensack, NJ. A story about processing grief, forging connection, coming to terms with identity, and caring for one’s mental health in tumultuous times. For Covid-19 precautions, you can check out Meijer weekly ad for hygiene supplies before attending the events.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Writer

Nick Malakhow
Nick Malakhow

Nick Malakhow (he/him/his) is a Dominican and Ukrainian writer and theater educator based in Boston. His full-length work includes Seeing Eye (developed with Victory Gardens, Fresh Ink, finalist for the 2019 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, the 2018 LTC/HowlRound Carnaval), A Picture of Two Boys (developed with Abingdon Theatre Company, Mirrorbox Theatre Company, Skylight Theatre Company, the Quarantine Series), and Grit (developed with Playhouse on Park, Fuse Theater, Theatre@First). Nick was a Company One Playlab Unit member for C1’s 2019 season. He has also taught theater, English, and creative writing at the secondary level for over ten years in the greater Philly and Boston areas. He grew up in the diverse town of Teaneck, NJ. BA: Swarthmore College, MA: Emerson College

Director

Rebecca Martínez
Rebecca Martínez

REBECCA MARTINEZ (DIRECTOR) (SHE/HER) is an award-winning director and choreographer and the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at WP Theater. Upcoming projects include: Sancocho (WP Theater), a musical adaptation of The Comedy of Errors (The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit). Recent projects: Los Complicados (EST Marathon), Randy’s Dandy Coaster Castle (Egg & Spoon Collective), Songs About Trains (Working Theater and Radical Evolution), Somewhere Over the Border (Syracuse Stage and Geva Theatre). Rebecca has developed new work with The Public Theater, Amas Musical Theater, the O’Neill, Latinx Playwrights Circle, the Sol Project, NAMT, INTAR, Working Theater, The Playwrights Realm, among others. Affiliations: Sojourn Theatre Ensemble, 2021 TCG Rising Leaders of Color; Sol Project Collective, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, INTAR’s Unit52, New Georges Affiliated Artist, WP Lab, Drama League Directing Fellow, member of SDC. Awards: Colorado Henry Award for Directing; four Portland, Oregon Drammy Awards; Lilla Jewel Award for Women Artists. Rebecca is originally from Colorado with deep ancestral roots in the Southwest. rebeccamartinez.org

Stage Manager

Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez
Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez

Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez (she/they/ella/elle) is a Boston-based stage manager and director. SM credits include: Front Porch @ Starlight, Vanity Fair, A Christmas Carol 2018 & 2019, and Journey to the West (Central Square Theater), Keyping, Lonely Planet, and Statements After an Arrest… (New Repertory Theatre) King Lear (Actors’ Shakespeare Project), Three Musketeers, The Salonnieres and Being Earnest (Greater Boston Stage Company), Caroline or Change (Moonbox Productions), Who is Eartha Mae (Bridge Repertory Theatre), The Music Man and Anything Goes (Reagle Music Theatre). Her directing work was most recently seen at the Women & Science Festival with Central Square Theater. They have also directed with Front Porch Arts Collective, Flat Earth Theatre, The Calliope Project Theater, Ministry of Theater, and Kidstock Creative Theatre. She was the Artistic Director of The Calliope Project and is now a company member and director at Flat Earth Theater. Proud member and elected delegate of Actors Equity Association. 

Reynaldo Piniella

Reynaldo Piniella (he/him/his) is an actor, writer, educator, and activist from East New York, Brooklyn. He’s been seen Off-Broadway in The Death of the Last Black Man…, Venus (Signature Theatre), The Skin of Our Teeth (Theater for a New Audience), Lockdown (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), The Space Between the Letters (The Public Theater/UTR), Terminus (NYTW Next Door). Regional work includes Baltimore Center Stage, Syracuse Stage, Sundance Theatre Lab in Morocco, the O’Neill and the Cleveland Play House. TV credits include Blue Bloods, Sneaky Pete, Flesh & Bone, Greenleaf, The Carrie Diaries, Law & Order: SVU, NYC 22, Us & Them, Louie, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Film credits include Madeline’s Madeline, Shadows, One Percent More Humid, and Broken City. He has received fellowships from TCG, NALAC, Weeksville Heritage Center, and the All Stars Project, commissions from Baltimore Center Stage and Single Carrot Theater and residencies from The Public Theater’s Shakespeare Initiative and HB Studio. His play Real Life RPG has been produced by San Diego Repertory Theatre, Pioneer Theater Guild and Shakesqueer Theater Company. His Black Doves won the Thomas Barbour award for Playwriting. Follow him @ReynaldoRey. www.reynaldopiniella.com  

Jake Ryan Lozano

Jake Ryan Lozano (he/they) is a Chicano artist from San Antonio, TX, currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. His work is dedicated to the love from his grandparents and all the queer, brown kids figuring it out. 

Ana Grosse

Ana Grosse (she/her/hers) New York City Theater: María Irene Fornés’ The Conduct of Life (Boundless Theatre Company), Charles Mee’s Fêtes de la Nuit (The Ohio Theatre), Privilege (EST Marathon), Holy Land (HERE Arts Center), Useless (Indiana Repertory Theatre), La Cena (IATI Theater), Sound Waves (FringeNYC), Bad Evidence (The Cell Theatre), The House of Bernarda Alba, Your Name Will Follow You Home, Once Five Years Pass and Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Repertorio Español). Regional: Seven Spots on the Sun (Cincinnati Playhouse). Film credits include: Devil’s Work, Bubblegum, Bahama Mama. Internationally, Ana has performed in Argentina, Mexico, and Australia.

Zuleyma Guevara

Zuleyma Guevara (she/her/hers) has, like most of us, performed virtually in the last year. She was last seen in Octopus Theatre Company in association with NYU Abu Dhabi’s Pandemic Fight also directed by Rebecca Martínez. Previously she also appeared in The Phoenix Theatre Company’s online performance of Trojan Women. Stage credits include the world premiere of Azul at Southern Rep Theatre in New Orleans and the role of Nora in the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s production of A Doll’s House Part 2. Other credits include the world premiere of Uncommon Sense at Tectonic Theatre Project, Water by the Spoonful at Premiere Stages, La Paloma Prisoner at Columbia Stages, The Hour of The Star, Seven Spots on the Sun at Cincinnati Playhouse and Working Theater’s production of La Ruta. TV credits include Designated Survivor, Law and Order, Limitless, and Gotham. Film credits include New York State of Mind, Third Trinity

Jorge Cordova

Jorge Cordova (he/him/his) is an actor whose credits include, Theater: A Doll’s House Part 2 (Long Wharf Theatre), Porto (The Bushwick Starr, WP Theater/New Georges), Universal Robots (Gideon Productions/Sheen Center), Lady Day (The Little Shubert). Television: Black Mirror (Netflix), Billions (HBO), Tales of The City (Netflix), Seven Seconds (Netflix). Upcoming voiceover work includes Podcast: Unknown 9: Out of Sight (Reflector Entertainment), TV: Mecha Builders (Sesame Street, HBO MAX).

Peter Ruiz

Peter Ruiz (they/them) is a recent graduate of the MFA Acting program at Indiana University. They are excited to work with Two River Theater for the first time and especially excited to be involved in the development of new work! Past Credits Include BonnetsHow Ladies of Good Breeding Are Induced to Murder (Role of Fortitude), jelly beans (Role of Jaden), Water by the Spoonful (Role of Elliot Ortiz) Titus Andronicus (Role of Lucius), R.U.R. (Role of Primus), Romeo and Juliet (Role of Benvolio), Love’s Labour’s Lost (Role of Dumaine), and All New People (Role of Charlie). www.peter-ruiz.com

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