Tallahassee Hispanic Theater

Following the success of its Micro Theater Festival in July 2018, the Tallahassee Hispanic Theater will  present the Second Annual Micro Theater Festival on June 21-22,2019 at 7:30pm at the Carriage House at Goodwood Museum. The Second Annual Micro Theater Festival will present a series of short, 15 to 20-minute plays written by Hispanic playwrights. In addition to the plays, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy drinks and Hispanic food provided by Tally Arepas (available for purchase), and live Hispanic music throughout the event.

The Festival will be a presented on the historic grounds of the Goodwood Museum and Gardens. The audience will be able to enjoy the setting, music, food, and performances (presented all in the same open space) while moving freely around the space and mingling with others. The plays will be performed in English.

This year the Tallahassee Hispanic Theater will present five short plays as part of the Festival.

Mother Love by Almúdena Grandes: this fiercely parodic monologue (originally a short story) tells, from the perspective of an apparently exemplary mother, a black tale about the disintegrating relationship between a mother and a daughter.

A Mommy and a Daddy by Ignacio del Moral’s is a lively, and somewhat melancholic dialogue through which two people, a man and a woman, find each other and express their longings while they take their respective babies for a stroll.

A Night in the subway by Paloma Pedrero: Late at night, in a deserted subway station, a man and woman meet and have a conversation. “Sometimes, random encounters with a stranger can surprise us, and we learn as much about them as we do about ourselves.”

Castings by Cristina Colmena: An actor and an actress meet at a casting where both of them are auditioning for the same part. “This comedy plays with the old metaphor of Life/Theater just like Pirandello did but with a comic undertone.”

Capricho by Nilo Cruz: a forgotten understudy waits in vain for his call, still in his costume for some long-ago Lope de Vega play. “Foolish and forlorn, he’s a leftover trouper, and old-world soul doing a ten-minute vaudeville turns on the virtues of standing by.”

Festival Tickets are $15 (adults) and $12 (students, seniors and Goodwood members).

Buy your tickets here.

Tallahassee Hispanic Theater presents
NAVIGATORS
A Comedy by Toni Cabre
Starring: Alejandra Gutierrez and Mattie Ward
Directed by: Kevin Carr

April 25-28, 2019
Schnittman Hall at Railroad Square
623 McDonnell Drive, Tallahassee

Navigators is a hilarious comedy about two people who believe in the virtues of social media. A man and a woman get online to find out what’s happening, to share their feelings, to have fun… Maybe because of they are online, they feel less isolated and somehow happier. But online relationships are very complicated!

Like many of us, the two character in Navigators are lonely. They want to break out of their routine, so they navigate the web to find someone else who wants to play a game.

Do you want to play?

Don’t miss the AMERICAN PREMIERE of NAVIGATORS. Five Performances only!

Tickets: $15/person. Students and Seniors – $12. The play will be performed in English.

Buy your tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/navigators-tickets-60206867361

Alejandra Gutierrez, the Artistic Director of THT, was selected as a 2019 Trailblazer by the Oasis Center for Women & Girls in honor of her leadership in community organizing and redevelopment, making a way for others to follow her example.The award ceremony took place on March 8^th during the celebration of the 11th Annual Women’s History Month Luncheon.

Alejandra Gutierrez immigrated from Venezuela to study Spanish literature, earning her PhD from the University of Virginia. While teaching Hispanic language and culture at FSU, she started the first Hispanic theater group in Tallahassee to educate and help others connect with Hispanic culture through the stories and art of theater. Her nonprofit theater group, Tallahassee Hispanic Theater, performs literary plays by Hispanic authors and playwrights at Goodwood Museum, Monticello Opera House, and partners with other theater groups in Tallahassee creating a rich and varied experience.

While studying journalism in Caracas, Venezuela, Gutierrez enrolled in a theater class and fell in love with the art form. For six years, Gutierrez worked during the day as a journalist and spent her evenings acting with groups like Grupo Actoral 80, founded by Argentinean playwright and actor Juan Carlos Gené. Performing plays from all over the world, Gutierrez was able to glimpse other cultures and through the windows that theater provided, appreciate them.

She brings that wonder and passion to her students at FSU who she introduces literary works of Hispanic culture, and to the Tallahassee community through the performance art delivered by Tallahassee Hispanic Theater, a dream she is making come true.

Alejandra is a trailblazer because she has put her passion into action to connect disparate cultures through theater. Her determination, talent, and love of her culture has enriched the city she now calls home, creating a more inclusive, informed, appreciative, and connected society through artfully-told human experience.

When asked about her message to women and girls who might want to follow her path, she offers Discipline: don’t quit when things get hard. And be open to change because wonderful things await.

Tallahassee Hispanic Theater will be presenting its new play Happily Ever After at the Monticello Opera House on November 9-10, 16-17.
Happily Ever After is an evening of short plays and monologues reflecting on love and relationships. The short plays (Misunderstandings, Don’t Take it Personally, and Melodrama) present couples in three different stages of a relationship, along with some of the challenges, fears, and insecurities which many couples face. The monologues (An Ugly Boyfriend and Perceptions) share insights into the minds of two women struggling with jealousy and self-doubt.

The plays were written by Cristina Colmena, a writer and playwright from Spain, based in New York since 2010. Some of her plays have been staged in La Habana, Madrid, Washington DC, and Miami. Her pieces Happily Ever After and Typing, also participated in the PEN World Voices Festival (April 2013) as part of the “Staged Readings Series New Plays from Spain” in the Martin Segal Theater (NYC).

The first weekend of the play, November 9-10, the playwright will be attending the shows, and will share with the audience in a Q&A event after the performances. This is a great opportunity for the audience to interact with the author, and discuss aspects of the play, the creative process, and the production in an informal manner.

People can also enjoy a traditional Hispanic dinner before the show, at 7:00 p.m. Dinner is optional. You can buy tickets for the dinner and play, or just for the play at the MOH website: http://www.monticellooperahouse.org.

Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a tender, intimate and sometimes comical look at the complicated path that many relationships take. After all one plus one does not always equal two.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our First Annual Micro Theater Festival. We had a great time and the response of the audience was very encouraging.

Here are some pics of the plays and backstage.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Meet the playwrights of the four plays we will be presenting as part of our First Annual Micro Theater Festival this Friday and Saturday, July 20-21, at the Carriage House in Goodwood Museum.

These are the four plays that will be presented in the festival

This play was written by one of the most important contemporary playwrights from Spain: Jose Luis Alonso de Santos. It’s a conversation between a subway driver and a lonely woman who spend the night together after meeting at a bar. With a tragicomic tone we learn about their sorrows and hopes. Directed by Jeff Mandel.

“The Madwoman of Chaillot” is a play written by Venezuelan actress, director and playwright Gladys Prince, who has been part of the theater scene in Caracas for decades. She wrote this monologue inspired by the play with the same name written by Jean Giraudoux in 1943. It tells the story of an eccentric and sharp-tongued woman with a mix of satire and comedy that undoubtedly will charm the audience. Directed by Alejandra Gutierrez and interpreted by Marcy Palmer.

“And the Oscar should go to” is a fresh comedy by Spanish playwright Marc Egea. It’s Oscar night and the presenter, an old Hollywood legend, has made a mistake reading the name of the winner for Best Actress. What will he do? And more importantly, what will she do? Directed by Mickey Clickner, and interpreted by Mike Herrin and Amanda Street.

In “A Trip to the Future” Lana and Tom explore the possibilities that the future may have for them in a “trip” full of surprises. The piece is filled with pop culture references, from Back to the Future to The Matrix. It was written by Nathalia Paolini, a Venezuelan actress, director, and playwright who currently lives in Spain. Directed by Kevin Carr.

Tallahassee Hispanic Theater embraces the concept of Micro Theater, started in 2009 in Spain, presenting a group of short plays that will be performed in the same space: the Carriage House at Goodwood Museum. Micro-theater is a form of theater very popular these days in Spain, Latin America and places like Miami and New York. It brings short stage performances up close to the audience in unusual venues.

Besides the plays, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy Hispanic food, drinks and live music, interpreted by Charles Santiago and Jesse García.

This will be a non-traditional theater event, where the audience will be able to enjoy the setting, the music, and the performances presented all in the same open space, while moving freely around the space and mingling with others.

For its First Annual Micro Theater festival, THT will be presenting four 15-20 minute plays written by well-known playwrights, as well as fresh new pieces by young authors.

“The Madwoman of Chaillot” is a play written by Venezuelan actress, director and playwright Gladys Prince, who has been part of the theater scene in Caracas for decades. She wrote this monologue inspired by the play with the same name written by Jean Giraudoux in 1943. It tells the story of an eccentric and sharp-tongued woman with a mix of satire and comedy that undoubtedly will charm the audience. Directed by Alejandra Gutierrez and interpreted by Marcy Palmer.

The play “A Brief Encounter” was written by one of the most important contemporary playwrights from Spain: Jose Luis Alonso de Santos. It’s a conversation between a subway driver and a lonely woman who spend the night together after meeting at a bar. With a tragicomic tone we learn about their sorrows and hopes. Directed by Jeff Mandel.

“And the Oscar should go to” is a fresh comedy by Spanish playwright Marc Egea. It’s Oscar night and the presenter, an old Hollywood legend, has made a mistake reading the name of the winner for Best Actress. What will he do? And more importantly, what will she do? Directed by Mickey Clickner, and interpreted by Mike Herrin and Amanda Street.

In “A Trip to the Future” Lana and Tom explore the possibilities that the future may have for them in a “trip” full of surprises. The piece is filled with pop culture references, from Back to the Future to The Matrix. It was written by Nathalia Paolini, a Venezuelan actress, director, and playwright who currently lives in Spain. Directed by Kevin Carr.

July 20-21

8:00 p.m.

Carriage House at Goodgood Museum

Tickets: $5 Students, $8 Seniors and Goodwood members, $10 General. Cash or Card at the door.