(Untitled)

Typing by Cristina Colmena
Photo credit: Left to right, actors Alfredo Tauste, Francisco Reyes and Sebastian Galvez                                                      Photo courtesy of AENY- Spanish Artists in New York

With Playwrights Ernesto Caballero, Guillem Clua, Cristina Colmena, Mar Gómez Glez, Borja Ortiz de Gondra, Alfredo Sanzol, and Emilio Williams

At the occasion of the 2013 PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, we welcome seven of Spain’s most respected Spanish dramatists to the Segal Center. Playwrights will travel to New York to preside over readings of their works in English. With artistic director Julian Mesri and Segal Center Next Generation Fellow Sarah Rose Leonard, these readings offer insight into the evolution of Spanish identity and culture in the context of its current situation. An anthology of the plays in translation will be published by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center. Presented in collaboration with the Consulate General of Spain in New York, Fundación Autor (Madrid), and the Instituto Cervantes.

With additional support from The Lark.

SCHEDULE

MONDAY, APRIL 29

2:00 PM SMARTPHONES by Emilio Williams, Directed by Eric Mercado

4:00 PM PICASSO AND HIS BARBER by Borja Ortiz de Gondra, Directed by Debbie Saivetz

6:30 PM PROMISED LAND by Guillem Clua, Directed by Melanie Sutherland

8:00 PM TYPINGS and HAPPILY EVER AFTER by Cristina Colmena, Directed by Kimberly Faith Hickman

9:00 PM Panel Discussion: New Playwriting in Contemporary Spain With Guillem Clua,
Cristina Colmena, Borja Ortiz de Gondra, and Emilio Williams, moderated by Ángel Gill Orrios, Artistic/Executive Director of Thalia Spanish Theatre.

TUESDAY, APRIL 30

2:00 PM NUMBERS by Mar Gómez Glez, Directed by Tamilla Woodard

4:00 PM ON THE MOON by Alfredo Sanzol, Directed by Oliver Butler

6:30 PM PAKITA by Ernesto Caballero, Directed by Shannon Sindelar
Starring Okwui Okpokwasili (Lear, Miriam)

8:00 PM Panel Discussion: Playwriting, Globalization, and Identities: Is there a National Identity in Contemporary Spanish Playwriting? With Ernesto Caballero, Mar Gómez Glez, Alfredo Sanzol, director Julian Mesri, Artistic/Executive Director of Thalia Spanish Theatre Ángel Gill Orrios, and American playwright John Guare, moderated by Antonio Onetti.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Emilio Williams is a playwright and stage director from Madrid. He is the Artistic Director of The Chicago Theater Sweatshop. In 2010, his alternative hit comedy Camas y Mesas (Tables and Beds) was selected among 80 plays from 12 countries as the winner of the IV Premio El Espectaculo Teatral. Last summer his comedy Smartphones- a Pocket Size Farce (Smartphones– una farsa de bolsillo) received its world premiere at Trap Door Theatre in Chicago. His comedy Medea´s got some issues received “Best International Show” at United Solo Festival 2012 in New York. His latest world premiere, Your Problem with Men was produced and performed by Teatro Luna at Chicago´s Stage773, to great critical acclaim.

Eric Mercado is a Brooklyn based director. Previous directing and devised theatre credits include: The Ape and the Child at the Wings Theater, Ach Du Lieber Himmel and Wine and Spirits, both at New York Theater Workshop with Theater In Asylum, Bomb Shelter at the Gene Frankel, Baby Plays the Banjo at 45 Bleecker, Open Up at Theater for the New City, Choking the Butterfly at Ninth Space, Magic 8 Ball at the Brick’s Tiny Theater Festival, and The Scientists at the Living Theatre. Eric served as Staff Director for Aquila Theatre’s national tour of Macbeth and The Importance of Being Earnest. His latest project Not Without My Gallbladder will be premiering at the Robert Moss this May as part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Eric holds a BFA from NYU Tisch where he studied creating original work.

Borja Ortiz de Gondra is a playwright and theatre director from Bilbao. He was awarded the prestigious Calderón de la Barca National Drama Award in 1997 for his work Mane, Thecel, Phares, after which he started working regularly for the theatre in Madrid, as a director, playwright and translator. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Bradomin marquis Award in 1995 for his play Dedos (Fingers) , and in 2003 he was awarded the Arniches Award by the City of Alicante. His plays have been translated into Czech, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese and have been staged in Argentina, France and México.

Debbie Saivetz has directed and developed new plays at New York and regional theaters such as the Foundry, the Lark, Fulcrum, Clubbed Thumb, Rattlestick, Ensemble Studio Theater, Working Theater, Voice & Vision, Red Bull, INTAR, American Lyric Theater, the Playwrights’ Center, Hartford Stage, the Goodman, the Guthrie, Long Wharf and Seattle Rep. Most recently, she directed Verónica Musalem’s Rebanadas de vida for Lab Trece in Mexico City and Sarah Ruhl’s Eurídice at La Casa de los Teatros in Oaxaca. She is a a Drama League Directing Fellow, a New Georges Affiliate Artist, an alumna of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab and was a Resident Director at New Dramatists. She holds a doctorate in Performance Studies from Northwestern and teaches at Montclair State University.

Guillem Clua is a playwright, screenwriters, and director from Barcelona. He began his theatre education at the London Guildhall University (UK), and started writing plays in 2001, after working for many years as a journalist. In 2001, Clua began working with the Sala Beckett theatre in Barcelona and wrote The Invisible for the theatre. As a screenwriter, he has contributed, as head writer, to the series El cor de la ciutat (The Heart of the City). He has also worked on other local and national television series and currently writes for the popular Catalan show La Riera (The Flood).

Melanie Sutherland. Past collaborations with Marion Peter Holt include American premiere of Doves on a Lark [Palomas intrepidas]. Conceived/directed 7 Sins in 60 Minutes (HERE Summer Sublet Series, Philly Fringe); Harry the Hunk On His Way Out (Warren Bodow; Cherry Lane); Behind the Darkness (Zdenka Becker; ACF); Fargo (David Morse, Circle Rep), Easter in an Alley (Michael Rispoli, Circle Rep); A Pirate’s Lullaby (Jessica Litwak, Rattlestick); H’rStory, monologues from the FGM Interviews (Women’s Project); gender-bending The Misanthrope (AAI Prods). John Golden Award; Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who of American Women, International Who’s Who; Atlantic Center for the Arts. SDC, LPTW, NYWA, and Past President of WAMCo.

Cristina Colmena, born in Seville, is a playwright and screenwriter. She has recently published a book of short stories La amabilidad de los extraños (Kindness of Strangers). Her recent plays include Typings and Fueron Felices y Comieron Perdices (Happily Ever After). She also writes fiction, theatre, and scripts for cinema and television, and her short stories have appeared in several literary magazines. She holds a BA degree in Communication and Journalism, and an MFA in Creative Writing in Spanish at New York University.

Kimberly Faith Hickman – Broadway: Clybourne Park (2012 Tony Award for Best Play, Assistant Director for Pam MacKinnon), The Scottsboro Boys (with Susan Stroman). Off Broadway: Women’s Project, Epic Theatre Ensemble, Atlantic Theater Company, Theatre Row. Additional NYC directing credits include terraNOVA Collective, Horse Trade Theater Group, The Attic Theatre Company. Regional: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Next Act Theatre, Off Square Theatre, Playhouse on the Square, Springer Opera House, Rose of Athens Theatre, etc. BFA Columbus State University, member of Directors Lab West and Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab, two time recipient of an SDC Observership, recipient of an Alec Baldwin Directing Fellowship and Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellowship, and proud member of SDC (the union of professional directors and choreographers). Current projects include Til Death Do Us Part (Director, Alec Baldwin Fellowship – NYC), the World Wide Plays Festival Off Broadway at Theatre Row, and The Assembled Parties on Broadway (Assistant Director for Lynn Meadow, Manhattan Theatre Club). Visit www.kimberlyfaithhickman.com

Mar Gómez Glez is a playwright and novelist. Born in Madrid, her work has received global recognition including the 2011 Calderón de la Barca Theater Award, the 2008 Arte Joven Latina Award and the 2007 Beckett Theater Award. She is the author of the novel Cambio de sentido (U-Turn , 2010, translated into English with the support of PEN American Center), the children’s book Acededario (2006) and numerous other short stories and plays, including Wearing Lorca’s Bowtie, which played Off-Broadway in December 2011 (NYC). Her site-specific work 39 Defaults premiered at Teatro Stage Fest (NYC, 2012). She studies for a PhD as a Humanities Initiative Fellow at New York University.

Tamilla Woodard is a Director, Actor and Adapter residing in New York City. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, an alumnus of The Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a founding member of The Internationalists, a collective of directors from around the world creating an interactive global theatrical community. Most recently she directed Nightlands by Sylvan Oswald and co-directed the US premier of HOTEL PROJECT, NYC/NJ originally created with Ana Margineanu in partnership with the Mexican theatre companies Seres Comunes and Sabandijas de Palacio. Tamilla has been an active participant in the US/Mexico Exchange with the Lark Play Development Center in New York as both actor and director of new translations by contemporary Mexican playwrights. She has directed at HERE, The Actors Theatre of Louisville, PS122, DR 2, The Culture Project, Urban Stages, Dance Theatre Workshop, The Kitchen Theatre, Manhattan Class Company and for festivals around the US and internationally. New Dramatists honored her with The Charles Bowden Award and The League of Professional Theatre Women with the Josephine Abady Award. She also serves as an adjunct professor teaching solo performance at City College’s Center for Worker Education.

Alfredo Sanzol is a Spanish playwright and stage director. Born in Madrid, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RESAD), and upon graduating he founded his own company, Producciones Callao, for which he writes and directs. Recent plays include Risas y Destrucción (Laughter and Destruction); Sí, pero no lo Soy (Yes, but I am not); Dias Estupendos (Stupendous Days) (Max Award as best Playwright) and En la Luna (On The Moon) (Ceres Award as Best Playwright). He has worked for the National Theater (CDN), Teatro Abadia, Valencia’s Performing Arts Festival and for Madrid Public Television, writing the scripts for the television series Living Lavapies. As a director, he has staged texts by Steven Berkoff, Oscar Wilde, and Valle Inclán, among others.

Oliver Butler is a founder and co-Artistic Director of The Debate Society. With TDS Oliver has developed and directed the world premieres of 7 new plays including Blood Play (The Bushwick Starr/The Public), Buddy Cop 2 (Ontological/Atlantic), Cape Disappointment (Performance Space 122) and The Eaten Heart (Ontological Incubator). At Ars Nova he developed and directed The Lapsburgh Layover with Philly company The Berserker Residents and recently developed and directed Tripolitania by Greg Keller at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. He is a Sundance Institute Fellow, a 2012 Bill Foeller Fellow and a 2012/13 Ars Nova Artist-in-Residence.

Ernesto Caballero is a Spanish playwright and stage director. He is currently the Director of Centro Dramático Nacional (National Theatre of Spain). Born in Madrid, he has written over 20 plays, including Auto, Un busto al cuerpo (A Bust to a Body), and En la Roca (In The Rock). He served as one of the founding members of Teatro Magazine, and received the Spanish Drama Critics Award in 1994 for his plays Auto and Laggards. He served as Professor of Acting at the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático (RESAD) for many years, and has also worked as Associate Director of La Abadía Theatre, Madrid.

Shannon Sindelar‘s work has been seen at Performance Space 122, Incubator Arts Project, HERE, the Bushwick Starr, and the Prelude festival. She is the new producing artistic director of the Brooklyn-based, site-specific company Brave New World Repertory Theatre. Prior to that, she was the co-Artistic Director of the cross media performance group 31 Down (2011 Time Out NY “Off-Off Innovator to Watch”), and for five years directed the company’s productions, including Here at Home, Red Over Red, The Assember Dilator and Universal Robots. She curates for the Incubator Arts Project and produces its annual Other Forces festival. She was named a 2009 NYTheatre.com Person of the Year.

PANELIST BIOS

Antonio Onetti (moderator), born in Seville in 1962. He holds a degree in drama by the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático in Madrid. He began is acting career as a film and theater actor. He is playwright, screenwriter for theatre and television, stage director and drama and dramatic writing professor. He also directed two television movies and his project for next year is to direct a film.
As a playwright he premiered and published most of his works in Spain and some other in Europe, America and Africa. His plays have been translated to English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Romanian. As a film and television screenwriter he is focused on real stories and historical characters as well as on soap opera screenwriter.

Some of his most recognized works for theatre are Madre Caballo (Mother Horse), La Puñalá (The Stab) and La calle del infierno (Hell Street). His films include Lobo (Wolf), GAL, and E Operation. His miniseries are Padre Coraje (Father Courage), and Los últimos días de Franco (Franco’s Last Days). His soap operas are El Súper (The Super), Calle Nueva (New Street), Plaza Alta (High Square). For the last seven years, he has been working as a screenwriter for the daily TV Show “Amar en tiempos revueltos” (Love in Troubled Times), on the national channel TVE. He is also one the creators of a well-regarded TV Show that won the Premios Ondas in 2008 and Fotogramas de Plata in 2009, the show has more than 1500 episodes. His is currently the Chairman of the Fundación Autor SGAE.

Angel Gil Orrios (moderator) is a director, producer, designer and writer from Zaragoza, where he graduated in Directing with Summa cum Laude from the School of Dramatic Arts. At age 18 he was Assistant Director of the María Guerrero National Theatre in Madrid for Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Francisco Nieva’s Sombra y Quimera de Larra. In 1979 a grant from the U.S.-Spain Joint Committee for Cultural Affairs enabled him to research Broadway musicals in New York. He is the Artistic/Executive Director of Thalia Spanish Theatre and has been honored with the 2009 New York Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture, the Hispanic Leadership Award from the NY City Council, and the 2010 ACE Special Award for Artistic Achievement from the Association of Critics of Entertainment of New York. In over 34 years he has produced, designed and directed around 120 productions, which have met with international acclaim for his innovative staging, were invited to Festivals in Europe, the U.S., Latin America and Asia, and have won him numerous awards, among them: the Silver Medal of the French Academie des Arts-Sciences-Lettres in Paris in 1987; the ACE Award for Best Director in 1989, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2011 in New York; the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors’ HOLA Award for Best Director & Producer in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in New York; and the Prince Ferdinand Award in Zaragoza in 1975. He has translated plays by Garcia Lorca, Valle-Inclan, Calderon de la Barca, Picasso and Carlos Fuentes. He has lectured and taught Master Classes at several universities and cultural centers in the United States, Spain and Latin America including Harvard, NYU, Columbia, CUNY, the Menendez Pelayo International University, University of Zaragoza, National University of Manizales, EAFIT and Colombo-American Center in Medellin, UNITEC in Bogota, and The National Theatre of Guatemala. In 1988-1992 he was Cultural Correspondent in New York for EL PAIS newspaper. In 1993-1997 he was U.S. Advisor on Theatre, Film & TV to the Spanish Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SGAE) and for the Spanish Ministry of Culture until 2000, organizing in collaboration with Instituto Cervantes Spanish Film Series with Lincoln Center in New York and with the American Cinematheque in Hollywood.

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