Teatro del Pueblo Receives Art Grant

Teatro del Pueblo received ten thousand dollars in funding from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) to be used for the 10th Annual Political Theater Festival.

Teatro's PTF, which consists of several visiting national performances and local plays following the theme Latinos in Transition, will be presented at Gremlin Theatre in Feburary and March 2011.

Teatro del Pueblo's Artistic Director Al Justiniano with check presenter Senator Sandy Pappas.

On October 15th, 2010, several arts organizations from Saint Paul were presented large visual representations of their award checks for upcoming arts projects and activities. These grants were awarded through a competitive process by MRAC using funds from an appropriation from the Minnesota Legislature and the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

As a nonprofit theatre company, Teatro del Pueblo relies on donations and generous grants such as this to continue our work of promoting Latino culture through the creation and presentation of performing arts. Teatro develops and supports Latino artists, provides educational opportunities for all to experience Latino culture, and promotes cross-cultural dialogue.

Teatro welcomes a new intern!

Four years ago, native St. Louisan Rebecca Willman drifted up the Mississippi River to St. Paul for college. She studies Studio Art and Hispanic Studies at Macalester College, and apart from her school life she likes to delve into the culinary delights of baking, learn and practice how to knit, watch movies, bike, play with her sister’s cats, and refer to herself in the third person. Now in her final semester (whew!) of college, she hopes to expand her horizons and get involved with the community through the non-profit sector. Rebecca came to Teatro del Pueblo after hearing about it through her school and wanting to work for a community arts education program in the Latino community. She hopes to learn more about the inner workings of Teatro and expand her portfolio by creating images for upcoming shows and events. When asked her favorite thing about working with Teatro del Pueblo in a recent interview with herself, Rebecca stated, “the bus ride. It’s really nice to get out and see St. Paul and spend a couple of hours reading on my journey. It keeps me calm and prepares me for a rigorous day at Teatro’s office.” Jokes aside, Rebecca really does enjoy working with Teatro del Pueblo and team members Al, Jonelle, and fellow intern Chad.

What's new for Teatro?

Summer is winding down and along with cooler winds and shorter days come exciting new changes! Here at Teatro del Pueblo, one of those crisp breezes blew in our new AmeriCorp Vista worker, Jonelle Carrera. Jonelle will be joining us for the year as an Educational Coordinator where her main project will be creating our Open Minds program which will target the problem of low education rates for Latino students through theater exercises.

Of course no back-to-school season is complete without the return of Teatro's educational residencies. We have several shows that are appropriate for different age groups from pre-school up through college. If you are interested in collaborating with Teatro this school year, call us at 651-224-8806 and ask for Al.

Our artistic season is gearing up as well as we dive right into the West Side Theater Project's performance, Phantom of the Kitchen. Written by Teatro's Executive Director Al Justiniano, Phantom is a celebration of Latino culture and cooking that takes place right in our own backyard- or at least our neighborhood- St. Paul's West Side. Phantom of the Kitchen is running September 10-12 at the Wellstone Stage at Neighborhood House and tickets are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/124887 or by calling 1-800-838-3006.

We are also in the process of preparing for our 10th annual Political Theatre Festival which will take place from late February to early March 2011. The PTF will feature a variety of one-act plays that all deal with the theme "Latinos in Transition". We are currently still accepting scripts for the Festival, so if you have a play that runs 15 to 45 minutes long, features no more than three actors and has minimal props/set, we would love to see it. Just e-mail the script, a synopsis and a character breakdown to al@teatrodelpueblo.org as soon as possible and we will check it out!

Stay tuned to the blog, our website or our Facebook page for more updates!

Last weekend for HOBA

This weekend is the LAST WEEKEND for the House of Bernarda Alba!

and this Thursday is a Pay-What-You-Can Night, meaning there are no reserved seats and you pay what you want to/can afford, be it $8, or be it $88!

If you can't make it Thursday, there are still performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for $15 general admission and $12 Students and Seniors.

All performances at 7:30 at SteppingStone Theatre, 55 Victoria Street North, St. Paul, MN

For tickets for Fri-Sun, call 1-800-838-3006

or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/100815.

(Tickets are available for purchase up until four hours before performances. After that, remaining tickets will be sold at the Box Office.

For more information visit our website www.teatrodelpueblo.org

Univision TV Interview

We are featured in a Univision TV Interview on youtube for the House of Bernarda Alba!!
The interview is in Spanish.
We are featured 2 mins in to the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFxW6lRhm_4

HOBA Opening Weekend!

This Friday is opening night of The House of Bernarda Alba!

Teatro del Pueblo and Pangea World Theater are bringing you this classic drama by Federico García Lorca.
Life and passion erupt from the oppressive environment in The House of Bernarda Alba where five adult daughters are kept in mourning for their dead father. Bernarda, an overbearing mother is desirous to deny the outside world to her daughters and shroud any controversy in silence. The youngest daughter Adela, determined to reach for love, disrupts the established order in this 20th century classic.

For Tickets call 1-800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/100815.

(Tickets are available for purchase up until four hours before performances. After that, remaining tickets will be sold at the Box Office.

$15 General Admission

$12 Students/Seniors

Parking:

Free parking for weekend performances is available in the William Mithcell College of Law parking lot, one block south of the theatre. The entrance is on Victoria St., just north of Summit Avenue.

Inexpensive paid parking is available at the Victoria Crossing ramp on the corner of Victoria and Grand Avenue. Out of courtesy to the neighbors, on-street parking on residential streets is discouraged. Please respect posted parking restrictions.

We Hope to see you all there!!! And don't forget to bring friends!!!!

The House of Bernarda Alba

So our Political Theatre Festival 2010 has come to a close :( but it has been a great year! Thanks to all the actors, directors, audience members, and everyone involved for making it possible! We are already preparing for next years event!

For our next production, we are teaming up with Pangea World Theater to bring you Federico García Lorca’s classic drama, The House of Bernarda Alba.

Life and passion erupt from the oppressive environment in The House of Bernarda Alba where five adult daughters are kept in mourning for their dead father. Bernarda, an overbearing mother is desirous to deny the outside world to her daughters and shroud any controversy in silence. The youngest daughter Adela, determined to reach for love, disrupts the established order in this 20th century classic.

April 9 - 25, 2010
Thursdays - Sundays at 7:30 pm

SteppingStone Theatre, 55 Victoria Street North, St. Paul, MN

Tickets:

For tickets, call 1-800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/100815.

(Tickets are available for purchase up until four hours before performances. After that, remaining tickets will be sold at the Box Office.

$15 General Admission

$12 Students/Seniors

For more information go to our website! www.teatrodelpueblo.org

We hope you all will join us for our next production!!!

Last Weekend for PTF/Rehenes Film

This is the last weekend for the 2010 Political Theatre Festival!

It is Series C, A one man show written and performed by Teo Castellanos called
N.E. 2nd Avenue

It is about several different characters living in Miami

Final Showings are
Tonight! March 12 and Tomorrow March 13
both at 8 pm
at Intermedia Arts

2822 South Lyndale Ave.

Minneapolis, MN 55408

Tickets prices are:

$15 General Admission

$12 Students/Seniors

Also!

This Saturday, March 13 at 2:00pm at Intermedia,

The U.S. Premire of the film
Rehenes (Hostages)

The film, Rehenes, translated as Hostages in English, is a fictional movie surrounding a historic event in 1996, in which more than 500 people were taken hostage by MRTA guerrillas in the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru. The movie centers around a journalist/theatre director who decides to direct a play on the takeover to uncover political intricacies of the social movement. This movie is recommended for mature audiences only.

Presented in Spanish with English Subtitles

Director Bruno Ortiz, will be available after the show for Q&A!

Tickets $6

Teatro's on Facebook, Al is on YouTube... What's next?!

Are you on Facebook? Make your patronage of Teatro "Facebook official" by becoming a fan. While you're at it, why don't you RSVP to the 2010 Political Theatre Festival and invite your Facebook friends to attend as well?

Also, don't forget to check out Al's YouTube debut:

PTF Press: Read all about it!

Twin Cities Daily Planet: "Teatro del Pueblo's Political Theatre Festival again asks the tough questions—and waits for your answers" by Lydia Howell

MinnPost: "Seven plays in Teatro del Pueblo's Political Theatre Festival" by David Hawley

MPR State of the Arts Blog: "Weekend ahead: cool stuff reigns" by Euan Kerr

KFAI Radio: "Feb. 26 on Catalyst; Teatro del Pueblo gender and geopolitics through Latino lens" by Lydia Howell

MNArtists.org: "The 9th Annual Political Theatre Festival"

Get Ready!

The Political Theatre Festival Starts tommorrow!!!!

Tickets are
$15 General Admission
$12 Students/Seniors/Fringe Buttons
$11 Group Rate (10 or more)

There are also 3 Pay-What-You-Can dates:
Feb. 25 at 8:00 pm
Feb. 28 at 7:00 pm
Mar. 3 at 8:00 pm
No reservations are taken for pay-what-you-can shows; $8 suggested donation.

Series A

Thursday, Feb. 25, 8:00 pm (Pay What You Can)
Saturday, Feb. 27, 8:00 pm
Sunday, Feb. 28, 7:00 pm (Pay What You Can)
Friday, Mar. 5, 8:00 pm
Sunday, Mar. 7, 2:00 pm

The American Is Dreaming
by Ignacio Zulueta

An interactive, improv-based show following the Immigration and Naturalization process for citizenship in America. No two performances are alike, as each performance is altered based on the audience’s input throughout the play.

Whatever and Delicately
by Pia Wilson

Two women with very different perspectives on life find themselves in a long conversation in the ladies' restroom of an upscale Mexican restaurant. Their conversation reveals just how wrong first impressions can be when you take the time to really look beyond the surface.

American Civil Liberties
by Dominic Orlando

An Illegal Immigrant's name appears in a New York Times article saying she has died while being detained by the Division of Immigrant Health Services. John seeks out answers for this woman's family, but the INS manager tries denying any involvement with this dark case.

Series B

Friday, Feb. 26, 8:00 pm: B
Sunday, Feb. 28, 2:00 pm: B
Wednesday, Mar. 3, 8:00 pm: B (Pay What You Can)
Thursday, Mar. 4, 8:00 pm: B
Saturday, Mar. 6, 8:00 pm: B

Embassy of the Americas
by Dominic Orlando

One man’s trying ordeal to get an entrance visa into the US at the American embassy becomes a test of wills. Does it pay to follow all the rules and procedures, whether or not they make any sense? He wants to become an American because he loves America, but is that enough?

Sarita, The Frowning Immigrant
by Guillermo Reyes

A girl from El Salvador comes to Los Angeles and undergoes a series of surgeries to restore her smile. This piece touches on the ironies of life as an immigrant in the US and how something as simple as smiling can change your life.



The Free Market
by Dominic Orlando

A man is confronted by his past late one night outside his house. The unexpected, undocumented visitor reminds him of his prior transgression. Who is the criminal and who is the victim? You decide.


Series A and B at the Gremlin Theatre
2400 University Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55104

Series C

March 11 - 13

Thursday, Mar. 11, 8:00 pm
Friday, Mar. 12, 8:00 pm
Saturday, Mar. 13, 8:00 pm

at Intermedia Arts
2822 South Lyndale Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55408

N.E. 2nd Avenue
written and performed by guest artist Teo Castellanos

This one-man play is a compilation of characters that make Miami their home. A jitney—a small Caribbean bus—becomes a metaphor for a journey that takes the audience through the bumpy streets of this city. The work conveys with poignancy and humor the profoundly rich and textured mix of Miami in which distinct Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Jewish, Gay/Lesbian, and African American influences emerge. N.E. 2nd Avenue brings voices to Miami's marginalized urban populations, exploring underlying issues of racism and social injustice, acknowledging the differences among us and ultimately discovering the common threads that bind us together.

Political Theatre Festival 2010!

Wow! It has been a long time since the blog has been updated!

It is a very exciting time here at Teatro del Pueblo. Almost time for our 9th annual Political Theatre Festival! The dates this year are February 25th- March 13th. Our theme is "Across the Divide," which seeks to explore the geo-political divide between the United States and Latin America as well as the infamous "gender-divide." There will be three different series of plays taking place on different days of the festival. Series A will include 3 plays: The American Is Dreaming by Ignacio Solute, Whatever and Delicately by Pia Wilson, and American Civil Liberties by Dominic Orlando. Series B will include: Embassy of the Americas by Dominic Orlando, Sarita, The Frowning Immigrant by Guillermo Reyes, and The Free Market by Dominic Orlando. The third series will be N.E. 2nd Avenue, a special performance by Teo Castellanos. They all should be interesting takes on Latino Immigration and Latina women's issues. For tickets, call 1-800-838-3006 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/13486.

So yeah, just a quick update. Hopefully we will keep updating this more frequently!