LOS ANGELES -- The world premiere of Latino playwright Daniel Cariagas' Sleepwalk recently kicked off the fall/winter season at Inside the Ford. The play, which was read as part of the 1999 A.S.K. Theatre Projects New Play weekends, won third prize at the Latin Playwrights Competition at Stages Repertory in Houston. Jon Lawrence Rivera, artistic director of playwrights Arena, is the producer/director of Sleepwalk, which runs through Dec. 17.
The Ford, formerly the bare-bones home of Taper, Too, the experimental wing of the Mark Taper Forum, was completely renovated in 1998. It has been turned into a state-of-the-art 87-seat theatre with upholstered, tiered seats and an outdoor lobby nestled in the Hollywood hills. The three-play season at the Ford is a collaboration between the L.A. County Arts Commission and A.S.K. Theatre Projects.
In Sleepwalk, corporate climber Steve has finally found a place where he can feel in control — the private booth of a suburban sex shop. But what do you do when you start bringing your work home? "Just sleepwalk."
Rivera's cast includes Elizabeth Barrett, Montre Burton, Steve Callahan, Christopher Cass, Melissa Caulfield, Thomas Craig Elliot, Maura Gale, Jacob Meders, Mark Pfau, Richard Salcido, Allison Sie, Jason Singleton, David Tuchman, Rocco Vienhage, Tim Warsk, Matthew Yee and Ogie Zulueta.
Cariaga began his career as a musician, but an innate interest in acting and writing led him to East West Players where he became a member of the David Henry Hwang Writers Institute. In 1998, Cariaga received the Garrett Omata Scholarship to the program. He has written and performed at Highways. His other plays include Sensitivity Training for Men, Judy ex, Whipped?, Dairy Pleasures and Hole. The other plays in Inside the Ford's 2000-2001 Season are Two Headed by Julie Jensen (Jan. 1-Feb. 25); and The Woman Who Forgot Her Sweater by O-Lan Jones (March 16-April 21).
Inside the Ford is located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, just north of the Hollywood Bowl. For tickets and information call (323) 461-3673.
