Atlantic will showcase playwrights from across the country with boldly adventurous new plays that join writers, directors, and actors from different cultural backgrounds while focusing on Latino writers in the American theatre, according to the Aug. 4 announcement.
Kristoffer Diaz, who wrote the 2010 Pulitzer Prize-finalist play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, is among writers represented in the series.
Atlantic's artistic leadership associate Jaime Castaneda, organizer of the new festival, said in a statement, "We wanted to mash-up new artists and allow the time and resources for these plays to take off. This festival will highlight a handful of Latino writers doing refreshing and provocative work. These young writers, all under the age of 35, are tackling stories with new takes on identity and multiculturalism."
The Mixfest includes:
Aug. 12 at 3 PM
A Bed the Size of Portugal
By Mat Smart (Minneapolis)
"Oscar hasn't slept in months because his wife Ollie snores like a Mack truck. Their search for peace and happiness takes them from New York City to Mirandela, Portugal. Smart uses an assorted group of characters to tell a touching story about love and death." Aug. 12 at 5:30 PM
Broadsword
By Marco Ramirez (Los Angeles)
"Miami-native Marco Ramirez's Broadsword is a story about a heavy metal band from the 1990s in New Jersey needing to reunite. The lead singer has gone missing and is presumed dead after six months. The only possible way to resurrect him is to play music that may dabble in the occult."
Aug. 13 at 3 PM
Chimi-Changas and Zoloft
By Fernanda Coppel (New York)
"Sonia, currently on a Chimi-Changas and Zoloft binge, has left her family to do some soul-searching. Her daughter Jackie conspires with her friend to bring Sonia back home, all while their fathers continue their ongoing secret relationship. We witness this irreverent story through the eyes of two brazen teenagers trying to keep their families intact."
Aug. 13 at 5:30 PM
One Night in the Valley
By Mando Alvarado, Raul Castillo, Tanya Saracho and Jerry Ruiz
Four short plays by native South Texas playwrights
"These darkly funny stories take place on a desolate highway somewhere in the Texas desert. Each play uniquely addresses people wrestling with tough and usually bizarre circumstances."
Aug. 14 at 1 PM
F**king Vigwan
By Kristoffer Diaz (New York)
"This abrasively entertaining play is absurd and profane. Diaz creates an outrageous world where anything goes including sword fighting and zombies. Warning: play contains sex, drugs, police brutality, foul language, necrophilia, and neo-colonialism."
Aug. 14 at 3 PM
Mala Hierba
By Tanya Saracho (Chicago)
"Tanya is a Chicago-based writer who penned this full-length play from her one act in One Night in the Valley earlier this spring. Set at the southwest border between Mexico and Texas, it charts the downward spiral of a woman struggling to keep her life together."
Atlantic Stage 2 is at 330 W. 16th Street. For more details, visit www.atlantictheater.org.
