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La Nueva Ola
Advocacy • Casting • Networking • Newsletter • W orkshops • Online Talent Directory
Published by ¡HOLA!, the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors
107 Suffolk Street, Suite 302, New York, NY 10002-3305 • (212) 253-1015; Fax: (212) 253-9651
[email protected] • www.hellohola.org • Manny Alfaro, A.B. Lugo, Noemí de la Puente, Editors
Winter/Spring 2006
Vol. IX, No. VIII
La Nueva Ola is published by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) and made possible, in part, by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts; The City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs;
Continental Airlines; HBO Latino; Avon Products; Anheuser-Busch; Telemundo 47; NBC; private donations and the dues-paying members of HOLA.
¡HOLA!-Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors
107 Suffolk Street, Suite 302
New York, NY 10002-3305
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Dated Material
Bottom of the Ninth: HOLA Website Hits Pass 8,000
It's baseball season. Baseball is all about statistics, so here are
some statistics on our heavy hitting online directory and website.
In March, HOLA's website (www.hellohola.org) had a total of
just over 8,000 hits. Not bad for a modest organization of just
over 400 members. The online directory, known as the HOLA
Pages, had almost 8,500 visits to individual pictures, and almost
2,500 visits to resumes, or resume downloads.
So what is the story behind all these numbers? Donald Case
Casting and Shadow Casting surf our online directory regularly.
Director and producer Arian Blanco has said that when he is
searching for new Latino talent, he peruses the HOLA Pages first.
He added that he is more likely to be interested in actors who have
filled out their information fully (e.g. height, weight, resume credits) on their respective webpage rather than actors who just have the
basic picture and contact information. Agent Wendy Curiel
recently called the office because the actor she was trying to reach
had not updated the phone number he had on the website (tsk tsk-it is important to keep for members to keep their information at the
HOLA office current). Renowned casting director Elsie Stark sits
in her office, at her computer, and calls our office to get more
detailed information on performers she spots on our website.
I had a play reading at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre in
March, and I needed three actresses. I went to the HOLA Pages,
did a search, and found several actresses with whom I was familiar, but with whom I had lost touch. Each one did a terrific job.
Bottom of the Ninth continued on page 2
Ilka Tanya Payán Theater and the New Pregones Theater
Artist’s rendering of the new Pregones Theater, designed
by Mitchell Kurtz. La Casa Blanca can be seen at left.
Courtesy of Pregones Theater.
In the current climate of not-for profit arts, it is increasingly difficult to start a theater company much less maintain one. With the
recent closings of The Lamb’s Theater and Playhouse 91 (both in
Manhattan), it seems as if the number of theater spaces are shrinking. Not so. This season, a pair of new theater spaces debuted.
One was the culmination of years of fundraising from a theater
company celebrating more than a quarter century of existence
while the other is a new space from a relanew theater company.
They are the new home of Pregones Theater and the Ilka Tanya
Payán Theater, home of Teatro Estudio Internacional.
Pregones Theater, established in 1979 as a touring company, had
Payán and Pregones Theaters continued on page 3
Bottom of the Ninth continued from front page
“It ain't over ’til it's over.” Your destiny is, partially, in your hands.
You get out of HOLA what you put into it. So be your own press
agent, and give us a statement every time you get a call or an e-mail
that starts with, “I saw your picture and resume on
the HOLA website…” and you hit that home run
and book the job. The HOLA team wants and
needs to keep track of every member's stats, and
you have bragging rights, so send us the news.
…Noemí de la Puente
In December I did a screenplay reading for a playwright who had
seen my headshot and resume in the online directory. In March
another playwright contacted me regarding a production in April
which I could not do due to travel plans. I booked a print ad from
the website. And I am just the tip of the iceberg here. Or to keep
the baseball analogy going, I'm just the bat girl.
Sliding downward without striking out completely are the statistics for in-office referrals- as internet use increases, more directors, casting directors, and agents are staying in their comfortable
offices and homes and searching the HOLA Pages whenever they
feel like it, instead of visiting our Lower East Side office. Referral
activity hit an all time high in the spring and summer of 1999, with
3,000 candidates were submitted to 115 casting directors, agents,
production houses, casting directors, and other employers of
actors. Referral activity dropped off dramatically, with the combination of the release of the first online directory (in 2000) and the
events of September 11th, 2001. Additionally, the SAG
Commercials strike of 2000 did not help. In spite of these three
strikes against referrals, the number of prospective employers
requesting referrals slowly increased again, and has leveled out at
just about 50, or less than half of the 1999 levels. Referrals have
become like pinch hitters-- you don't have many, but the ones you
have are important.
Meet the members of the HOLA Board
This issue: Willie Boston and Adam Moore
Willie C. Boston, a native of South Carolina,
possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre
from South Carolina State University, a Master
of Arts degree in Theatre History from Ohio
State University and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts
Management from Columbia University. He is
currently employed at Actors’ Equity Association, the union for
stage actors and stage managers. During his tenure there, he has
administered the Showcase codes, the Staged Reading guidelines,
the Backer’s Audition and the One-Person Self-Producing Waiver.
Currently, he administers the Business Theatre & Events
Agreement for Equity (which covers any type of live event in
which a product and/or service is being promoted).
So what are the HOLA players in the lineup saying?
Ricardo Hinoa (pictured at left) booked an international commercial. At an audition recently, Camila
Borrero (right) extolled to me the joys and virtues of
HOLA referrals, the directory, and the amount of work
she has obtained from both. Monica
Steuer (below left) booked a film. I met
Richard Arcelay (below right) at an AFTRA workshop, and he blithely remarked how much work he gets
from the website, so of course I told him to e-mail us
and let us know in writing. Ernesto López (far below left) booked
a print ad. The Bochinche section of this newsletter (starting on
page 4 of this newsletter) is packed with HOLA members hitting
homeruns because of the HOLA Pages directory.
Throughout his tenure with Equity, he has served as the union’s
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Business
Representative, and as such he is the Staff Representative for
the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, the Seniors
Committee, the Paul Robeson Citation Awards Committee, The
Performers with Disabilities Committee and the Women’s
Committee. In addition, he is also the Staff Representative for
the Young performers Committee and in this capacity, he made
several trips to the State Capitol in Albany on behalf of the
union to lobby for the eventual passage of the Child Performer
Education & Trust act, which occurred in 2003.
In conjunction with his duties as Equity’s EEO Business
Representative, he also serves on numerous labor/management
committees devoted to promoting diversity within the theatrical industry. Additionally he has also served as a panelist for
the Theatre program with the New York State Council for the
Arts (NYSCA) and prior to his tenure with Equity he was a
Grants Officer for the South Street Seaport Museum.
When the weather gets warmer not only do the
Yankees and the Mets come out of hibernation in
New York, but so do movie crews. Spring and summer are the most active seasons for the
website, as casting directors search our
directory to find the actors that give
their New York-based stories that sazón especial;
otherwise, your show will look like a bland episode
of “Friends,” and no one wants that. Hey, New York,
like baseball, has a significant and talented Latino population.
Deal with it. And employers of actors are dealing with it- big time,
as our increasing website hit counters show. This
referral activity, and resulting employment help us
earn grant money to continue this service, and to
branch out into other activities, such as increased
advocacy work for Latinos in the media.
As famed baseball player, coach and manager Yogi Berra once
said, “You're never out of it ’til you're out of it,” later amended to
Adam Moore is currently the Associate National
Director of Affirmative Action/Diversity for the
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and leads the department’s New York office.
He has many years of experience in nonprofit arts administration
and advocacy. He comes to SAG after being awarded the first-ofits-kind Administrative Fellowship in the New York Theatre
Workshop’s Early Career Artist of Color Fellowship program.
Before accepting his fellowship, he was a program manager for
the Non-Traditional Casting Project (NTCP), a nonprofit
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Meet the HOLA Board continues on back page
Payán and Pregones Theaters continued from first page
never had a permanent theater space, a space that they owned. At
first, it maintained an office in El Barrio (East Harlem) in
Manhattan. Three years later, at the invitation of Bronx Council
of the Arts Executive Director Bill Agaudo, Pregones moved into
the Longwood Arts Project located in a former public school
building. A few years later, Pregones moved to two nearby Bronx
church spaces for their productions: first St. Margaret’s Church
and then St. Ann’s Church. It was this latter location, Pregones
spent thenext eight years. Next followed a stint in a loft, entitled
The Studio on the famed Bronx thoroughfare, the Grand
Concourse. It was around this time, the theater company run by
Artistic Director Rosalba Rolón and Associate Artistic Directors
Alvan Colón Lespier and Jorge B. Merced decided it was time
to buy property and create the theater space they had always wanted.
The cast of the Teatro Estudio Internacional production of El sueño
de Ilka.
Ilka. Pictured: Rosie Berrido,
Berrido, Iván Camilo, Antonio Mar and
Amarelys
Amarelys Pérez
Pérez.. Photo courtesy of Teatro Estudio Internacional.
been looking for a permanent theater space. While looking for a
location in New York to have a reading of his self-penned solo
show Sex on The Beach, he found out about a new arts building
to be called Times Square Arts Center, which was looking for tenants and taking applications. After seven years of traveling, he
felt it was time to settle down.
In 2001, Pregones acquired a white brownstone building on
Walton Avenue just off East 150 Street as well as an adjoining
building which had previously been a manufacturing warehouse
and the bursar’s office of nearby Hostos Community College.
One room in the brownstone, dubbed La Casa Blanca, would be
used to stage productions and readings. But La Casa Blanca was
never meant to be the
mainstage; that would
be the raison d’être of
the adjoining building,
but first it would have to
be extensively renovated and remodeled.
The building is located on prime real estate, on the corner of
Eighth Avenue and West 43 Street in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. According to Arias, he did not raise a lot of
money. It was personally financed and a labor of love between
Founder and Artistic Director Arias, Executive Director Stalin
Urbano, and friends such as Associate artistic Director Irma
Bello, Antonio Mar and others. Currently, the staff donates their
time when working at the theater and is currently seeking funding from foundations and corporations.
Thus, the Pico y Pala
Campaign was born.
The alliterative title
(meaning “Ax and
Shovel”
in Spanish)
referred to the ambition
$3.3 million fundraising
effort that Pregones iniMembers of Pregones Theater in 1981
tiated with the goal of
Standing, left to right: Heriberto Mateo, Julio Santana,
“the new”
Rosalba Rolón, Alvan Colón-Lespier. Sitting, left to creating
The
Theater.
Pregones
right: Roberto Lugo, Sandra Rodríguez, Luis I.
Meléndez. Photo by Pablo Delano and courtesy of funds raised would go
Pregones Theater.
toward demolishing the
interior of the space (which began in 2004), contracting an architect to design the theater, contractors to build it, and enough seed
money to help fund the inaugural season, by this point the company’s twenty-sixth.
Arias entered the intimate 65-seat space in August 2005 and
named it Sala Ilka Tanya Payán after his former teacher, a fellow
Dominican. Payán was also an actor, lawyer, activist, and the
founding president of HOLA. Arias previewed the space to the
public with a benefit, which included, appropriately enough, a
production of the Spanish language debut of Cándido Tirado’s
play El sueño de Ilka (Ilka’s Dream). In January of this year, Ilka
Tanya Payán Theater had its inaugural production, Arias’ own Sex
on the Beach.
Since opening its new space, Pregones has produced its first season in its mammoth 9000 square foot space and Sex on the Beach
enjoyed a long run, after having been extended several times. In
addition, Teatro Estudio Internacional had a workshop reading of
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as part of its Latino Shakespeare
After the majority of the money was raised (by foundations, corporation, governmental sources and individual donors), Pregones
Theater previewed the space in November 2005. Its inaugural
production, a musical called The Red Rose/La rosa roja (based on
the life and writings of Puerto Rican writer/activist Jesús Colón
and starring Danny Rivera) previewed performances and then
returned for a spring run the following year. The new Pregones
Theater is fully wheelchair accessible, seats 120 and is notable for
its large, wide stage, comfortable seats, and spacious lobby.
Dr. Guillermo Linares, Commisioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant
Affairs (center right, holding pair of scissors), stands beside Roy Arias (center
left with white tie and open jacket) ready to cut the red ribbon to officially open
the Sala Ilka Tanya Payán. Photo courtesy of Teatro Estudio Internacional.
Roy Arias had been producing theater in New York and his native
Dominican Republic through his company Teatro Estudio
Internacional since 1998. Unlike Pregones Theater, he had not
3
Payán and Pregones Theaters continues on back page
Bochinche... Spanish for gossip. In this Gilbert Cruz e-mailed us to say that he is performing the role of
Gusman in Molière’s Don Juan. Translated, adapted and directed
column– nice gossip, good gossip.
by Stephen Wadsworth, the production is taking place at the
Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. he followed this up
with a role in Gary Winter’s play At Said. Produced by 13P at
Performance Space 122 in the East Village of Manhattan, the play
was directed by Tim Farrell and featured Liz Aprile, Marisa
Echeverría, Vedant Gokhale and Anita Hollander in the cast.
A memorial service for actor/director/translator/teacher/former HOLA president Raúl Dávila was held at the Puerto
Rican Traveling Theatre in the theater district of midtown
Manhattan. Participants included Miriam Colón-Valle, Miriam
Cruz, Denia Brache, Silvia Brito, Cila Zevallos, Ray Villeda,
Andrés G. Roura, A.B. Lugo, Rafael LeBrón, Ilya Martínez,
Marlon Bedoya booked several print jobs and commercials, includAlberto Bird, René Buch, Manolo García Oliva, Manny Alfaro,
ing a print ad for Microsoft and a pair of HealthFirst commercials.
Mark Consuelos of ABC’s “All My Children” (who was accompanied by his lovely wife Kelly Ripa) and Mr. Dávila’s wife, Isabel
TEBA produced Enrique Buenaventura’s play La orgia at the Red
Pérez de Dávila.
Carpet Theater in Manhattan’s El Barrio neighborhood. Billed as
“a different play,” the farce was directed by Franco Galecio, and
Teatro Círculo presented Lorca Federico Lorca, a play based on the
featured Galecio, William Saquicela, Héctor Luis Rivera, Kathy
famed Spanish writer and some of the characters in his life and
Tejada, Ernesto López and Raúl Rivera. They followed this up
works, at Choices Theater in the East Village section of Manhattan.
with the production of another Buenaventura work In the Right
Written and directed by Luis Caballero, the play featured Wanda
Hand of God the Father. Adapted and directed by Rivera, the play
Arriaga, Jessica Florí, José Cheo Oliveras, Josean Ortiz and
took place at the Impact Theatre in the Prospect Heights section
Johary Ramos in the cast.
of Brooklyn and starred Ernesto López, Raúl Rivera, Premier
Solís, Kathy Tejada and Sara Valle.
Carmen Mahiques, left, booked a voiceover with
ABC thanks to an HOLA referral.
Danny A. Gonzales has been working a lot as of late. He booked
roles in the films The Sentinel (opposite Michael Douglas, Kiefer
Alberto Vázquez appeared in an episode of “The
Sutherland, Kim Basinger and Eva Longoria), Superheroes and
Sopranos” (HBO) as Julian. In addition, he booked
Harlem Hostel.
roles in the film Michael Clayton (opposite George
Clooney) as a Dominican card player and in the teleReverie Productions presented Carlos Lacámara’s play Havana
vision show “Forensic Files” (Court TV), the latter
Bourgeois at the 59E59 Theaters, located in the East Side of
due to an HOLA referral.
Manhattan. Directed by Jocelyn Sawyer, the cast included Alexander
Alito, George Bass, Ursula Cataan, Rashaad Ernesto Green, James
TEBA presented two plays recently. The former, called Minerva y
Martínez, Selena Nelson, Thom Rivera and Jaime Sánchez.
Manolo: Amor y lucha, was written by Dinorah Coronado and
based on the lives of the Mirabal sisters of the Dominican
George Bass followed up his role in Havana Bourgeois (see
Republic. The cast included Ivanna Ivanna, Héctor Luis Rivera,
above) with a role in the three-hander Defensa de dama. Written
Kathy Tejada and Tanzina Vega. The latter play, ¿Sabe usted qué
by Isabel Carmona and Joaquín Hinojosa and directed by Gabriel
es la estereofonía?, was penned by Rolando Mendizábal Padilla
Gorcés, the Teatro Retablo production took place at the 78th
and featured Franco Galecio, Ivanna Ivanna, Héctor Luis
Street Theatre on the West Side of Manhattan and featured Marta
Rivera, Raúl Rivera and Kathy Tejada. Both plays were directed
Julián and Fermín Suárez in the cast.
by Héctor Luis Rivera and took place at the Impact Theater in the
Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn.
Bill Ramiro, left, booked voiceovers for two commercials for a calling card thanks to an HOLA referral.
Dinorah Coronado’s play Minerva y Manolo: Amor y lucha, produced by TEBA (see above), was later produced by Teatro
David Naizir and Alberto Bonilla can be seen in
Experimental Comunitario. The play, directed this time around by
recurring roles in “The Sopranos” (HBO) this season.
Fior Marte, featured Marte, Coronado, Damaris Cabrera and
Francisco Rosario in the cast and was produced at the Comisionado
Teatro LA TEA revived César Sierra’s La lechuga. Subtitled “a
Dominicano de Cultura de Nueva York in the Washington Heights
comedy of life or death,” the play was directed by Nelson
section of Manhattan.
Landrieu and took place in LA TEA’s eponymous theater in the
CSV Cultural Center (home to HOLA) in the Loisaida section of
Damaris Cabrera e-mailed us to let us know that she followed up
Manhattan. The cast included Bill Blechingberg, Aminta de
a role in Dinorah Coronado’s Minerva y Manolo: amor y lucha (see
Lara, Francisco Fuertes, Fabián González, Mateo Gómez and
above) with a voiceover job for an educational audiobook that she
Ana Verónica Muñoz.
booked due to an HOLA referral.
Daisy Cabrera was cast for a commercial for a diaTeatro IATI and Pregones Theater co-produced the Pablo García Gámez
betes medication due to an HOLA referral.
play Blanco at the Choices Theater in Manhattan’s East Village. The
play, a bilingual production directed by Jorge B. Merced, featured
Melissa Fendell’s play When Santo Domingo Isn’t Enough preEmanuel Loarca, Johary Ramos and Carlos Alberto Valencia.
miered at the Fifth Annual Downtown Urban Theater Festival at
4
the Cherry Lane Theatre, located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Center (home to HOLA) in the Loisaida section of Manhattan.
Village neighborhood. The play, directed by Greg Foro featured
Amy Patrice Golden, Mercedes Ilarraza, Kellie E. McCants, Oscar A. Colón and Miriam Cruz
booked a live industrial (which was also
Derek Peith and Gabriel Portuondo.
taped) for a optometrists’ conference in
Page 73 Productions presented Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, a new Atlanta, Georgia due to an HOLA referplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes, at 45 Below @ The Culture Project ral. The industrial will be used to teach
in the Noho section of Manhattan. The play, directed by Davis doctors how to deal with and treat
McCallum, featured Mateo Gómez, Zabryna Guevara, Armando patients of different cultures.
Riesco and Triney Sandoval.
Marcos Cohen booked work on the film The Good
Shepherd due to an HOLA referral. The film, directMateo Gómez followed up his triumph in Elliot, A Soldier’s
ed by Robert De Niro, stars De Niro, Matt Damon,
Fugue (see above) with a role in points of departure, a new play
Angelina Jolie and Joe Pesci and was filmed in New
by Michael John Garcés. Directed by Ron Daniels, the cast also
York and the Dominican Republic.
features David Anzuelo, Sandra Delgado, Marisa Echeverría,
Alfredo Narciso and Antonio Edwards Suarez and took place at
the Kirk Theater on Theater Row in the theater district of midtown Repertorio Español presented El Quijote, Santiago García’s adaptation of the Cervantes masterpiece. The production took place at
Manhattan.
Repertorio’s namesake theater in the Gramercy section of
The Society of the Educational Arts, Inc. (SEA) presented Manhattan and was directed by Jorge Alí Triana. The cast includFountain of Youth, Noemí de la Puente’s self-penned solo show ed Ricardo Barber (in the title role), Emyliano Santa Cruz (as
at its SEA @ Los Kabayitos Theater in the CSV Cultural Center Sancho Panza), Tatiana Vecino, Silvia Sierra, Yanko Bakulic,
(home to HOLA) in the Loisaida section of Manhattan. The show, Raúl Durán, Jesús E. Martínez, Pablo Tufiño, Puy Navarro,
in this incarnation, was originally directed by Mateo Gómez, but Ofelia Marín, Alberto Morgan and Francisco Reyes.
when he had to leave to act in another show (see above), Mike
Lina Sarrapochiello, Elka
Smith Rivera completed the helming duties.
Rodríguez and Martín
Kalwill booked voiceovers
Plinio Villablanca booked a pharmaceutical comfor
The Impostor, an interacmercial due to the casting director seeing his headtive
educational animated
shot being on the HOLA website.
video used to teach children
Actor/tenor Ángel Feliciano recently performed in a recital with Spanish (produced by the BBC in London) through HOLA referrals.
Siri Rico, José Ramos Santana and Carlos Baptiste at the Christ
and St. Stephen’s Church in the West Side of Manhattan. He fol- Actor/standup comedian Robert Torres can be seen hitting the
lowed this up with the role of Peppe in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s comedy club circuit in New York.
classic opera I Pagliacci. The Chelsea Opera production took
place at St. Peter’s Church in (natch) the Chelsea neighborhood in The Professional Playwrights Unit of the Puerto Rican Traveling
Theatre, under the leadership of Allen Davis III, presented In
Manhattan.
Sight 12, its annual series of workshop productions and staged
Due to popular demand, Thalía Spanish Theatre revived Roberto readings. The staged readings, which took place at the Puerto
Ramos Perea’s solo show Nosotras lo hacemos mejor/We Women Rican Traveling Theatre in the theater district of midtown
Do It Better. Performed in English by Merel Juliá and in Spanish Manhattan, presented plays by Noemí de la Puente, Jason
by Soledad López, the play was directed in Thalía’s eponymous Ramírez, Fred Crecca, T. Cat Ford, Carlos J. Serrano, Henry
Guzmán and Nancy Nevárez. In addition, three workshop protheater located in Sunnyside, Queens by Ángel Gil Orrios.
ductions were presented: Oscar A. Colón’s The Last of Bernarda
Julie Gómez booked a commercial for Galavisión (directed by Sturgis Warner), Fred Crecca’s PHOMPH!!! (directthanks to her headshot being posted in the HOLA ed by Mary Keefe) and María Elena Torres’ Three Men on a Base
(directed by Shawn Rozsa). HOLA members who tread the boards
Pages online directory.
for these productions included Denia Brache, Annie Henk,
Teatro Tocando Puertas presented the Luis La Roca comedy Mi Monica Steuer and Teresa Yenque.
hijo es gay. Adapted freely by Elías Balladares and directed by
Douglas Taurel and Raoul Bretón were
Cecill Villar (and assistant directed by Peter A. Dubó), the play
cast
in an industrial for the New York
featured Villar, Edison Carrera, Wanda Ferreiras, Raúl Rivera
State
Court Systems due to an HOLA
and David Duverge in the cast and took place at the Red Carpet
casting
notice.
Theatre in Manhattan’s El Barrio neighborhood.
The production of Latinas Don’t PMS transferred to a bigger
home, the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. The piece
written largely by Iris Silverio, Inma Heredia, Alba Sánchez and
Rhina Valentín, featured, Silverio, Sánchez, Valentín, Heredia,
The Latin American Theatre Ensemble/El Portón (LATE) presented Diana Chery’s play Aviones de papel. Directed by Berioska
Ipinza and starring Chery and Pietro González, the production
took place at Teatro LA TEA in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural
5
Michelle Cabrera, Tomoko Otsuka and Elka Rodríguez.
all things Jade, go to www.getjaded.com.
Inma Heredia booked a role in Rea Hooker’s play
Pyramid of the Sun at the Hudson Guild Theater in
Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood through an
HOLA referral.
Rosie Berrido directed Emanuel Loarca in his self-penned solo show
La familia de Emanuel. Produced by El Teatro, CA, the production
took place at Teatro SEA in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center
(home to HOLA) in the Loisaida section of Manhattan.
Alicia Kaplan starred opposite Ernesto Concepción in the Lope
de Vega’s El rufián Castrucho. The classic play from the master
of Spain’s Golden Age was directed by Hugo Medrano and presented by and at the Gala Theatre in Washington, D.C. [Editor’s
note: She received great notices from the local press, including
glowing reviews from The InTowner and Los Tiempos USA,
where in the latter it stated that “she almost stole the show.”]
Martín Goldin Santangelo’s dance company, Noche Flamenca,
presented their most recent presentation, Tierra del cielo, for a
June run in Theater 80 in the East Village section of Manhattan.
Rose González e-mailed us to let us
know that she has been going on a lot of
auditions through HOLA casting referrals, including nailing a bit part in the
film The Nanny Diaries starring Scarlett
Johansson, Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney and Alicia Keys. Not to
be outdone, her daughter Kristen González e-mailed us to say she
booked a lead part in the independent film 3 Américas, to be
directed by Cristina Kotz Cornejo slated to film in Argentina this
summer (which conversely, would be their winter).
Michele Carlo acted onstage in Frank Terranova’s play Exit 13.
Produced by Stir The Sauce Theatre, the play took place at the
Greenwich Street Theatre in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood.
Repertorio Español presented Momma’s Boyz (Los nenes de Mamá) at
its eponymous theater located in the Gramercy area of Manhattan. The
play won the MetLife Nuestras Voces National Playwriting
Competition. Written and directed by Cándido Tirado, the play featured Janio Marrero, Jesús E. Martínez and Flaco Navaja in the cast.
Antonio Rubio appeared as Palomo in The Strollers’ production
of Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics. The production, directed by
León Acosta and presented at Burgdorff Community Center in
Maplewood, New Jersey received a great review from the Essex
Journal, calling his portrayal “worth the price of a ticket.”
Reina booked a role opposite María Aponte and
Tobías F. Mercado in Llegamos, a production of the
Nuyorican School to be performed in June due to an
HOLA casting notice.
Mario Golden acted as the chief kabbalist Rav Yuda in the controversial Jewish Theater of New York production of Kabbalah. Written
and directed by Tuvia Tenenbom, the hit play took place at the Triad
Theatre in the West Side of Manhattan. He followed this up with a
role in Genius, a play written by Joseph De Luise, directed by Miguel
Juan Concepción, and produced by the Around The Block as part of
the series entitled Short Plays on the City.
Lucio Fernández e-mailed us with a plethora of bochinche. He recently
became a city commissioner for Union City, New Jersey (he runs the
Department of Public Affairs). In addition, he won a Premio ARTES Best
Actor Award for his work in VEGAS VEGAS VEGAS, while his theater company Grace Theatre won for Best Latino Theatre Company of the Year. This
ever busy triple threat performer/producer/public servant continues to host his
local public access chat and performance show “Live on Stage,” publish the
monthly newspaper The Sunlight News (which focuses on the arts scene) and
direct many television commercials. [Editor’s note: Whew!! Where do you
get the energy?] For more information on Lucio, log on to his website
www.luciofernandez.com. For more info on the Grace Theater Company,
including their recent spring gala, log on to www.gracetheatre.com.
José Yenque appeared in the movie Between, which was directed
by David Ocañas and starred Poppy Montgomery, Marilyn
Sanábria, Daniel Pino, Patricia Reyes Spíndola and Adam
Kaufman, aired on the Lifetime network.
Latino Flavored Productions is slated to present José Can Speak
for a July run at the Nuyorican Poets’ Café. Conceived and directed by Linda Nieves-Powell, the show is a collection of monologues (written and performed by women) showing the male perspective.
The show featured Sara Contreras, Lina
Sarrapochiello, Mercedes Vásquez and Rhina Valentín.
Mónica Delgado booked a pilot for CBS when the casting director saw her headshot in the HOLA Pages directory and called her
in to audition. Because of the job, she became eligible for SAG.
[Editor’s note: Congratulations!!] She is slated to appear in a production of the musical Dreamgirls (to be directed by Keith Lee
Grant) at Harlem’s famed Aaron Davis Hall.
Jade Esteban Estrada is a one-man repertory theater. He continues his tour of the USA performing either of four shows:
ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World Volume 1,
ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World Volume 2,
TransWorld! The Transgender History of the World and Tortilla
Heaven. The first three plays are self-penned, while the last was
written by his sister, playwright Celeste Ángela Estrada. Besides
touring in these shows, he is also a singer, comedian, dancer and
choreographer, and is currently working on the third volume of
ICONS and a new show, tentatively titled Pico de Gallo. [Editor’s
note: Do you have any time for sleep?] For more information on
The Latin American Theater Ensemble/El Portón (LATE) presented Julie de Grandy’s play Conexión de hilo at the Julia de Burgos
Cultural Center in Manhattan’s El Barrio neighborhood. Directed
by Gregg Bellón (and assistant directed by A.B. Lugo), the play
featured Bellón and Zulema Clares. The play was then picked
up, cast intact (but directed this time around by Arian Blanco), and
produced by the Hudson Exploited Theater Company at their
space at the 32 Street Playhouse in Union City, New Jersey.
6
A.B. Lugo (this writer) assistant directed Julie de Grandy’s
Bochinche continues on back page
SAVE THE DATE!!
Monday, September 18, 2006
2006 HOLA AWARDS
New location:
THE SCHOMBURG CENTER
FOR RESEARCH IN BLACK CULTURE
LANGSTON HUGHES AUDITORIUM
515 Malcolm X Boulevard (at West 135 Street), NYC
Confirmed to appear:
Danny Rivera (singer/actor/humanitarian)
Kamar de los Reyes (actor, “One Life to Live”)
Miguel Algarín (founder, Nuyorican Poets’ Café)
Soledad O’Brien (CNN’s “American Morning”)
You????
Keep a look out for your invitation in the mail or contact HOLA at
(212) 253-1015 or through [email protected] for more information.
7
Meet the HOLA Board continued from page 2
advocacy group established in 1986 to address the problems
of racism and exclusion in film, television and theatre.
Among his other responsibilities at NTCP, he managed
NTCP’s Artist Files/Online: a searchable database of thousands of film, television and theatre artists.
Previously, he worked in a corporate law firm and was trained as
an actor and a director at the University of California at Davis. In
2003, he produced the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors
(HOLA) Awards, and became the youngest member to be elected to the HOLA Board of Directors in January of 2004.
Payán and Pregones Theaters continued from page 3
Company wing. Teatro Estudio Internacional also rents out its
space to outside parties.
Currently, Pregones Theater has raised about $2.8 million
towards its new theater. It needs about $500,000 more to complete the finishing touches on the theater. For more information
on how you can contribute, log on to www.pregones.org. Teatro
Estudio Internacional, New York’s first Dominican theater, is
looking for funding to further its mission and programming. For
more information, log on to their website at
www.teatroestudiointernacional.com.
So amidst the current upheaval where theater spaces (and by
extension, theater companies) are disappearing, it is refreshing
to note when theater companies are growing.
...A.B. Lugo
[Editor’s note:The writer would like to thank Pregones Theater and
Teatro Estudio Internacional for their contributions to this article.]
IMPORTANT UPDATE
REGARDING THE 2006 HOLA AWARDS
Turn to page 7 for more info.
Referral Activity 01/2006-05/2006
Film & Television
Finn-Hiller Casting/New Line Cinema
Mackey-Sandrich Casting
Sig de Miguel
Ann Goulder
BBC
Galavisión
Heather Hurley Casting
Barbara MacNamara Casting
Noruz Films
PRDream/medianoche
Court TV
Engle Entertainment/The History Channel
The Nickels Group
Luna Pictures
Patricia Alonso Casting
Phoebeworks Productions, Inc.
Columbia University
New York University
School of Visual Arts
Epi Casting
SF Casting
Olowotot Productions
Orpheus Talent Group
Commercials
Susan Gish/Philadelphia Casting
Watson & Spierman Productions
Retablo Productions
Theater
Liz Ortiz-Mackes/Stamford Theatre Works
Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre
Teatro Tocando Puertas
Hudson Guild Theater
TheatreZone
Nettles Artists Collective
Park Performing Arts Center
Melissa Fendell
Arian Blanco
Production Consolidated
Nuyorican School
NY Arts Unlimited
Latino Flavored Productions
Industrials/Print
New York State Unified Court System
Atlas Talent
Latina Magazine
Ride Creative
Shadow Casting
Affinity Models
González Model and Talent
Melissa Maxwell
Monique Gabriela Curnen
Voiceover
Wendy Curiel
Tanden Hayes
eContenido
Razorhead Music
Audio-To-Go, Inc.
Talking Book Productions
Dutch Doscher
Evelyn Badía
BBC
Cliff Hahn
Christine Model & Talent Management
Hispanic Organization of
Latin Actors (HOLA)
107 Suffolk Street, Suite 302
New York, NY 10002-3305
(212) 253-1015 office
(212) 253-9651 fax
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.hellohola.org
Board of Directors
Gonzalo Armendáriz, Chair;
Manny Alfaro, Executive Director;
Willie C. Boston, Secretary;
Juan H. Pujol, Treasurer;
Elaine F. Brodey; Manolo GarcíaOliva; Jack Landrón; Adam Moore;
Herbert H. Raab
Advisory Board
Leon Goodman; Merel P. Juliá;
Tere Martínez; Manuel A. Morán
Martínez, Ph.D.; Rolando Pérez;
Alan J. Rich, Esq.; Edgardo Rivera;
Elsie C. Stark, Rebecca Vásquez
Honorary Board
Carlos Carrasco; Wendy Curiel;
Elisa de la Roche, Ph.D.;
Edouard de Soto; Francisco G. Rivela
Founders
Jorge Alvarado, Edwin Ávila,
Eduardo Corbé, Miriam Cruz,
Lourdes Ferré, Armando García,
Roberto López, Andrés Nóbregas,
Manuel Martínez, Ilka Tanya Payán,
Elizabeth Peña, Rubén Rabasa,
Larry Ramos, Jorge Ros,
Margarita Toirac, David Zúñiga
HOLA Staff
Manuel Herrera, Special Projects Director
A.B. Lugo, Member Relations and
Publications Editor
1267 HOLA Member Candidates Submitted
(Not Including Talent Contacted Directly)
Noemí de la Puente, MembershipOutreach
Blanca N.Vásquez, Administrative Assistant
Bochinche continued from page 6
Conexión sin hilo at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center (see
page 6). He followed this up with playing Horatio in
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The production, directed by José Esquea
and produced by Teatro La Tea and Soñadores Productions, featured Jaime Luce, Gil Ron, Elena Adames, Fidel Vicioso, Paul
Cano, David Elyha, Melissa Martínez, Cheryl D. Hescott, Jenny
Grace, Bobby DeJesús and Lydia Caesar and was produced at
La Tea in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultual Center (home to
HOLA) in the Loisaida section of Manhattan.
That’s it for now.
Keep your postcards, faxes and e-mails coming.
When you’re working, it means we’re working.
...A.B. Lugo.
Welcome New Members
January 1, 2006-May 31, 2006
Annie Basulto, Hugo Calero, Paul Cano, Raúl Castillo,
Vivian Cedeño, Kika Child, Zulema Clares, Cortés, Annette
Cortés, Rebeca Dain, Abraham De Funes, Edmi De Jesús,
Lorraine Delgado Amador, Jenniffer Díaz, Casandra Kate
Escobar, Cassandra Espitia, Liliana Gallegos, Leonardo
Mangiolino, Tatiana Masis, Francisco J. Muñoz, Hudson
Oliveira, Lionel Peña Wolff, Ailyn Polanco, Víctor Ponce,
Yvette Quintero, Freddy Rivera, Héctor Rodríguez, Nixzaliz
Rojas, Karen Soto, Donis Taveras, Alberto Vázquez, Tania
Villablanca, Stewart Villilo.