Wednesday, October 8, 2014

JULIUS CAESAR Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Directed by ROBERT BELTRAN

CASA 0101 THEATER
JOSEFINA LOPEZ, Artistic Director
Presents
JULIUS CAESAR
Written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Directed by ROBERT BELTRAN
Starring A Predominately All Latina/o Cast Including:
Christine Avila, Lauren Ballesteros, Uvaldo Baltazar,
Emmanuel Deleage, Evan Garcia, Fidel Gomez,
Rachel Gonzalez, Jasmin Iraheta, Karlo Ishibashi,
Ted Lange, Angel Lizarraga, Linda Lopez, Daniel Mora,
Ray Rios, Moises Rodriguez, Miguel Roura,
Mario Valdez and Vance Valencia
Five-Week Run:  Fridays and Saturdaysat 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 5:00 p.m.,
(*No Performance Sunday, November 9, 2014)
(Presented as part of Encuentro 2014, A National Latina/o Theatre Festival)

            Boyle Heights, CA (Tuesday, October 7, 2014) – POLITICAL INTRIGUE.  CONSPIRATORS.  MURDER.  JULIUS CAESAR, a tragic play in five acts written by William Shakespeare and directed by Robert Beltran (Star Trek:  Voyager; Zoot Suit; Eating Raoul), will be coming to the community of Boyle Heights, CA presented in a five-week run by CASA 0101 Theater and Josefina López, Artistic Director.  The production will be presented on the theater’s Main Stage located at 2102 East First Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Heights, CA  90033 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and on Sundays at 5:00 p.m., October 17 – November 16, 2014.  A Preview performance will be given on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.  There will be no performance on Sunday, November 9, 2014.
 
            Josefina López 
said, “It has always been part of my vision as Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater to bring classical literature like Shakespeare to the community of Boyle Heights.  As a young girl I was fortunate to be exposed to the classics, which helped me establish a firm foundation for myself as a writer while I was finding my own unique creative voice.  In January of 2014 Robert Beltran began the process of selecting actors at CASA 0101 Theater to train and work with for several months on the language of Shakespeare, sonnets, iambic pentameter and verse, with the ultimate goal of presenting a full Shakespearian production at the end of that process. Mounting JULIUS CAESAR, our first Shakespearian production, is a major undertaking and artistic leap for us at Casa 0101 Theater.  This production will also be part of Encuentro 2014, A National Latina/o Theatre Festival in its Inaugural Season, which we are very excited to be part of.”
 
            Robert Beltran said, “Our production of JULIUS CAESAR will be a non-traditional, non-gender specific, nor time specific rendition.  It will be a symbiotic melding of Ancient Rome with contemporary culture that speaks to both.  The production will be a surreal, nightmarish evocation of Ancient Rome, which serves as an abstract metaphor for our own society.  My goal is to illuminate and be at the service of the play and not to bring attention to concepts or tricks.  The play speaks to great ideals our own country was founded upon, which have eroded and declined over the years.  William Shakespeare wrote his play as a cautionary tale for his own country, with Julius Caesar’s dictatorship serving as the centerpiece for the degradation of Republican ideals at that time in 44 BC, when the play is set.  In terms of acting, I feel actors with great potential need training to develop a solid technique to catapult them to levels they may never had realized they had within them.  Shakespeare is a means to that end.”
 
            CASA 0101 Theater’s sponsors include:  The California Endowment, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and The Herb Alpert Foundation.
 
            Leading a cast of 18 actors playing 44 roles in a primarily all Latina/o cast, Vance Valencia (of Boyle Heights) will appear in the title role of Julius Caesar, Rachel Gonzalez (of North Hollywood) will appear as Brutus and Lauren Ballesteros (of El Monte) will appear as Antony.
  Other cast members will include:  Christina Avila (of Culver City) as Calpurnia; Uvaldo Baltazar (of Commerce) as Murellus, Messala, Metellus and 4th Citizen; Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake) as Cinna The Poet, Cicero, Artemidorous and Citizen; Evan Garcia (of Boyle Heights) as Titinius, Lucillius, Antony’s Servant, Publius, Cobbler and 3rd Citizen; Fidel Gomez (of Westlake) as Cassius (on October 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 31, November 1 and 2, 2014); Jasmin Iraheta (of Filipinotown) as Lucius; Karlo Ishibashi (East Los Angeles) as Octavius;Ted Lange (of Sherman Oaks) as Cassius (on November 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 and 16, 2014);Angel Lizarraga (of Boyle Heights) as Caesar’s Servant, Popillius, Octavius’ Servant, Messenger and Carpenter; Linda Lopez (of Glendale) as Portia; Daniel Mora(of Glendale) as Casca; Ray Rios (Silver Lake) as Decius, Flavius, 1st Citizen and Pindarus; Moises Rodriguez (of Echo Park) as 2nd Citizen, Cinna The Conspirator, Poet and Strato; Miguel Roura (of Montebello) as Soothsayer, Ligarius and Volumnius; andMario Valdez (of Cudahy) as Trebonius, Lepidus and Citizen.  Jeremiah Ocanas (of Los Angeles) is an understudy.

           The play’s Production Team includes:  Josefina López (of Silver Lake), Artistic Director, CASA 0101 Theater;Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake), Executive Director, CASA 0101 Theater, Producer; Maria Martinez (of Los Angeles), Producer; Edward Padilla (of Boyle Heights), Board President, CASA 0101 Theater, Producer; Martha Pelayo (of Los Angeles), Producer; Robert Beltran (of Los Feliz), Director; Christina Carrillo (of Los Angeles), Stage Manager; Cesar Holguin (of San Fernando Valley), Set Designer; Sohail e. Najafi (of Culver City), Lighting Designer; Abel Alvarado (of Los Angeles), Costume Designer; Julius Bronola (of Los Angeles), Costume Assistant; Vincent Sanchez (Commerce), Sound Designer; Karlo Ishibashi (of Los Angeles), Prop Master; Jorge Villanueva(of Boyle Heights), Board Operator; Sylvia Cortes (of Los Angeles), Outreach/Social Media; Luke Lizalde (of Los Angeles), Graphic Designer; Margaret Garcia (of Boyle Heights), Curator of the Art Exhibition; Arturo Urista (of Los Angeles), Artist Exhibition; Mark Kraus (of Los Angeles), Webmaster; Ed Krieger (of La Crescenta), Production Photographer andSteve Moyer Public Relations (of Los Angeles), Press Representative.
 
            Concurrently with the run of the show an Art Exhibit featuring the work of Arturo Urista will be on display in the Jean Deleage Art Gallery in the lobby of CASA 0101 Theater.  The Exhibit, which will feature works in the themes of the play, will open on Thursday, October 16, 2014 with a Reception from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.  To learn more about the artist, please visit www.urita.com

            A Discounted Preview Performance will be presented on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.for $10.00 per person.  Opening Night isFriday, October 17, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.  The play will be presented for a five-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.and Sundays at 5:00 p.m. from October 17, 2014 – November 16, 2014 at CASA 0101 Theater, 2012 East First Street (at St. Louis Street across the street from the Hollenbeck Police Station), Boyle Heights, CA  90033.  There will be no performanceon Sunday, November 9, 2014.

            Tickets during the five-week run are $20 per person for General Admission; $17 per person for Students and Seniors; and $15 per person for Boyle Heights residents.  Discounts for Groups of 10 or more will be available at $15 per person.  This show is recommended for mature audiences.  Advance reservations are highly recommended.

            Free Parking is available on several streets surrounding the theatre.  Free Parking is also available on Fridays and Saturdays only at the Boyle Heights City Hall Parking Lot located at 2130 East First Street (at Chicago Street) by entering the lot from Chicago Street; the lot is closed on Sundays.  For tickets, please call the CASA 0101 Theater Box Office at 323-263-7684, E-mailtickets@casa0101.org, or buy online atwww.casa0101.org.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/casa0101theater.
 
            
CASA 0101 Theater’s production ofJulius Caesar is being presented as part ofEncuentro 2014, A National Latina/o Theatre Festival featuring ensemble and solo shows, as well as devised works showcasing the talents of 150 Latina/o artists and 19 theater companies.

About The Director:
           Robert Beltran (Director) was born in Bakersfield, CA and currently resides in Los Feliz, CA.  He is the seventh of 10 children of Mexican-Native American ancestry, though Beltran describes his heritage as Latindio.  After finishing high school, he attended Fresno State College, where he graduated with a degree in Theater Arts.  Beltran landed his first film role in Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit in 1981.  One year later, he landed the role of Raoul in Paul Bartel’s Eating Raoul.

            Other appearances include:  Gaby:  A True Story, Nixon, and another Paul Bartel film, Scenes From The Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, among others.  In the theatre, he is has appeared in productions for Luis Valdez’s El Teatro Campesino, where he originated the role of Sonny Villa in I Don’t Have To Show You No Stinking Badges. Other theatre appearances include work at LA Theater Center and the California Shakespeare Festival among others.

           Beltran founded and serves as co-artistic director of the East LA Classic Theater Group, with a staff of professional actors.  There, he played Hamlet and served as co-producer as well as director.  He has also appeared in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Henry IV, A Touch of Venus andThe Price, among others.  In 1995, he was chosen for the part of Commander Chakotay on the television show, Star Trek:  Voyager. He also had a recurring role in Big Love for Home Box Office.  At that time, he received a Nosotros Golden Eagle Award as best actor in a television series.
 
            Beltran supports National Down Syndrome Society and has engaged over recent years in a series of classical drama workshops mainly on Shakespeare.  He has also participated in several Schiller Institute conferences speaking on the subject of classical drama, most recently on his 2003 staging of Clifford Odets’ 1948 play The Big Knife.

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