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| For Immediate Release: October 30, 2007 |
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Diverse City Theater to Present a Staged Reading of NEW YORK--Diverse City Theater Company ("DCT") announces that it will present a staged reading of Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza's new full-length play, PURE, the grand prize winner of the 2007 "Palanca Award" for Best Play, on Tuesday, November 6th at 7PM at The Cherry Lane Studio Theatre located at 38 Commerce Street in New York City. The "Palanca Award" or Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature is the Philippines' most prestigious literary award and is dubbed as the "Pulitzer Prize" of the Philippines. The play is about a family in exile and the secrets they keep from one another. Atong, a US war veteran, is confronted by his wife's gambling addiction. His wife, Paning, copes with the news of their son's life-threatening disease and their daughter's unexpected arrival from the Philippines. The story culminates at a dramatic family reunion where they are forced to face each other's secrets and all. Playwright Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza has won numerous literary awards and acclaim, including the prestigious Palanca Award. Her produced plays include COLD FLESH, which was part of Diverse City Theater's Equality Playwrights Festival at Theatre Row's Clurman Theater (August 2006); SANDMAN, which was part of the 2002 Actors Studio Repertory season; MIGRATION BLUES, three of her one-act plays, were presented at the New School's Tishman Auditorium as part of the University Diversity Initiative (October 2002). She earned her Doctorate from Drew University with a degree in Postcolonial Literature and Cultural Criticism in 1999 and an MA in Linguistics from the University of the Philippines. She completed her MFA in Playwriting at the Actors Studio of the New School University. Currently working as an Artistic Associate at The Public Theater, May Adrales has directed and developed work at Second Stage Theatre, The Hangar Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, New Jersey Repertory, The Hypothetical Theatre, West Coast Ensemble, and The New York International Fringe Festival. Recent projects include Tommy Smith's WHITE HOT (Here Arts Center), Alexandra Collier's THE WILL OF THE COCKROACH (The Production Company), Sergei's Dreznin's OPHELIA: OPERA IN BLUE (Prospect Theater Company) and Jose Rivera's CLOUD TECTONICS (Pure Theater). She is on faculty and head administrator of The Public Theater Shakespeare Lab. Adrales received her MFA in directing at Yale School of Drama. PURE will feature Obie Award winner Ching Valdes-Aran* (Macbeth, The Wild Party), Raul Aranas* (Flower Drum Song, The King & I, Miss Saigon), Liz Casasola*, Christopher Kromer* and Victor Lirio*. Stage Manager: Phil Gutierrez. For reservations, email rsvp@diversecitytheater.org. Suggested donation: $10 (at the door). * Member of Actors Equity Association The reading of Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza's PURE is made possible due to the generous support from Warren Bodow and Joan & Richard Firestone. |
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Diverse City Theater Company
Diverse City Theater Company ("DCT") is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) theater organization run by artist playwrights, directors and actors. Its mission is to develop and produce powerful and thought-provoking works that explore and examine diversity issues from social, cultural, gender, demographic and global perspectives; create multiculturally fluent theater audiences; and advocate the non-traditional casting of actors to reflect the rich spectrum and diversity in our national culture. Formed in 2003, Diverse City Theater Co., Inc. is based in New York City. For more information, visit the organization's website at www.diversecitytheater.org. |
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Contact
Janet Appel |
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Copyright ©2007 Diverse City Theater Co., Inc. All rights reserved. |