One of Dallas' most diverse and inclusive theater companies is vowing to be even more so in 2019-20. Cara Mía Theatre Co. has regional premieres, Dallas premieres, cross-city collaborations, and a festival of solo shows populating the season, with the return of a beloved classic rounding it all out.
"Our 2019-2020 season shares the complexities and nuanced experiences of contemporary U.S. Latinos," says executive artistic director David Lozano. "This season will feature Afro, indigenous, queer, body-positive, and female-centered narratives within the context of stories about coming-of-age, music, culture, immigration, and health. This is a new kind of season for Cara Mía Theatre that convenes artists from around the country and different local communities to turn our theater into a gathering place for diverse voices."
It starts with Latinidades: A Festival of Solo Shows, running August 15-September 8, 2019. The festival opens with Puerto Rican poet, singer, and actor Flaco Navaja's Evolution of a Sonero (August 15-18) and continues with Your Healing is Killing Me by Virginia Grise (August 22-25), a performance by Florinda Bryant about the journey of a queer, body-positive Chicana who navigates the healthcare system and unearths the traumatic stress of people of color. Completing the festival is Ursula (August 29-September 8), a border experience told through the eyes of child by Cara Mía Theatre artistic ensemble member Frida Espinosa-Müller.
Evolution of a Sonero will be performed in English and some Spanish, with live music by the Razor Blades, and a collaboration with NYC's Pregones and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Your Healing is Killing Me will be performed in English, and is a touring production in development with a todo dar productions from Austin. Ursula will be performed in Spanish with English supertitles, and was workshopped in last season's Teatro En Fuga: A Festival of New Works.
The Dallas premiere of Emilio Rodriguez's Swimming While Drowning is next, running November 29-December 15, 2019. When teenager Angelo Mendez decides to leave his home out of fear of further disappointing his homophobic father, he encounters a world he was not prepared for at an LGBT homeless shelter in Los Angeles. There he meets a fellow homeless teen who gives him a voice and unexpectedly introduces him to love. Angelo ultimately learns that all relationships, no matter how powerful, have an unfortunate time cap, which he must cope with through his writing. Jorge B. Merced directs.
Amy Ludwig's adaptation of Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street follows, running February 20-March 8, 2020 and directed by Lozano. Esperanza's story is the experience of so many Latinas between childhood and adolescence. We see her rush into the innocent games, fantasies, and friendships of childhood, yet she begins to become conscious of the dangers and contradictions of being a young woman living in the barrio. Esperanza tries to make sense of her place in the world while observing the lives of the women around her, and decides hers is going to be different.
The season concludes with the regional premiere of My Red Hand, My Black Hand by Dael Orlandersmith, running May 15-31, 2020. A beautiful exploration and celebration of the historic and cultural nuances that tells the story of one girl's courageous search for belonging and acceptance in the two very distinct cultures that make up her heritage: African American and Native American.
Single tickets for the main season start at $18, and season passes and memberships range from $85-$250 (Latinidades festival passes are $30-$40). They can be purchased at www.caramiatheatre.org or by calling the box office at 214-516-0706.
A scene from Cara Mía Theatre's 2011 production of The House on Mango Street.
