Luna
by Zach Theatre

Sep. 27 - Nov. 16
Saturdays-Sundays

Join Soledad, the daughter of migrant farm workers, on a heartfelt journey of friendship and resilience. Constantly moving from place to place, Soledad finds solace in books, stars, and her steadfast companion, Luna the moon. Struggling to make friends in her ever-changing world, Soledad discovers Frida and Emilio, two kindred spirits yearning for connection. With Luna's encouragement, Soledad takes a leap of faith, learning that true courage comes from embracing risks and taking chances.

Written by Ramón Esquivel, this magical play for all ages reminds everyone they are not alone and how to reach out to build community

Luna stars Jillian Sainz as Soledad, Karina Dominguez as Mama, Julián Gámez-Arizola as Papa, Diego Arroyo-Aceves as Emilio, and Malena Pennycook as Frida. Ariel Blanco is the male understudy, and Abby Lerma is the female Understudy.

“Luna is a story about how everyone deserves to experience the magic of friendship - despite how hard it might be to get there. Making friends can be really tough and Luna doesn’t shy away from that reality - especially for our main character who is constantly moving from school to school,” said director Mateo Hernandez. “With more than half of all students in Austin ISD identified as Hispanic, it’s vital that ZACH is committed to producing bilingual stories, like Luna, about the Latin experience. This production marks the third time I’ve worked on this play, and I feel lucky to now be in the director seat. We’re all excited to share our take on this important piece of theatre for young audiences!”

Additional production team includes Teresa Guerrero as scenic designer, Brady Flock as properties designer, Leah Hummel as costume designer, Jacob Zamarripa as lighting designer, and Tim Riggs as sound designer.

Age Recommendation: 5 & up

Run time: Approximately 55 minutes with no intermission. 

About Ramón Esquivel

Professor Esquivel is a playwright, director, dramaturg, arts consultant, theatre educator, and Assistant Professor of Theatre, Playwrighting, Mainstage Director at Cal Poly. His plays have been produced in theatres, universities, and schools in New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Austin, San Antonio, Pittsburgh, Denver, Vancouver BC, Seattle, and elsewhere in North America. A current project, ¡O Cascadia!, has been developed at the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and The Cascadia Project. Recent world premieres include The Hero Twins: Blood Race at the University of Texas at Austin and Appalachian State University, and Above Between Below, which has been touring Washington and Oregon schools through a collaboration between Seattle Children’s Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, and the Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre Program. Professor Esquivel’s play Dulce was presented at the 2018 Austin Latino New Play Festival, and was also featured at the 2019 Latinx Theatre Commons Sin Fronteras Festival. His play The Shahrazad Society won the Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award from the New England Theatre Conference. Available through Dramatic Publishing are four plays: The Hero Twins: Blood Race, Luna, Nasty, and Nocturnal, and his works are featured in three anthologies, New Visions/New Voices: 25 Years/25 Plays; Palabras del Cielo: An Exploration of Latina/o Theatre for Young Audiences; and I Have a Story: Plays from an Extraordinary Year. Before joining the faculty at Cal Poly, Professor Esquivel taught playwriting and theatre education at Central Washington University, and creative writing at the University of British Columbia. He has also been a guest artist at the University of Texas at Austin, Whitman College, Northwestern University, Appalachian State University, Phoenix College, and Central Washington University. An advocate for original work for the theatre, Professor Esquivel has produced student play festivals at UBC and CWU, and he hopes to encourage new student work here at Cal Poly. Prior to moving into higher education, he taught English, history, drama, and creative writing in secondary schools in Washington DC, New York City, Vancouver, and Seattle. Professor Esquivel is an active member of the Dramatists Guild, Theatre for Young Audiences / USA, the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, Latinx Theatre Commons, and the New Play Exchange.

About Mateo Hernandez

Mateo Hernandez (they/he) is a queer Latinx theatre maker, applied theatre practitioner, pedagogue, and scholar currently residing on the ancestral lands of the Tonkawa, Lipan-Apache, Karankawa, Comanche, and Coahuiltecan people, also known as central Texas. They are an MFA candidate in Drama & Theatre for Youth & Communities at The University of Texas at Austin where their research interests include queering pedagogies and performance through transgender epistemologies and queer feminist abolitionist practices in art making.

They have worked with companies such as Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Filament Theatre, UrbanTheatre Co., Teatro Vivo, Cara Mia Theatre Co., Chicago Children’s Theatre and more. As a playwright, their plays have been selected for readings with the Ingenio New Play Festival (Milagro Theatre) and Austin Latino New Play Festival (Teatro Vivo). Mateo is also a company member with FYI (For Youth Inquiry) a performance company in Chicago, IL making participatory theatre around issues of reproductive justice. They hold a BFA in Theatre Education from The University of Texas at Austin.

Director of Education- Nat Miller

Casting Associate- Marilyn Wechsler

 

 

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Luna
by Ramón Esquivel
Zach Theatre

September 27 – November 16, 2024 (Public Performances)

Friday, September 27 at 7 pm; beginning Oct 19 Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm
The Whisenhunt at ZACH | 1510 Toomey Rd. | Austin, TX | 78704
Tickets: Start at $13 (Youth) and $20 (Adults) available at ZACH’s box office – 512-476-0541 x1, zachtheatre.org. 

For school performances please contact 512-476-0594 x2.

Special Events in celebration of Luna:

• Pay What You Will Week – Friday, September 27, 2024
• ASL Performance – Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 2pm