Dmae Roberts talks on location with actress, director Olga Sanchez, artistic director of Milagro Theatre. They cover everything from her featured role in Learn To Be Latina running May 1 – 31, 2014 and Milagro’s upcoming season as they close their current 30th anniversary season. Tune in for a slice of life interview with a talented theatre artist juggling many different hats right now to create work that appeals to a variety of cultures and ethnicities in Portland. (encores 11am Sat on 4/26 on KZME 107.1 fm.

More about Learn To Be Latina: Hanan was born to be a superstar. She’s fabulously talented, beautiful and determined to get to the top.  But for those who want to succeed in a wildly cut-throat music industry competing with reality shows that churn out new “talent” nightly, a few sacrifices must be made along the way.  When the record execs demand that Hanan “consider revising” her identity, she accepts the challenge, taking us all on the most outrageous ride imaginable!

Olga-Learn
Scene from “Learn To Be Latina”

This play, skewering everything from pop culture to cultural identity, has won several awards including the first national Great Gay Play Contest!

Milagro presents: LEARN TO BE LATINA
Winner of the Great Gay Play Contest
Written Enrique Urueta & directed By Antonio Sonera

May 1 – 31, 2014
Thu at 7:30 pm
Fri – Sat at 8:00 pm
Sun at 2:00pm
Milagro Theatre (525 SE Stark St)

 Tickets: $15 – $26
Available at www.milagro.org 503-236-7253 
Info & Updates:    www.milagro.org

kh-554271Milagro will host a series program entitled: Learn To Be Latina: Identity Bootcamp to draw the community into conversations about ethnic, gender and sexual identity. The series of post-play conversations with audiences, scholars and local experts to talk about ascribed and self-defined identity and how they impact our livelihoods and our social interactions, with the support of Oregon Humanities.

• Sunday, May 4, 4:00 p.m: Just Who Do You Think You Are?

In Learn To Be Latina, Hanan is re-invented. She changes her name, learns a little Spanish and whole new cultural framework from which to talk about herself, raising questions about the mutability of identity. In art as in life, how is identity accepted, ascribed or re-created?  How does it impact how we are treated or treat others? Panelists include: Enrique Urueta, Learn to be Latina playwright; Brenda Ivelisse Associate Dean of Students at Portland Community College-Rock Creek; Victor I. Cazares founding member of New Theater House.

• Sunday, May 11, 4:0 p.m.: Star Maker Machinery

Hanan is “fiercely talented” and “hot, hot, hot”.  The only thing keeping her from super stardom is her ethnic identity which she must change if she wants to achieve fame and fortune. What does it take to become a superstar in the commercial marketplace? Is it as calculating and manipulative as the play makes it out to be?  Are we, as consumers, part of the problem? Panelists: Kathryn C. Oleson, Professor of Psychology at Reed College; Eryn Goodman Casting Director at Cast Iron Studios since 2005; David Cress,  award winning producer of Portlandia.

• Sunday, May 18, 4:00 p.m.: It’s a Girl!

Gender identification is generally ascribed at birth but this identification may not reflect how a person feels or how they wish to be seen. What is performance identity?  When we change gender appearance, how does it transform our relationship with others. Panelists: Kate Bredeson, D.F.A., theatre historian and dramaturg; Kevin Cook aka Rose Empress XLIV Poison Waters, entertainer and LGBT Community Leader;  Hannah Kosstrin, Ph.D.,  dance scholar situated at the intersection of dance, Jewish, and gender studies.

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