Milagro’s ‘Bi’ & Prince Gomolvilas

Dmae features  the 2018 world premiere of Bi– Milagro Theatre‘s newest devised work. We’ll talk with actor and co-developer Ajai Terrazas Tripathi and assistant director/choregographer Gabriela Portuguez about Bi- running Jan. 11-20 at Milagro Theatre.Bi- is presented as part of the 2018 Fertile Ground Festival, an 11-day arts festival showcasing new work from local Portland artists. And in the latter part of the show, we’ll be joined via phone by playwright Prince Gomolvilas, the best known Thai-American (and gay) playwright in America. He’ll be in Portland for a staged reading of his original work The Brothers Paranormal on Jan. 19-21 at PSU’s Lincoln Hall.

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Milagro Theatre presents…
The 2018 world premiere of Bi– 

Devised and directed by New York-based playwright and director Georgina Escobar, and developed with Dañel Malán and Ajai Terrazas Tripathi through a collection of personal interviews of individuals with dual identities.

January 11 – 20, 2018
Thursday – Saturday at 7:30 PM; Sunday at 2 PM
Thursday, January 11, 7:30 PM — Preview with wine tasting from Coopers Hall
Friday, January 12, 7:30 PM — Opening Night with reception by La Bonita

Milagro Theatre, 525 SE Stark Street, Portland, OR, 97214
Adult tickets are $27 in advance, $32 at the door.
Discount for students, seniors, veterans, groups 15+, and with the Oregon Trail card through the Arts for
All program. Senior tickets are $25 in Advance, $30 at the door.
Student/ Veteran tickets are $20 in Advance, $25 at the door.
Tickets available at milagro.org or 503-236-7253.

Inspired by the book Flatland by Edwin Abbott and set in the year 2089 in Tierra Plana, a new nation of squares, walls, and all sorts of boxes, Bi– breaks open the boxes of selective classification and raise the question: “What is your ‘bi-dentity’?”

Synopsis: Set in a not-too-far-future, the characters of the fictitious Tierra Plana inhabit a place where their individual categories are pre-determined. Four friends, Fig, Noir, Isa, and Hex, are preparing for the day they receive their identity bracelets. Nervous about not fitting in, they escape to the desert and discover the mystery of the past hidden in boxes from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Infused with poetic narrative, dance movement choreographed by Gabriela Portuguez, and surreal illumination and design, Bi– will examine the spaces in between labels and intersections of identity. Teatro Milagro’s touring actors Kenyon Acton, Sierra
Brambila, and Justin Charles round out the creative ensemble.

Bi– is paired with Teatro Milagro’s UNIDAD curriculum in which students take theatrical workshops that
address bullying, harassment, and student isolation by focusing on themes of identity, stereotypes, and
community support.

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The Brothers Paranormal
by Prince Gomolvilas

Synopsis: Two Thai-American brothers launch a ghost-hunting business in order to capitalize on the nationwide increase in sightings of Asian-looking ghosts. When the siblings end up investigating the home of an African American couple who claim to be haunted by one very terrifying spirit, everyone’s notions of reality, fantasy, and sanity clash against the shocking truth.  At its heart this play is an modern allegory about grief, loss and healing for communities of color. More info: www.TheatreDiaspora.org