By Katherine Fan

Teatro Vivo is excited to be presenting the fourth annual Austin Latino New Play Festival (ALNPF), in collaboration with ScriptWorks, from May 8 -10 at 8 p.m. at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.

A three night theater event, ALNPF brings together playwrights and audience members to discuss new workshop productions about the Latino experience. Each night will feature a new staged reading of a production, followed by an audience discussion session with the playwright and director.

For our audience members accustomed to one-way conversations at the theater, ALNPF brings a new and engaging experience. Exploring cross-cultural topics, modern dilemmas and timeless themes with Latino roots, our three productions aim to push and challenge the theatric envelope for audience members.

Teatro Vivo is delighted to be able to bring this event to the Austin Latino community again and welcomes all audiences! General Admission will be “pay as you wish” while reserved seats will be $15 each night. An ALNPF Pass will also be available for all three evenings for $40.

We are thrilled to be presenting the following works of three great playwrights from our Austin Latino community on these nights:

Thursday, May 8 (8 p.m.): Cielito Lindo by Stephany Cavazos

Cielito Lindo is a bilingual (Spanish-English) play that focuses on 9-year-old Florencia (Sky) Valdez who is raised with her brother by her two grandparents (Abuelos). Sky is struggling with bullies at her school who in turn make her question her identity and the kind of person she wants to become.

Friday, May 9 (8 p.m.): Luchadora by Alvaro Saar Rios

The discovery of a wrestling mask prompts Lupita, a Wisconsin grandmother, to share her tale about growing up in 1950‘s Texas. Within her tale, Lupita anticipates seeing a World Championship match until she discovers her ailing father is one of the wrestlers. Concerned about her father’s safety, Lupita trains “in secret” to be a wrestler but finds difficulty keeping her secret from her friends and, most importantly, her father.

Saturday, May 10 (8 p.m.): EL by Raul Garza

Aspiring writer Emi Castillo chronicles the struggles of her Mexican immigrant family as they survive in the shadows of Chicago’s El, and their family’s Él – the unseen husband and father who abandoned them years ago. English, Spanish, Catholicism, artistic expression, and truth are forced to coexist in the Castillo’s small Logan Square apartment, with humorous and poignant consequences.