Laughing Around the Christmas Tree is an opportunity for our community to come together and spread some holiday cheer for the children and families who need it most. Your admission to this event will be a toy of your choosing! We look forward to laughing with you.

Date: Sunday, December 9th

Time: 3PM

Place: The Epic Lounge
           8239 2nd Street
           Downey, CA 90241

Admission: A toy (New, unwrapped, minimum $10 Value)

Your Ticket to all Things Urban

Did you screw up Valentines day? Don’t know what get mom for Mother’s day? Afraid Dad will feel neglected? Wanna impress your boss and come see some kick ass theater, save money and become a part of Urban Theatre Movement?  Then get the URBAN XPRESS CARD!  It will be your ticket to all things Urban.  What you get: A ticket to the West Coast Premiere of Jose Rivera’s Massacre (Sing To Your Children), a ticket to The West Coast Premiere Short Eyes by Miguel Pinero and the World Premiere of Life and Death in Southgate by UTM member Israel Lopez.  You also get half price admission to all our productions at our second stage, The Urban Theater in Long Beach, two for one admission to our Ivy League Improv shows as well as priority ticketing, seating and invitations to playwright talk backs and special UTM events.  That is over $75 in savings for the subscriber fee of $40!  Become part of Urban Theatre Movement.

Tony Nominated: Stephen Adly Guirgis

Sal Inzerillo

Ron Cephas Jones

Tony Nominated: Elizabeth Rodriguez

Tony Nominated: Bobby Cannavle

One & only: Chris Rock

Short Eyes Fundraiser Video

SHORT EYES, a term prisoners use to brand a child molester, reveals the racial, sexual and dangerously seditious personal politics wielded by an explosive group of inmates at an unnamed House of Detention in New York City.  Their petty ploys and communal rebellions are unexpectedly disturbed when they are joined by a middle-class white man accused of raping a young girl.  Written during Miguel Piñero’s incarceration for armed robbery in Sing Sing prison the play debuted at the Riverside Church, moved Off-Broadway in 1974 to The Public Theater in New York City and to Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater to critical acclaim including 6 Tony Award Nominations, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and an Obie Award for “Best Play of The Year”.

Please click on the link below to be directed to our Kickstarter campaign for more information about this project and to make your contribution.

http://kck.st/nvF5KI

[ Message From the Director ]

SHORT EYES by Miguel Piñero is the first play I ever read.  When the thought of becoming an actor first occurred to me I decided to head towards the library in order to search for plays thinking to find something I could relate to.   I am Puerto Rican and so decided that plays by Puerto Rican writers might be a good place to start my search.  That is how I first discovered Miguel Piñero’s work.  When I read SHORT EYES I was moved, mesmerized and terrified.  That hasn’t changed.

It is my privilege to be directing this play as Artistic Director of Urban Theatre Movement.  It is exactly for companies like ours—families—that this play was written.  In his introduction to the play, Marvin Felix Camillo the director of the original production, described the original theatrical family that brought SHORT EYES to life this way, “We traveled with a good artistic reputation, little money and the strongest kind of desire imaginable…” I can think of no better way to describe where our UTM family finds itself today.

We are proud to be producing Miguel’s Piñero’s SHORT EYES at the Los Angeles Theatre Center this Fall and cannot do so without your support.  Please support our UTM family and become part of the movement bringing this beautiful play to life.

Julian Acosta

Artistic Director

Urban Theater Movement

for further questions on how to donate please contact Evelyn Arreaga: Eve.urbantheatremovment@gmail.com

KICKSTARTER LINK: http://kck.st/nvF5KI

I’ve wanted to write those words in a review for so long and am thrilled to finally be able to ascribe them to Urban Theater Movement’s production of MASSACRE (Sing to Your Children) by José Rivera. I could bestow on it a number of other clichés like “Buy your tickets now!”, “Run don’t walk!”, “I was glued to the edge of my seat!”, “A show you can’t afford want to miss!” While true, these flashy sounds bytes don’t do justice to this innovative and challenging production. As a whole, it was a beautifully crafted script supported by a tense and nuanced direction and carried out by a brilliant ensemble. It was a riveting show that not only entertained and pushed the imagination with its eerie setting and poetic dialogue, but it made the audience think and view their world in a whole new way. In short, it was everything I want out of a play.

We don’t see the characters at first, but hear them instead. Screams and thuds erupt in the darkness as we listen to a brutal murder just offstage. There are the frenzied cries of the attackers, hurried orders barked out, pleading cries of the victim, all punctuated by the steady rhythm of weapon blows. Beyond creating a visceral and truly frightening experience for the audience, the cast set a level of tension and urgency that they not only maintained but escalated throughout the course of the play. The real story of the show is not the murder, but the aftermath and how these seven friends and acquaintances deal with the weight of their actions. We learn about their victim, Joe, who they describe as a pedophile, a murderer, a tyrant and menace with some kind of paranormal control over their small town. He comes off as a cross between Lost’s smoke monster and Stalin. This group seemed to stage a coup against Joe, a self-contained, seven-person revolution. But as the play unfolds, we realize that there are secrets and unrest within and between these guerillas that rival the outside turmoil that they rebelled against. Our perception of Joe gets murkier too. Is he a real person? Is he a supernatural power? Is he really at fault? Like a good play should, the production answers absolutely none of these questions. Instead it compels us as an audience to engage, bring in our own fears and prejudices and ultimately build our own conclusion of what it all means.

                                                         -Erin Daley, LA Theatre Review

Masscare (Sing to Your Children) by Jose Rivera and Directed by Richard Martinez

Synopsis: Massacre (Sing to Your Children) — The citizens of a small town violently rise up against their oppressor.

“José Rivera’s new drama MASSACRE (SING TO YOUR CHILDREN)…has both the visceral thrill of Stephen King and the eerie magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The playwright takes a group of everyday people, living in a typical small town, and plops them into a fever dream of hatred, retribution and regeneration.Rivera’s darkly comic play…”

Panama: He has a talent for prose and is a true leader. Works as a mechanic.
Vivy: She has a sharp tongue. Works as a school teacher.
Erik: A passionate and convincing force. He works as a mechanic.
Janice: She’s a calming spirit. Is a gifted musician.
Lila: She is an outsider. Works as a Tarot Card Reader.
Eliseo: Moves through life free to whatever comes his way. Wanderer, currently bartending.
Hector: He’s a devoted soul with a lot of heart. Works as a Chef

Message to auditioners from the Director:
This is a complex and demanding play. I will be looking for fearless actors who are prepared to explore the darkest parts of human nature. Break legs

When: Tuesday, February 22nd, Wednesday February 23rd, & Thursday 24th, 7pm – 11pm
Callbacks: Friday, February 26th, 7pm – 11pm
Where: The Under Ground Theatre (up town)(1314 N Wilton Pl, Los Angeles, CA, 90028)
Prepare: 2 minute dramatic monologue
Rehearsals: February 28 – April 7
Shows: April 8th – May 1st, 2011
Show Venue: The Under Ground Theatre (up town) 1314 N Wilton Pl, Los Angeles, CA, 90028

Contact: Evelyn Arreaga To schedule a 5 minute audition time-slot at
Eve.urbantheatremovement@gmail.com

“I have seen so many productions of my show, both here and overseas and I can honestly say, hands down, this is one of the best productions to date, from the acting, to the design, to the direction”. - Bert V. Royal on UTM’s production of Dog Sees God

“…Mr. (Richard) Martinez’s exciting yet thoughtful direction provides Searching…with a deep relevant tone perfect for our technology driven culture.” – Austin Statesman

“director Richard Martinez’s subtle touch gives the play all the room it needs to breath the truth…” – Austin Chronicle

“I can whole-heartedly assert that Urban Theatre Movement’s production established the collective as a promising and ambitious company worth watching”. - K. Primeau, LA Theatre Review on UTM’S production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead by Bert V. Royal.

“I am a big fan of Urban Theatre Movement, their production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is full of heart, thought, and raucous vigor. I think Jesus would be proud” – Stephen Adly Guirgis, Playwright of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

“…striking visual imagery and several outstanding performances…the production boasts many stirring scenes…” - Les Spindle, Backstage West

“…director Jeremy Aluma has given it a terrific production, with a huge and sterling cast…” – Neal Weaver, LA Weekly

An improvised show about improv! Come one, come all to audition for this one of a kind comedy extravaganza!

Wednesday, February 9 at 7p.m.

@ The Urban Theatre (5388 Long Beach Blvd.  Long Beach, CA 90805)

No monologue needed!

SHOW DATES: March 11 – March 13

SYNOPSIS: A group of six actors are going to perform an improv show at 8p.m. tonight! But first, see their adventures and struggles during the day leading up to the big show. See what what happens when the curtain is pulled back to reveal the improvisation of every day life. As every human being on Earth learns in their life, The Show Must Go On!

CHARACTERS:

Host: Male or female. 20′-30′s. An eccentric character narrating the show. Sophisticated, but loves to curse.

John: Mid 20′s. Improv member 1 of 6. Average guy who is excited about the show but is going to get his world turned upside down when he is dumped by his girlfriend.

Jessica: Mid 20′s. John’s girlfriend. Pretty, might be out of John’s league. Kind of a bitch.

Denise: Mid 20′s. Improv member 2 of 6. Interviewing for a job. Happy to be there, but very confused.

Boss: Male or female- 30′s. Intimidating boss type giving an interview to Denise.

Charles: Mid 20′s. Improv member 3 of 6. Confident male about to give the speech of a life time.

Sara: Mid 20′s. Improv member 4 of 6. nervous type. Visiting the doctor when she discovers she has some new disease not known to man… until now.

Dr Yes: 30′s Alpha male way too into himself, examining Sara.

Dave Daniels: Mid 20′s. Improv member 5 of 6. Nerdy type who is actually a super hero about to take on his arch enemy.

Evil Villain: Male or female. any age. Evil genius trying to take over the WORLD!!!

Kyle: Mid 20′s. Improv member 6 of 6. slacker. Guy running late to the actual improv show.

“José Rivera’s new drama MASSACRE (SING TO YOUR CHILDREN) has both the visceral thrill of Stephen King and the eerie magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The playwright takes a group of everyday people, living in a typical small town, and plops them into a fever dream of hatred, retribution and regeneration. Rivera’s darkly comic play…” - Mary Houlihan, Sun-Times (Chicago)

Roles will be read by;
Sharif Nasr
Isabel Davila
Jon Duran
Christopher Gavilanes
Isral Lopez
Samantha Parks
Paul Tully

Sunday, January 23rd at 7pm
@ Urban Theatre (5388 Long Beach Blvd. Long Beach, CA)

There will be a intermission & concessions will be sold. A talk back & a reception will take place at the end of the reading.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, seems to be three separate plays. The first is a dark, biting, very funny political and religious satire in which Purgatory, which transforms depending on the prevailing mood of the people who occupy it, has become a place of litigation. Hope, a sort of stopgap between Purgatory and Heaven, is a petty court, and, after several attempts, a trial has been convened to determine if Judas should be forgiven his sins and let into Heaven, even though he seems to have no desire to do so, due to his extreme feelings of guilt, which are a kind of sin in themselves. This part is very funny, very uncomfortable and very thought provoking. Heaven, it seems, is peopled with many urban, trash talking saints and angels.

The second, mostly still in the courtroom, is a screed that seems to imply that God is as duplicitous as Satan himself. The trial finally sort of fades and ends without any real conclusion (besides a single line in the final bit) or even opposing closing arguments so that the fact that there is no conclusion would make some sort of sense. As it stand, it feels like the writer was tired of that convention and wanted to get on to his point. This piece has little of the biting wit of the first, seems entirely too heavy handed and the diatribes seem more didactic than satirical, which makes them a little tiresome.

The third part is two conversations, both in Hell, one between Judas and one of the jurors, in which, I assume, we are supposed to conclude that we are all as sinful as Judas and the other, between Judas and Christ, in which, I assume, we are supposed to conclude that Judas remaining in Hell is his own doing, and quite against the wishes of his friend, Lord and Savior, which comes as no surprise because everyone has been telling us that since the beginning. This bit seems deeply religious and is completely lacking in the wonderful philosophical satire of the first, or even the searing anger of the second, and nothing that has come before this has led up to much of anything that happens here.

Given what I see as problems with the script, the production by the Urban Theatre Movement was very good. Upon entering the theater, we witness someone, we assume it to be Judas himself, dressed in a filthy, tattered tee shirt, in a kind of trance, writing with chalk on the walls. Almost every inch of every exposed wall has been written on. In the center of the space is a sort of rectangular cage with one lager desk at the back, a stool in the middle and two smaller desks at the front and an open grid for a floor. The cage is surrounded by a field of silver roses, but beyond those ethereal flowers are the black walls and columns covered in chalk. The mood that is immediately set is extremely disquieting and intriguing.

There are too many actors to touch on each performance (23 in all) but there are a few that deserve special mention. The first is the exquisite Tony Gatto as Judge

Littlefield. His form is imposing, and the character is a bureaucratic tyrant, but Mr. Gatto brings such a light touch to the judge’s dismissiveness, exasperation, and petty tyranny that it is difficult to take your eyes off him.

Nick Mills plays Yusef El-Fayoumy, the smarmy, slimy, ass-kissing prosecuting attorney and he is delightfully, wickedly funny. You never know if he is an agent of the Lord, or has come directly from the deepest bowels of Hell. Even if he is an agent of the Lord (and in this play you can never judge who might be) you wouldn’t want to shake his hand without some hand-sanitizer very close by.

Charles Sanchez is quite good as Julius of Outer Mongolia, the Bailiff, the naive public servant, a man with great heart and integrity who gamely tries to serve both that integrity and the whims of his boss, the judge. Jessica Culaciati plays the defending attorney, Fabiana Aziza Cunningham. She brings to the role a dignity and quietly intense need to prove both herself and her proposition that Judas has been wrongly incarcerated in Hell. Lowam Eyasu is delightful as the trash-talking, huge-hearted Saint Monica. Angie Light is charming as Mother Teresa and Amir Levi is very funny as the arrogant Sigmund Freud.

Paul Tully plays Pontius Pilate as a self-righteous Mafia boss. A Mafia boss that you would not want to cross. He brings a power and danger to the role without any histrionics. Quite a feat. Aaron DuPree is Butch Honeywell, one of the jurors, ostensibly a hick, but one with more intelligence and heart than he first appears to have.

Levi Sochet, who plays the glad-handing, petulant Satan, is an immensely talented actor, but has that penchant to “loose control” that some immensely talented actors have that would make me reticent to be on stage with him in a violent scene. Vincent Mentry is Judas Iscariot and is on stage for the entire play in a somnambulant trance broken only occasionally for flashbacks of his childhood, the moments and days just before and after his betrayal and for his final two conversations at the end of the play.

The rest of the cast include young Brighid Fleming as Matthias of Galilee, Steven Gaston as Simon the Zealot, Christopher Gavilanes as Solder 3, Isreal Lopez as Saint Matthew, Michelle Mania as Henrietta Iscariot, Shyla Marlin as Mary Magdalene, Gilbert Martinez as Saint Peter, Sharif Nasr as Saint Thomas, Samantha Parks as Loretta, Fayna Sanchez as Gloria, Adam Tsekhman as Caiaphas the Elder and Peter Weidman as Jesus of Nazareth.

The wonderful, evocative set was designed by Fred Kinney and Staci Walters. The costumes, by Cat Elrod, were quite good. Lighting was by Jeff Brewer and sound by Adam Smith. I’ve already stated that I think Jeremy Aluma is a talented director, but it bears stating again. – Geoff Hoff, LA Theatre Review

Aluma’s interpretation deftly mixes Guirgis’ poetic dialogue and flip wisecracks with the streetwise vernacular of contemporary Los Angeles, as characters such as the streetwalking Saint Monica (Lowam Eyasu) serve as witnesses. Presiding over a courtroom that is less kangaroo than just plain cuckoo is a judge (Tony Gatto) who wields power but shows little common sense. Butting heads are grandstanding defense attorney Yusef El-Fayoumy (hilariously played by Nick Mills) and hard-driving prosecutor Fabiana Aziza Cunningham (Jessica Culaciati). Among the biblical characters are the near-catatonic Judas (the superb Vincent Mentry), Mary Magdalene (Shyla Marlin), Pontius Pilate (Paul Tully), Caiaphas (Adam Tsekhman), and Jesus (powerfully portrayed by Peter Weidman). Historical figures entering the fray are Sigmund Freud (a loony goofball in Amir Levi’s wry portrayal), and a confused Mother Teresa (Angie Light). Levi Sochet provides an uproarious turn as the sly and seductive Satan. Aaron DuPree is deeply moving as a jury member with his own cross to bear. The set design by Fred Kinney and Staci Walters, Jeff Brewer’s moody lighting, Cat Elrod’s costumes, and Adam Smith’s sound design are highly evocative.

The three-hour play, which premiered at New York’s LAByrinth Theatre in 2005, could use aggressive trimming. Aluma’s production occasionally sags during the verbose second act. Thankfully, the production boasts many stirring scenes, and the work poses timelessly urgent questions on the moral values we choose to hold and the disastrously flawed suppositions we sometimes make. – Les Spindle, Backstage West

Directed by Cal State Long Beach alum Jeremy Aluma and presented by the Urban Theatre Movement, their rendition successfully captures the essence of the play with several exceptional performances.

Aluma’s direction of Guirgis’ witty dialogue kicks off when Judge Littlefield (Tony Gatto) starts to unmercifully turn down the requests of lost souls who want a second shot at heaven, until a pregnant and spunky attorney named Fabiana Aziza Cunningham (Jessica Culaciati, CSULB alum) keenly brings up the case of Judas Iscariot (Vincent Mentry).

Guirgis brings together several iconic characters from past eras, as well as biblical figures from the time of Judas.

Saint Monica (Lowam Eyasu, CSULB student) makes an appearance as a vulgar yet charming eyewitness. Her performance is strong enough to move an audience to tears.

Satan (Levi Sochet) makes several appearances in the courtroom, and all the while he is charming and witty.

A wry Sigmund Freud (Amir Levi) takes the stand to Judas’ defense and clashes with prosecutor Yusef El-Fayoumy (Nick Mills) as he delivers continuous laughs.

With the exception of a few desks and writing on the walls, there aren’t very many props crowding the stage. The lights and sound effects are just right, never distracting from the story and the actors.

Aluma’s rendition of Guirgis’ “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” is a highly impressive performance. – Laura Aguirre, Daily 49er

With so many one-sided views of the Gospel today, it is rare that someone takes the time and effort to truly shine light on alternate possibilities. Religious groups, more often than not, stand on their truths to be solid fact, ignoring that there might just be another side to the story.

The 23-person cast all performs exceptionally well. Nick Mills (Yusef) and Jessica Culaciati (Fabiana) play the opposing attorneys – pro and con Judas – flawlessly. Their polar conflicts are as amusing as they are honest and convincing. Levi Sochet’s performance as Satan is unbeatable. His strength is not as physical as it is mentally intoxicating. And Vincent Mentry plays the title character as balanced as necessary. The play calls for the audience to see both sides of Judas, which he executes effectively. – Stephanie Forshee, Campus Circle