David Otto Simanek plays the General. He sees this character as a Fascist man, a very stern and by the book a fatherly figure, a director, and a commander.  The General believes he has all of the answers to the way the world should be, and he acts according to the philosophy of the Fascist Regime. He is THE Director of the “Lorca” room, where most of this play takes place.  He does not like nor has he time for the likes of Frederico García Lorca.  The General is anti-freedom, anti-Art and Poetry, against the Republic Party members, against any free thought whatsoever and follows the orders of his superiors as if they were written by God.  He feels that  it is his duty to play God and eliminate all likenesses of Frederico García Lorca and “his people.”  The General’s belief, quoted in the play, is that Frederico García Lorca is a “Communist Faggot.”  This view is challenged throughout the play and by the end, the General is run ragged by the enigma of Frederico and the strength of “The Poets” words.  The General just wants to be done with this difficult case. The General wants to get back to the routine of his old life, but because he partakes in the most difficult case he has ever had to direct/command, the General is changed for life.  The General has a moment where he identifies with the enemy, but he cannot change his point of view, because he refuses to change his point of view.  You can NOT teach an old dog new tricks, especially through violence. I believe the General goes on to obtain the position of Commandant in the Fascist Army, a position he used to fantasize about.  Because of the slight change that has happened to him due to the “Frederico García Lorca” escapade, he finds he is not satisfied with his life and never will be satisfied again because, “to kill a man is to get to know him in the most intimate way” (quote from Lorca in the Green Dress, by Nilo Cruz).

Actor’s Bio:

David Otto Simanek has been acting in the Twin Cities since 1986, He has performed with Open Window in “The Hobbit,” by Patricia Gray, and “Around The World in Eighty Days,” by Mark Brown, with Park Square Theatre in “The Odyssey,” adapted by William Randall Beard. and with The Guthrie Theatre, Nimbus Theatre, and Walking Boxes Theatre. Films he has performed in “In Winter,” by Alexander Gutterman, “Problem Solving America,” by The Diviney Brothers,  and “The Humanity Code,” produced by LenStory Films.

David Schlosser

David Schlosser, as Lorca in a Green Dress, describes himself as the dark love, the poet’s secrets and desire. Green Dress is the side of Lorca that especially in the 1920′s and 30′s was not allowed to be shown and expressed in public. This persona represents the love for the men in his life. Being the person who feels and holds the most inner secrets and desires of another is to be handled with great care.

There is a closeness between Green Dress and Blood that goes beyond the role of Green Dress.  Both faced their ends similarly. Green Dress has a true admiration and celebrity star struck-ness for Blood. Green Dress always tries to show a true compassion and humor, and friendliness towards Blood. Through much of the journey Blood refuses to hear anything Green Dress has to say, but Green Dress tries to mitigate Blood’s pain and hold up truths in hopes of helping Blood accept.

Actor’s Bio:

David Schlosser has worked as an actor, writer and director. He has appeared on stage with Theater Unbound, The Flower Shop Project, Theater in the Round, Teatro Del Pueblo, Pioneer Place Players, Pigs Eye Theatre, Starting Gate Theatre and Park Square, to name a few. As a director, David has worked with Joking Apart Theater and Freshwater Theater. He has written and performed in two one man shows, “Screwed2″ produced in 2001 by Commedia Beauregard and “Their Century” produced by Lucky Break Productions in 2012.

For more information on the production of Lorca in a Green Dress, presented by Pangea World Theater and Teatro del Pueblo, click here!

Rolando Martinez is playing Lorca in Bicycle Pants.  Bicycle Pants is the version of Federico García Lorca’s childhood.  His main responsibility is taking care and maintaining the dreams of the poet. He is in charge of the files that hold photographic negatives of FGL’s dreams.

Actor’s Bio:

Rolando Martinez is originally from Texas.  He moved to Minneapolis to study acting at the University of Minnesota.  Since graduating, some of his credits include “Cymbeline”, “Twelfth Night”, “Macbeth”, “Troilus and Cressida”, and “Crashing the Party”.  In the twin cities he has had the pleasure to work with Mixed Blood, Cromulent Shakespeare, and Theatre Coup d’Etat.

Ricardo Vázquez

Ricardo Vázquez plays Lorca with Blood, but he is Lorca himself -not an essence. During the play the essences are trying to convince him of his death in order to help him move on from his perished existence.  Through his poetry, memories, and dreams they weave a world of the dead to catch the poet and ultimately free him.

From left: David Otto Simanek and Ricardo Vázquez. Photo by Nancy Wong.

Actor’s Bio:

Ricardo Vázquez is a Puerto Rican actor/writer.   As an actor he was recently seen in The Seven with Ten Thousand Things, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Park Square Theatre, and Next to Normal at Mixed Blood Theatre.  He played the title role in Teatro del Pueblo and Pangea World Theater’s collaborative production of Oedipus El Rey.

For more information on the production of Lorca in a Green Dress, presented by Pangea World Theater and Teatro del Pueblo, click here!

“It’s been quite a year for Hmong playwright Katie Ka Vang. A year ago, she was diagnosed with stage four anaplastic large T-cell lymphoma. Thankfully, her cancer is now in remission. This weekend, she will be performing a work she was commissioned to write for Pangea World Theater in 2008, and staged as a work-in-progress in 2010.”

Please click here to read the full article!

“When Katie Ka Vang was young and her family was still adjusting to life in America, her sisters used to frequent an Indian grocery store next to the Laundromat where their parents would drop them off. There, they’d rent Bollywood movies and take them home.

The films became a staple in the Hmong family. In the broad, over-the-top but relatable musical epics, Vang found role models that helped plant the spark for a career in the performing arts.”

Please click here to read the full article!

“When words fail local playwright Katie Ka Vang, she dances. Her preferred accompaniment is almost always the film staple of her childhood: Bollywood music. Growing up in a Hmong household that adored the colorful film genre, Vang visibly carries its energy in her body.”

Please click here to read the full article!

“A little more than a year ago, the prognosis for Katie Ka Vang was not good.

Vang was diagnosed with stage four anaplastic T-cell large lymphoma, and had tumors in 60 – 70% of her body. She couldn’t even walk.

Now she’s not only walking, she’s back to performing on stage with her one woman show Hmong Bollywood.”

Please click here to read the full article!

Last weekend Pangea World Theater welcomed Hmong Bollywood to Minneapolis.  Audiences from our packed houses raved about Vang’s writing and performances: “Powerful, Authentic, Genuine, Wish all theater were like this!” One audience member said.  “Thanks for being a brave, heroic, awesome performer,” said another.

Katie Ka Vang certainly had done somethingspecial in Hmong Bollywood.  She has blurred the traditional and the modern together in a manner that Albra Fres Thao from CHAT , the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent, said left him “without reason or need to identify with her ethnic background in order to thoroughly enjoy her piece.”  CHAT is a Hmong American organization with a mission is “to nuture, explore and illuminate the Hmong American experience through artistic expressions.”Nonmala Xiong.  She was a designer for CHAT’s Fresh Traditions Fashion Show in 2010.  In working on Hmong Bollywood, her goal was “to create and provide pieces that will enhance the performance of an actress, in this case, the amazing and talented Katie Ka Vang,” she said.  Nonmala Xiong, the costume designer for Hmong Bollywood also designed CHAT‘s Fresh Traditions Fashion Show in 2012.  In working on Hmong Bollywood Xiong’s goal was “to create and provide pieces that will enhance the performance of an actress, in this case, the amazing and talented Katie Ka Vang,” Xiong, said.  The project also enabled Xiong “to gain cultural experience in the filed of art, design, and theater,” she said.

This weekend marks the FINAL PERFORMANCES of this run in Minneapolis before Hmong Bollywood embarks on tours to Alaska, New Orleans, and Rhode Island.  Book your tickets now for Thursday, Friday, or Saturday at 7:30pm or Sunday at 4:00pm! Please click  here to check out all the press buzz about the show!

Photo by Marc Norberg

March 8, 2013

With less than a week until opening night of Hmong Bollywood, Katie Ka Vang and Meena Natarajan have been working like mad dogs to create a show that is not only fulfilling for them, but also a good experience for the audience.  According to Vang, the idea of Hmong Bollywood began over five years ago, and has evolved over time from idea to creation to the world premier on March 14, 2013.  “[It] has been a decision-making process of what to keep in the piece, what to take out – we are constantly asking ourselves ‘is this serving this piece,’” she says.

Hmong Bollywood will be Vang’s first performance after successfully beating cancer; sharing the show with an audience and a city that rallied around her during her battle will be especially sacred for her.  “I’ll use it as a milestone in my life.  I am SO ready to share this piece,” she says.

Hmong Bollywood is the story of trying to escape “the realities of the American struggle, painful memories, fear and cancer,” by dancing into the magical world of Bollywood – complete with romance, dancing, color and music.  Through audience interaction, Vang will share these feelings and images with patrons.  “I just want people to have a good time…to realize why we turn to some of the things we turn to when we want to escape,” Vang says, “I’d also want my audience to have an emotional connection.”

MORPHOLOGIES: A QUEER PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL

[Runs through 11/19]: The festival kicks off Friday [11/9/12] with Alaskan transgender performing artist Scott Turner Schofield‘s “Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps.” Schofield lets the audience choose the stories that will be told. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Ritz Theater, 345 13th Av. NE., Mpls.) The festival also includes poet and essayist Ryka Aoki de la Cruz‘s self-created “In Search of Geishaghost.” (7:30 p.m. Sun., Pangea World Theater Studio, 711 W. Lake St., Mpls.), plus three shows at Intermedia Arts: Tamil/Sri Lankan-American activist and provocateur D’Lo‘s “D’FUNQT”; “Shaking Our Shells: Stories From On the Wings of Wadaduga,” a history-based show about “Cherokee … GLBTQ memories” written and performed by Qwo-Li Driskill; and “Outside the Circle,” a play about seduction written and performed by Andrea Assaf and Samuel Valdez. (“D’FUNQT” is at 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Thu., “Outside the Circle,” 7:30 p.m. next Fri.-Sat., “Shaking Our Shells,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 18 & 19, Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls. Tickets: $15 per show or $75 for the whole festival. www.brownpapertickets.com.)

Click here to view the entire spotlight!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE AUDIO OF THE RADIO SHOW!