Road Less Traveled Productions' RAICES Begins 11/18

For the first time Road Less Traveled Productions and RLTP Ensemble member Victoria Pérez will join forces to bring a unique play-reading series to WNY. The RAICES series will consist of 4 plays written by Latino playwrights and dealing with the Latino experience.

“Some plays will be in English, some will be in Spanish, and most of them will be in Spanglish,” said Pérez, who is the artistic director of the series. “Spanglish is the way we think, therefore it has to be the way we see ourselves on the stage.”

On Sunday, November 18th, at 6pm, RAICES will open with the first play of the series: La Gringa, written by Carmen Rivera, directed by Sheila Lopez, and starring Sarielys Matos, Rolando Gomez, Victoria Pérez, Jose Rivera, Smirna Mercedes Pérez, and Dewel Pérez.

Also included in the series is Carlos Ferrari’s El Insolito Caso De Miss Piña Colada (The Preposterous Case Of Miss Piña Colada), Nilo Cruz’ The Beauty Of The Father, and Marco Antonio Rodriguez’ La Luz De Un Cigarillo (The Light Of A Cigarette). Dates will be announced shortly.

La Gringa is a play about the search for one’s identity. Maria Elena Garcia, a Nuyorican, visits her uncle in Puerto Rico during Christmas holidays and arrives with plans to connect with her homeland. The only problem is that in Puerto Rico she is thought of as an American - a Gringa.

El Insolito Caso De Miss Piña Colada (The Preposterous Case Of Miss Piña Colada) is a hilarious play about a mother’s outlandish and incredible measures to make sure that her daughter is crowned Miss Piña Colada. Carlos Ferrari’s play is a bitingly funny exploration of society's frivolous consumption and its obsession with appearances.

La Luz De Un Cigarillo (The Light Of A Cigarette) unfolds over the course of two evenings, as mother and son, two estranged generations of Dominicans living in mid-town Manhattan, attempt to rekindle the love and appreciation for each other and their roots… but unexpectedly reveal intimate and taboo secrets which threaten to destroy an already thin bond.

The Beauty Of The Father is about a young American girl who travels to Spain in order to meet her estranged father and becomes romantically involved with his Moroccan companion. This passionate triangle explores the conflict between love and sacrifice.

All of the readings will take place on Sundays at 6pm at the Road Less Traveled Theater inside the Market Arcade Film & Arts Centre. Following the reading the cast will join the audience for a Q&A. Admission is a suggested donation of $5.00. For more information, please contact Victoria Pérez at 716-238-1522 or email at nosotros310@hotmail.com.