BORRACHO: SPANISH FOR DRUNKEN BUM PREMIERES AT HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (MAY 2019) – A stage premiere of Borracho: Spanish for Drunken Bum at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019 opens on June 19, 2019 at Art of Acting Studio that will benefit Q Youth Foundation an LGBTQIA+ organization dedicated to working with the LGBTQIA+ community with playwriting and creative writing workshops.

Playwright Abe Zapata Jr. mentions it is an homage to Mart Crowley’s Boys in the Band. He shares the importance to writing his play Borracho: Spanish for Drunken Bum to be an inclusive representation of gay culture in theatre, “As important as the play is (Boys), what about the stories of young gay men of color? For Borracho: Spanish for Drunken Bum it was important that the play be its own story set in present-day Los Angeles and focus on Latinx men dealing with issues of Machismo, colorism, and the binary that is gender, while still being an homage to Crowley’s work. The work connects to the past but is set in the present.”

The play is directed by Maia Villa, a talented actor, playwright and director. The one act play takes place in one evening as Miguel prepares for his friend Gerardo’s 35th birthday. With a cast of nine characters there are several through lines happening with the focus on Miguel’s invitation of a jock from high school and his relationship with his best friend Don. Other subplots include an escort hired for Gerardo’s birthday, a surprise visit from a drag queen, and a love triangle between the characters Will, Will’s new boyfriend Leo, and his ex-Tim. The story culminates with a “gay version” of truth or dare that exposes the characters in different ways but ultimately forces Miguel to face his issues with masculinity and loneliness.

The purpose of the production is to bring more inclusive stories on stage. Q Youth Foundation will receive generous donation from this play production to continue facilitating new and emerging LGBTQIA+ writers’ workshops in Los Angeles.

Borracho: Spanish for Drunken Bum – Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019

Dates & Time: Wednesday, June 19, 2019, 8:30pm;
Saturday, June 22nd, 2019 2:00pm & 8:00pm

Location: Art of Acting Studio (Blackbox)
1017 North Orange Dr West Hollywood, CA 90038

Cost: $20, Hollywood Fringe Members $19

Additional Info: Parking in Art of Acting Studio lot anytime after 7 PM. You cannot park in the following assigned parking spots: MTI, 1020, & Motive. There should be plenty of parking on North Orange Dr and North Sycamore, if AOA lot is full.

Accessibility: Persons who wish to request disability related accommodations should contact Brandon English as soon as possible. Some accommodations may take up to several weeks to arrange.

Production Team
Brandon English (He/Him) is a Pilipino-American actor, producer, and writer who enjoys bringing community together and creating theatre for change. Some of his favorite performances include Polaroid Stories (Narcissus), Measure for Measure (Pompey), and his solo show of Juan Luna: Savage in Paris, which made its premiere at Art of Acting Studio, and was later extended to The Hollywood Fringe Festival 2018. Aside from acting, he is a plant enthusiast, loves watching Schitt’s Creek and RuPaul’s Drag Race, and having deep conversations with his mom over the phone. Love you mom! IG: BrandonUniverse

Abe Zapata Jr. is a playwright, director, and actor, whose work tackles issues of race and sexuality with a slant to camp and pop culture. Abe has performed at Highways Santa Monica, directed for the 2017 Eastside Queer Stories Festival at the Aerial House in Alhambra, and for the past two years has been the workshop facilitator for the Eastside Queer Stories Workshop presented by the Q Youth Foundation. During 2019 Abe co-produced The Eastside Queer Stories Festival with Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA and will be featured as a storyteller for The Houses on the Moon Q-Story Stream at the LA LGBT Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre on May 18th. Borracho: Spanish for Drunken Bum will be Abe’s first full length play to premiere at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival. IG: abe_zapatajr

Maia Villa is a fourth generation Chicanx artist, most at home between taco trucks and boba tea. Maia has volunteered with Q Youth Foundation for the past three years, as a writer, actor, and director. Bachelor’s from Bennington College (2015) in Marginalized Identities in Performance. Writing credits include: short play En El Medio premiered at CASA 0101 Theater (2016); short play “Outside Inside” premiered with Eastside Queer Stories Festival (2016); poems “Simmer” and “Always Be” published in Snorted the Moon and Doused the Sun: an anthology about addiction. Acting credits include: productions with CASA 0101 Theater (Los Angeles), The Playground Theater (Chicago), The Second City Hollywood, Highways Performance Space (Santa Monica), and the comedy “Señorita Monthly Juice” at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2017.

Ana Bernal (They/Them) is founder of non-profit organization Q Youth Foundation, an LGBTQIA+ organization in arts and education. They are an experienced writer, director and producer of arts and music productions in Southern California, which include theatre performances, musical and cultural festivals, and comic book conventions serving communities of color and LGBTQIA+ communities. IG: QYouthFDN

Contacts:
Brandon English, Producer
(510) 387-8862, [email protected]

Abe Zapata Jr., Playwright
[email protected]

Maia Villa, Director
[email protected]

Ana Bernal, Q Youth Foundation, Executive Director
(626)607-7351, [email protected]

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