HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Mel Nieves, shown at right, will present a short play he wrote at the Barefoot Theatre Company's 15th anniversary gala and awards ceremony, presented by Barefoot and SVA Film Department and scheduled to take place on Monday, June 23, 2014 at the SVA Beatrice Theater, located in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Other playwrights and writer-performers being represented that evening will be José Rivera, Kristina Poe, Adam Szymkowicz, Jennifer Skura, Craig muMs Grant, Oriane, Daniela Rabbani. The directors of the theatrical pieces include Michael LoPorto, Shira-Lee Shalit and Paul Schnee. The Vassallo Awards (named after the late actor-producer Ed Vassallo) will be handed out to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Israel Horovitz, and Lynn Cohen. For more information, click here.

Marisol Carrere will be starring in Fred Rohan-Vargas' Tide Beyond the Rift. Directed by José A. Esquea (and assistant directed and stage managed by Basil Rojas), it is being presented by Mixing It Up Productions and the Midtown International Theater Festival. The production will have performances in July and August at The Jewel Box Theater, located in the Fashion District of midtown Manhattan. The cast includes José Ramón Rosario, Devon Jordan and Duane Scott.

Lorraine Rodríguez-Reyes will be presenting her self-penned solo show Mami Confessions (directed by Susan G. Reid and dramaturged by Jane Barnette) in July and August at Teatro Círculo (located in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood), as a result of the show winning the 2014 The One Festival held earlier in the year. For more information, click here.

A.B. Lugo (see below) will be directing Agravios de fortuna. Based on William Shakespeare's sonnets, the play, it was conceived and adapted by Lugo and features original music by Andrés Márquez and choreography by Sebastian Stimman. The play features the talent of Pablo Andrade, Alexandra Manzano and Stimman (an all-HOLA member cast) and will be presented in July by TEBA and Alphabeta Productions at the Broadway Blackbox Theater in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. [Shown above, clockwise from top left: Andrade, Manzano, Stimman, and Lugo.]

The third annual Dominican Film Festival in New York (DFFNY) occurred in June at the three venues in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood (Columbia University Medical Center Alumni Auditorium, The Armory Foundation Hall of Fame Theater and the Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center, respectively). The festival presented about 40 feature and short films and three panels (including a tribute to actor-filmmaker Manny Pérez). HOLA members were represented in the following feature films, short films and webseries.

• Biodegradable. Written by Juan Basanta Ortiz and Marcel Fondeur. Directed by Juan Basanta Ortiz. Starring Liz Gallardo, Rayniel Rufino, César Evora, Hemky Madera, Liche Ariza, Paul Calderón, Cecilia García, Ángel Hache, Mario Núñez.

• Cinco centavos por botella. Written by Andy Núñez. Directed by Kelvin Sánchez. Starring Mateo Gómez, Kelvin Sánchez and Anderson Mendoza.

• Henry - A Web Series. Written and directed by Alain Alfaro. Starring Jaime Fernández and Michael Díaz.

• The Audition. Written and directed by Adrian Manzano. Starring Sofía Rodríguez, Tommy Peña, Carolina Ravassa and A.B. Lugo (see above).

• The Journey of a Female Comic/La trayectoria de una comediante. Written by Lyn McCullough and Kiki Meléndez. Directed by Erick Crespo and Kiki Meléndez. Starring Kiki Meléndez, María Conchita Alonso, Edward James Olmos, Esai Morales, Nadine Velázquez, Guy Ecker, Lupe Ontiveros, Shari Belafonte, Jacob Vargas, Johnny Ray Rodríguez, Susan Rybin, Felipe Esperanza and Valenzia Algarín. 

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?