The Fountain is thrilled to be producing the West Coast Premiere of El Nogalar by Tanya Saracho, directed by Laurie Woolery. Previews begin January 21.
El Nogalar (The Pecan Orchard) is inspired by Anton Chekhov’s classic The Cherry Orchard and charts a Mexican family’s experience as their way of life is threatened by encroaching drug cartels, violence and economic upheaval. Set in present-day Northern Mexico and infused with Spanish, Spanglish and Espanglés, it’s a comical and moving story about the choice between adapting to the changing world or being left behind.
Yetta Gottesman is a member of the prestigious Actors Studio and LAByrinth Theater Company. She has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway plays including originating roles written by John Patrick Shanley and Stephen Adly Guirgis. She has performed extensively on stage, both in New York and regionally, with such luminary directors as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joe Bonney and Lisa Peterson . In 2010, she received an Ovation Award Best Actress Nomination for her performance in Mariela in the Desert at The Denver Center Theater. Her TV work includes guest appearances on Nurse Jackie, Sex and the City and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” Some of her film work includes Rabbit Hole, Lucky You, and 27 Dresses.
Justin Huen recently appeared as Oedipus in Luis Alfaro’s Oedipus el Rey at the Boston Court (Ovation Award nomination) and Hero, directed by Jon Rivera. Other: Zorro (TheatreWorks),Strike-Slip (Actors Theatre of Louisville),Stones (CTG/Kirk Douglas), Electricidad (CTG/Taper), References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot (Art/Works), Palm Feverand Bitter Homes and Gardens(Playwrights’ Arena), The Legend of Jane & Joe (Ricardo Montalbán Theater), My First Radical (Ojai Playwrights Festival). TV: Weeds, NYPD Blue.
Isabelle Ortega is thrilled to be part of this production and to be working with such a loving and talented cast and crew. Some of her favorite past credits include House of Spirits (Clara) at Mixed Blood Theater, Living Out (Ana Hernandez) at Theater Works and Mixed Blood Theater, Sonia Flew (Nina/Pilar) at LATW, Boleros for the Disenchanted (Petra/Monica) at the Pacific Playwrights Festival, Anna in the Tropics (Conchita) at PCPA, Anna in The Tropics (Marela) at Theatre Works, Displaced (Lili) at Marin Theatre, Charlie Cox Runs w/Scissors (Kiki) at Marin Theatre, Macbeth (Witch) at The California Shakespeare Festival, and Twelfth Night (Olivia) at Shakespeare at Stinson. She would like to give special thanks to Laurie Woolery for the opportunity to play.
Diana Romo began acting as a child as a member of the South Coast Repertory Young Conservatory Theater in Costa Mesa, California, where she made her stage debut in a production of Julia Edwards’ Lockdown and continued her studies there until the end of her high school career. Romo then decided to continue exploring the art of theater at the University of San Diego where she claims to have truly fallen in love and decided to pursue her career as an actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 2010 where she continues to work in the theater and where she is excited to begin her career in film.
Sabina Zuniga Varela is a founding member of Teatro Nuevo Mexico, a Latino theater company and current member of the theatre troupe Las Meganenas. Ms. Zuniga Varela won the 2007 New Mexico Hispano Entertainer’s Association: Female Performer of the Year for her roles in Magdalena Cantata and Still Life at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. A 2011 graduate of USC’s prestigious MFA program roles included Masha in Kate Burton’s production of Three Sisters and Feste/Antonio in Twelfth Night directed by Andrew J. Robinson. Other favorite roles include: the title role in Luis Alfaro’s Electricidad, Rosaura in Sueño, and Martirio in The House of Bernarda Alba. She recently worked on Dulce’s Ashes, a short film by Janine Salinas.www.sabinazunigavarela.com
El Nogalar runs Jan 21 – March 11 (323) 663-1525 More Info
