PETRA'S PECADO

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 1997.

Public  Service Announcement

Contact : Eduardo Vera @ 916-4842, THCcarpa@juno.com

                           TEATRO HUMANIDAD CANSADA  PRESENTS:


                         ìPETRA'S PECADOî

What: ìPetra's Pecadoî
When:  Three Weeks Only January 15 -February 1, 1998
 Thurs.- Sat. 8 p.m. Sun. 3 p.m.
Where:  The Dougherty Cultural Arts Center Theater 1110  Barton Springs
Road
For information: 916-4842

This  production of Petra's Pecado (Petra's Sin) marks  the return of
this hilarious heart-warming play  by local playwright Ruperto Reyes
under the direction of Rodney Garza.

It will take nothing short of  a miracle to help Petra and her senior
aged friends in the small town of Las Flores,Texas, to present  the annual
play about the Virgen de Guadalupe at the local church.  Why did the new
priest want her to direct the play in the first place?  Was Petra's sin
that big?  No one knows not even her husband.What they do know is that
Tina Tamayo, Petra's tortilla business rival, is out for revenge and
will do anything to stop the senior citizens in their tracks.  Will Tina
succeed or will Petra and her friends overcome their fears and save a
lot more than the play?

This two act  bilingual comedy was a smash hit  in February 1997 for
Teatro Humanidad Cansada, performing to sold out  houses for  almost
all  of its 3 week run. The overwhelming response to this production by
a wide variety of Austin audiences and the press  prompted this return
engagement.  Petra's Pecados unique bilingual script  beautifully
blends language so that it is  enjoyed by English and Spanish speaking
audiences alike. "Petra's Pecado  may become the !Greater Tunaî of
Chicano regional theater.!" (Austin American Statesman)

The cast of Petra's Pecado features a group of veteran  Chicano actors
from Austin and San Antonio,  including Irene Gonzales ( returning  as
Petra),  Ruperto Reyes, Maria Elena Garza Salcedo and Raul Salinas.

The play will run Thursday through Saturday January 15 to February 1 at
8 p.m.with  Sunday matinees  at  3 p.m. Thursday performances are half
price.   Discount tickets  for students, Seniors and ACOT members at
every performance.  Performances are at the The Dougherty Cultural Arts
Center Theater 1110  Barton Springs Road.   For ticket information call
916-4842

Teatro Humanidad Cansada is a sponsored organization of La Pen~a, a
non-profit Latino Arts Organization.



OTRA VEZ!                PETRA SINS AGAIN!

        What do you get when you combine tortillas, x-rated television, dirty
tricks, friendship, and the Virgen de Guadalupe?  A miracle , of
course.  Or in the case of Teatro Humanidad Cansada, Austin's only
bilingual theatre company,  you get an evening of excellent bilingual
theatre  known as PETRA'S PECADO.   This two act smash comedy hit,
written by Ruperto Reyes, Jr. and directed by Rodney Garza,  returns to
Austin's Dougherty Arts Center for a three week run beginning January 15
-February 1, 1998.

        The action begins with Petra Dominguez's act  of kindness toward her
employees at her small tortillas factory.  Faced with the eminent
closure of her store, Petra orders cable-tv for her break room as a
reward for the years of hard work.  The installer accidentally leaves
the premium channel unblocked and Petra get an unwanted sex education
lesson.  As luck would have it, er... or maybe a minor miracle, the new
priest, Father Johnson,  is trying to find ways to involve more people
in the church.  Petra's rival, Tina Tamayo, needs only to control
Petra's store to gain control of all of the town, including the church.
Petra attempts to confess, but Fr. Johnson beats her to the punch and
gives her as her penance, the job of directing this year's celebration
of the Virgen de Guadalupe.  Petra knows  tortillas, but she doesn't
know beans about theatre. She almost loses her sanity and her friends in
the first rehearsal.  Only the appearance of a young woman, Lupita
Montana, saves the day,  the production and  a lot more.

The return of Petra's Pecado to Austin marks a trend that this play has
enjoyed in productions throughout the US.  First read in San Francisco
at El Teatro de la Esperanza's 2nd Annual Festival Latino of New Play
Readings , in 1994, it was brought back as a Spring, 95 production by
Esperanza.  San Antonio's Guadalupe Culture Center produced it the fall
of the same year.  Popular demand and good business sense dictated that
a revival of this production was needed and in the Spring of 1996, it
opened for its second production.  The audiences took up where they had
left off the previous fall, with the scheduled fifteen performances
drawing full houses; many of which were sell outs.  It continues to be
the record holder for attendance at the Guadalupe.  The Austin
production of 13 shows also drew wonderful audiences.  The last four
performances turned away 30 to 40 people each night.  Now those folks
will have their chance to witness the miracle of friendship.

        The Artistic Director for THC, Rodney Garza will once again direct this
show and has cast  most of  the original players from the last
performance.  Irene Gonzales, an Austin Circle of Theatre award winner,
returns as Petra. Ms. Gonzales who appeared in Zachary Scott's
production of ìAll I need to know I learned in Kindergartenî   last year
and Mr. Garza, were featured by the American Statesman as  leading
artist in Austin theater.  Mr. Garza bring a wealth of directorial and
acting skills to this production.  It should also be noted that he
directed the production in San Antonio as well.

        The playwright, Ruperto Reyes, Jr. is a native Austinite.  This play
marked a return to the theater after a 12 year self imposed retirement.
Through a friendship established years ago and the encouragement of
Esperanzaís artistic director, Rodrigo Durarte-Clark, Mr. Reyes
reemerged with this award winning play.

        The wonderful results of this play have been many.  The most notable
was the establishment of THC as a company that went from being a one
production a year entity to a company that announced it first season of
4 shows, a new comedy troupe, a youth theater group and collaborations
with some of the top theatres companies on Austin, which include the
Paramount and Frontera @Hyde Park.  The company provides a wonderful new
asset to the entire Austin community as it devotes it energy and talents
to providing quality bilingual theatre productions.

VISIT THE WEBPAGE OF TEATRO HUMANIDAD CANSADA:

http://www.polycosmos.org/teatro/cansada.htm

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