Miami’s Vanessa Garcia has two plays, a novel and a new degree
From South Florida’s theater world, very nice things happening for Miami playwright Vanessa Garcia, MicroTheater Miami gearing up for a “best of” August-September, and a youthful production of Into the Woods at Area Stage.
GARCIA PLAYS
South Florida playwright Vanessa Garcia is having a moment — well, several of them, actually.
She has just successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in English from the University of California at Irvine and jokes that her friends can call her “Dr. Garcia” once she files it. Next month, her debut novel White Light will be published.
On Monday, she’ll hear a free reading of Grace, Sponsored by Monteverde, her play about a newly divorced woman traveling the country with her lover to collect stories. Alex Alvarez, Mariah Busk, Stephon Duncan, Rayner Garranchan, Juan Gamero, Gladys Ramirez and Sandi Stock will be directed by Carey Brianna Hart in the 8 p.m. reading at the Vanguard, 1501 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale. The play is scheduled for a Los Angeles world premiere later this year. Visit vanguardarts.org for more information.
Garcia’s short play The Crocodile’s Bite will be performed by the Juggerknot Theatre Company at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 6 in Manhattan as part of the 40th Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Florida International University grad Victoria Collado will direct Tanya Bravo, Lorenzo Gutierrez, David Perez-Ribada and Reza Salazar in the play about an American, a Cuban, an Argentinian and a Salvadorian whose lives intersect in Miami. The performance is at the East 13th Street Theatre, 136 E. 13th St., New York. The Crocodile’s Bite is one of 30 festival finalists, and when the event concludes Aug. 9, six will be chosen for publication and licensing. For info, visit www.JuggerknotTheatreCompany.com.
MICROTHEATER REDUX
MicroTheater Miami is changing over its English and Spanish short play offerings for a “Best of Micro” program from Aug. 5 to Sept. 6. More than 60 of the theater’s best plays from the 2014-2015 season will return, each for a brief run, with the kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 5.
Among the returning shows are A Midsummer Miami Dream by Paula Wilhelm (Aug. 12-13), Christopher Walken’s Adventures through Time by the Comedy School Dropouts (Sept. 2-3), Animal Attraction by Brian Michael Cohen (Sept. 2-3) and Left Turn at Albuquerque by Lisa Pertierra (Aug. 19-20).
Presented in repurposed shipping containers, the short plays are done in English on Wednesday and Thursdays from 8 to 11 p.m., in Spanish on Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. and on Sunday from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets to each show are $5, and the audience can see up to six in one night.
MicroTheater Miami is in the side courtyard of Centro Cultural Español, 1490 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Call 305-448-9677 or visit www.microtheatermiami.com.
SUMMER SONDHEIM
Area Stage Company in Coral Gables is tackling Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine as its newest summer musical, exploring the not-so-happily-ever-after world of such familiar fairy-tale characters as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk) and others. Carbonell Award winner John Rodaz is directing, with musical direction by Rick Kaydas and choreography by Kelly Shook.
Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 16. Tickets are $20 and $25 (students pay $10). Area is at 1560 S. Dixie Hwy., Coral Gables. For information, call 305-666-2078 or visit www.areastagecompany.com.
This story was originally published July 31, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Miami’s Vanessa Garcia has two plays, a novel and a new degree."