Guest teaching at CUNY Hostos College

CUNY Hostos theater professor Angel Morales directed a production of "Song of Extinction"at the college last year.  I was able to meet him, his actors, his colleagues and his audience through a series of events planned around my play being named Book-of-the-Semester, and was very impressed with him. So when he asked me to come and guest teach a playwriting unit to his theater class in April, I was glad to do it.  I talked with his students about how a playwright begins to think about how to write a play -- about goals and obstacles, characters, a sense of place, and story structure.  It was a lovely morning!

Song of Extinction at Hostos College!

I'm very pleased that my play "Song of Extinction" is going to be performed on November 14th and 15th by Hostos Rep at CUNY Hostos College in the Bronx.  The play has also been named Book-of-the-Semester -- more than 900 students at Hostos will be reading and discussing the play.  I'll be attending the evening performance on November 15th and doing a talk-back, and also participating in some of the interdisciplinary events that are planned throughout the semester.  A big thank you to Professor Morales for directing this production, and to Professor Robert Cohen, who coordinates the Book of the Semester project.

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW INFORMATION

CLICK HERE FOR BOOK OF THE SEMESTER INFORMATION

CLICK HERE FOR A SHORT VIDEO AD FOR THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE

Hostos Humanities Professor Ángel Morales, who earned an M.A. in Educational Theatre from New York University, has been the Artistic Director of the Hostos Repertory Theater (Hostos Rep) since 2007. Under his leadership, the Hostos Rep also produced Borinquen Vive en El Barrio by Tere Martínez, which played in the 2008 installment of TeatroStageFest. In 2010, the company staged the English/Spanish production of Virgilio Piñera’s Siempre se olvida algo (You Always Forget Something), for which they won four HOLA awards and two ACE awards. 

In 2011, the Hostos Rep was one of only five university-based companies, as well as the only one from a community college, invited to participate in the northeast regional competition of the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival. The troupe presented Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s production of boom!, and cast member Abe Rasheed was a finalist in the festival’s individual category. 

Morales said he is excited that Song of Extinction is coming to Hostos. “The fact that a play of this caliber is going to have its New York City premiere at Hostos, and that it could serve as an opportunity to integrate various academic disciplines, is exciting and a privilege.” 

Morales added that Hostos students and faculty would be able to take advantage of the play’s diverse intellectual subject matter and participate in several post-performance discussions. Song of Extinction is also the fall selection for Hostos Community College’s “Book of the Semester” project. The “Book of the Semester” project is an interdisciplinary initiative to inspire students to read and develop critical thinking skills. With Song of Extinction, the themes that will be analyzed include literature, history, education, science, and music. 

The cast of the Hostos production includes award-winning Hostos student Abe Rasheed in the role of Max, Vice President Carlos Molina of the college’s Division of Continuing Education and Workforce Development, Hostos student César Acuria, and Hostos alumnus Sergio Mauritz Ang.  Also in the cast are actors Arnold Kim and Anna Savant.

Show dates and times

Wednesday, November 14, 2012
12:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 15, 2012
2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Repertory Theater
450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street

General Admission $10

(Free Admission for CUNY students, faculty and staff)

For more information, please call 718-518-4455 or go to
www.hostos.cuny.edu/culturearts.