EL CIELO Y EL DOLOR
“ Its lines feel like knives that pierce the skin, reclaiming social justice and understanding among all beings on earth. An incredible actor, intense and gripping, a true master of the craft.”
Written by Alejandro Gómez
Directed by Germán Jaramillo
Starring Nelson Celis
Alexandra, a trans immigrant working as a prostitute in Queens, tells us, in a darkly humorous piece, her deepest secrets: her sexual initIation, the discovery of love, exile, separation, the border crossing, New York, Queens, her return to prostitution… purgatory.
El cielo y el dolor (Paradise and Pain) is a love story, beautiful and piercing like love itself. It’s a story of survival, sacrifice, of a loneliness so deep that it forces us to escape our cages only to find ourselves entrapped in other even bigger cages, as we try to live, to finally find happiness, and to touch, even if only for a moment, paradise.
Winner of a 2018 HOLA (Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors) award, in the category “Outstanding Performance in a a show for One Actor.”
MARGO LEE SHERMAN WRITES ABOUT THE 3RD INTERNATIONAL THEATER WITHOUT BORDERS FESTIVAL
The 3rd International Theater Without Borders Festival was an incredible experience, filled with remarkable people. We were there for a week, from September 4–11, 2018. I performed four times (September 6–9) and led my workshop on September 10.
The festival is a project of Teatro Telón de Arena (Sand Backdrop Theater), founded in 2002 by the dynamic Perla de la Rosa and her theater comrades. Perla is the Artistic Director and a professor at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez. (Ciudad means “City,” like in New York City.)
Perla de la Rosa describes Telón de Arena as one of the strongest theater companies in northern Mexico. Their work is deeply shaped by the region’s stark realities—marked by the ever-present border with the United States, symbolized by the massive ‘X’ at the crossing point between the two countries. (You can see it from the plane when landing: to the right, sprawling industrial warehouses and manufacturing plants—automotive, electronics, and household appliances; to the left, El Paso, Texas, with its wide green spaces and quiet neighborhoods. Between them, the Río Grande, a thin green line separating the U.S. from Mexico.)
"We exist at a dangerous crossroads, a passage for those fleeing violence and poverty—not just from Mexico, but from across Central and South America—in search of a better, safer life. Given these circumstances, and in the midst of one of the greatest humanitarian migration crises, we are working to build a theater without borders. Our goal is to stand in solidarity with displaced persons and migrants. We believe in the symbolic power of art to make a difference.
iD Studio Featured on News12
March 21, 2021
ID Studio Theatre and the Bronx Arts Space teamed up to put on the show in the Bronx as part of the city’s Open Culture initiative as the Bronx celebrates the survival of art on the 1-year anniversary of NYC’s cultural shutdown
iD Studio Featured on PIX11
March 18, 2021
iD Studio mentioned in the COVID-19 restrictions update as outdoor performing arts has been permitted.
Full Article: https://pix11.com/news/coronavirus/latest-coronavirus-updates-in-new-york-thursday-march-18-2021/
iD Studio Featured on NY Daily News
March 18, 2021
iD Studio Theater will host an “event of remembrance” featuring drumming, spoken word, hip-hop, and poetry on E. 140th St. in the South Bronx for New York’s Open Culture programming. Modeled on the city’s outdoor dining program, Open Culture allows artists to apply for permits to stage ticketed shows outdoors. Meanwhile, the state is letting large outdoor venues stage performances at 20% capacity starting April 1.
Full Article: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-nyc-de-blasio-open-culture-museo-del-barrio-20210318-kfc4piwjivb5xdddvk6tadr6wu-story.html
iD Studio Featured on BroadwayWorld
March 11, 2021
iD Studio Theater and other performing arts groups are taking part in New York’s Open Culture Programming, marking the one-year anniversary of NYC’s cultural shutdown. The events are united by the dual themes of #CultureRemembers and #CultureForward
Full Article: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Public-Events-in-Each-Borough-Will-Take-Place-to-Mark-the-One-Year-Anniversary-of-NYCs-Cultural-Shutdown-20210311
iD Studio Featured on NPR
February 24, 2021
iD Studio Theater’s Executive Director, Sandie Luna, spoke with @wnyc on the severity of the pandemic, its impact on immigrant artists, and the scarcity of non-English virtual programming. We’d like to thank the Center for an Urban Future for their work in researching the cultural and economic impact of immigrant artists in NYC and @wnyc for highlighting the contributions immigrant artists have made towards NYC and the challenges they are currently facing.
The full interview is available at: https://www.wnyc.org/story/immigrant-artists-and-their-output-had-been-booming-new-york-until-pandemic/
iD and Bronx Arts Space on Bronx Net
December 18, 2020
“If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together,” Thank you to BronxNet for providing us with a platform to talk about our experience of throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The interview was conducted in September as we premiered BXchange: A Bronx Intercambio, a collaboration with Bronx Arts Space and Bronx Music Heritage Center. The performing arts have drastically changed, but we are grateful for the ability to create new friends and connections with local organizations…we are stronger together! Click the link for access to the full interview
April 9, 2019
ID Studio invited to Univisión to speak about the play "Cumbia de mi corazón"
Juanita Lara and Jorge Camacho talked to Victor Javier Solano on Univision’s segment “Acá entre nos” about the play “Cumbia de mi corazón”, opening on May 18th at ID Studio Theater.
ID Studio Theater receives five nominations to the 2019 ACE Awards
Nelson Celis in “El cielo y el dolor”
Clockwise from top left: Sebastián Beltrán, Jamie Vanegas and Juanita Lara in “Pedro Infante: cien años pienso en ti”
Nominations for the 51th annual ACE Awards (Asociación de Cronistas del Espectáculo/Showbussiness Chroniclers Association) were announced on Wednesday evening at the Andrés Requema Room in the headquarters of the Dominican Commission of Culture in Upper Manhattan.
ID Studio’s production “Pedro Infante: cien años pienso en ti” walked away with three nominations: best actor in a musical production (Sebastián Beltrán), best character actress (Juanita Lara) and best musical production. Nelson Celis was nominated for best actor in a monologue for ID Studio Theater’s production “El cielo y el dolor”, and ID Studio’s Artistic Director, Germán Jaramillo, was nominated for best dramatic actor for the Spanish Repertory Theater’s production “El coronel no tiene quién le escriba”.
Fernando Campos, president of ACE, and Manolo García, its honorary president, were on hand to reveal the nominees. They were joined by Nilda Tapia, Dominican Culture Commissioner.
To see a complete list of the nominees click on the link below:
GERMAN JARAMILLO WILL PERFORM AT LINCOLN CENTER
GERMAN JARAMILLO
Artistic Director of ID Studio Theater, will be part of a talent-filled company of stage stars that will align in 2019 for NANTUCKET SLEIGH RIDE, a new play by Tony winner John Guare, arriving at Lincoln Center next Spring. Four-time Tony winner Jerry Zaks will helm the production. The cast will be led by Tony winner and five-time Emmy winner John Larroquette.
Lincoln Center is one of New York’s favorite not-for-profit theaters, and many of its productions have been honored with Tony Awards, Drama Desk Awards, Obies, Outer Critics Circle Awards, and Theatre World Awards.
See Jaramillo’s interview with Colombian newspaper EL TIEMPO here:
ID STUDIO HONORED IN THE 2018 HOLA AWARDS
The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), the nation’s longest running active arts advocacy organization for Latino actors, will hold its 2018 HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit on Monday, October 22, 2018. Among other honorees, Jorge Alí Triana, a Colombian artist who has been working in the world of theater for more than 40 years will receive the HOLA Excellence in Theater Award.
HOLA will also continue its annual tradition of honoring the best of Latino theater in New York with its HOLA awards in different categories. This year, ID Studio members will receive several HOLA awards:
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR
Germán Jaramillo, El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba (Guest actor in a production of Spanish Repertory Theater to commemorate 50 years of the company).
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR
Juanita Lara, Pedro Infante: Cien Años Pienso En Ti
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN MUSICAL THEATER
Sebastián Beltrán, Pedro Infante: Cien Años Pienso En Ti
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION/DESIGN
Pedro Infante: Cien Años Pienso En Ti – Pablo Mayor (Music); Daniel Fetecua (Choreography); Segundo Tenesaca (Scenery) ; Erick Solano (Lighting); Mary Montano (Wardrobe)
OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
Nelson Celis, El Cielo Y El Dolor
PEDRO INFANTE: CIEN AÑOS PIENSO EN TI EN EL III FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE TEATRO SIN FRONTERAS
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México 13-16 de Septiembre, 2018
ID Studio Theater fue invitado al III Festival Internacional de Teatro sin Fronteras patrocinado por el Teatro Telón de Arena en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México y su director artístico, Perla de la Rosa nos visitó en Nueva York por invitación de Juanita Lara, actriz y miembro de ID Studio por más de 10 años. La comunidad de Ciudad Juárez nos recibió con los brazos abiertos y aplausos en la presentación de Pedro Infante: cien años pienso en ti, escrita por Toby Campion y dirigida por Germán Jaramillo.
Telón de Arena y El III Festival Internacional de Teatro Sin Fronteras
El teatro Telón de Arena es una compañía profesional de artes escénicas, constituida legalmente como una Asociación Civil en el 2002, dedicada a la producción y promoción de espectáculos con una clara orientación social, a partir de una dramaturgia propia. Su misión es clara: Propiciar el ejercicio pleno de nuestros derechos culturales. El Festival Internacional de Teatro sin Fronteras nace de una necesidad de crear conciencia acerca de las comunidades fronterizas así como de las miles de personas quienes cruzan las fronteras en busca de una mejor vida. Adicionalmente, el arte que se desarrolla por la influencia de Ciudad Juárez, así como de su ciudad hermana, El Paso, Texas, cuenta las historias del flujo migratorio de poblaciones que fácilmente pueden representar poblaciones migrantes a través de fronteras alrededor del mundo. La compañía Telón de Arena es una de las compañías más activas y reconocidas en el Norte de México. Geográficamente Ciudad Juárez está marcada, literalmente, por una gran X que representa el cruce entre México y Estados Unidos. Irónicamente, para muchos juarenses representa el cruce donde muchos no lograron pasar, pero tampoco lograron regresar a sus pueblos y familias. Aterrizando al aeropuerto de El Paso, se ve la gran X, el Rio Grande que divide Texas con Chihuahua, y los suburbios de El Paso en contraste con los grandes almacenes y maquilas de Ciudad Juárez. Para Perla de la Rosa, la gran X representa un cruce peligroso para las personas quienes huyen de violencia y pobreza, no solo de México, pero también de Centro y Sur América. Estamos en una crisis migratoria y a través del teatro estamos haciendo más visible nuestra solidaridad con las comunidades desplazadas y la migración forzada.
El Teatro Telón de Arena cree en el poder simbólico del arte y a través de su escenario, proveen un escape de los horrores y tragedias de muchos migrantes. Teatro Telón de Arena; Montaje El teatro Telón de Arena cuenta con un espacio que permite modificarse fácilmente y con capacidad para 70 personas. Juanita Lara, quien realizó el primer contacto con los organizadores del festival y logró la invitación a participar en el mismo, se encargó del montaje, reconstruir el escenario original incluyendo luces y utilería. Juanita también dirigió al elenco y entrenó al equipo técnico de Telón en las transiciones de luces, humo y sonido. Jorge Camacho, encargado de producción y logística, organizó con el equipo de Telón, entrevistas, transportes, comidas, promoción y sonido/música de la obra. El elenco de Pedro Infante, fue entrevistado por medios de radio, periódico y televisión que lograron promover el festival y la obra que generó mucho interés y público.
¡Cinco funciones! ¡Casa Llena! ¡Éxito!
Pedro Infante: cien años pienso en ti, tuvo gran éxito en Ciudad Juárez, con 4 funciones programadas y una adicional para complacer la demanda del público. Tres de estas cinco funciones contaron con audiencia completa, y otras dos estuvieron al 60% de capacidad. En total, más de 280 personas asistieron a las funciones de Pedro Infante y algunas de ellas quedaron tan fascinadas por la obra que la vieron más de una vez. A raíz de este éxito, ID Studio Theater fue invitado de nuevo al IV Festival Internacional de Teatro sin Fronteras, programado para Agosto-Octubre, 2019. La reacción del público fue interactiva, presente y receptiva al cuento y a sus canciones. En ocasiones, nos acompañaban cantando “México Lindo y Querido”, el himno no-oficial de México y sus risas y reacciones hicieron la presentación y nuestra participación una experiencia inolvidable.
Enlaces de entrevistas y notas:
https://diario.mx/Vamos/2018-09-06_13291c37/pedro-infante-cien-anos-pienso-en-ti
http://www.border-heritage.com/pedro-infante-without-borders
https://www.pressreader.com/mexico/el-diario-de-ju%C3%A1rez/20180912/281500752148141
Programa del Festival https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzjlFNhgeyooWGlkR3ItZjU4OFdKdHdsbktIVHVPeFBIckVz/view?usp=sharing
