Due to the overwhelming popularity of Swimming While Drowning by Emilio Rodriguez and directed by Francisco Garcia, we are remounting this production with a simplified set for two nights only. This late night event is pay what you will. Invite your friends that may have missed it and join us again for the production that stole our hearts in February.
When teenager Angelo Mendez decides to leave his home out of fear of further disappointing his homophobic father, he encounters a world he was not prepared for at an LGBT homeless shelter in Los Angeles. Spoken word poetry and teen romance collide in this coming of age story as two homeless teens find inspiration to live life on their own terms.
Swimming While Drowning Study Guide (English)
Swimming While Drowning Study Guide (Spanish)
Emilio Rodriguez and his work have been a part of various festivals including the inaugural 2015 Latino Theatre Common’s Carnaval of New Works (Swimming While Drowning), the inaugural Activate Midwest Festival at Western Michigan University (Spin), and the Austin Latino New Play Festival (Mamacita and the Negrito). Emilio was selected for a residency with the prestigious Djerassi Artist Residency Program and the recently founded Mitten Lab in Traverse City, Michigan. Additionally, Emilio was a 2015 finalist for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s Excellence in Playwriting Award and 2016 Finalist for the Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellowship.
Francisco Garcia is a director, playwright and actor. He most recently directed Broken Promises by Olga Sanchez for Teatro Milagro and has worked extensively with elementary, high school and college students directing and developing original productions. He served as the 2012-2013 guest playwright for CalArts’ Community Arts Partnership Program where his adaptation of Fuente Ovejuna was performed at REDCAT Theatre located at Walt Disney Concert Hall. In 2015, he wrote Odessa an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey for Profile Theatre’s Educational Outreach Program, which was performed in conjunction with Beaumont Middle School. Francisco is a member of Actor’s Equity and SAG/AFTRA and last appeared on stage in the title role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet at the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles and in the world premier of Jose Casas’ All Brown All Chingon at the Hudson Theater. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Portland State University and his Master’s degree from Cal State University, Los Angeles.