Membership Spotlight – December 2023

I am working on a new non-verbal two-person Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) piece with Arts on the Horizon and Wheelock Family Theatre. The piece was commissioned on two ideas — laundromat and bubbles! It is so exciting to be in the room creating new work with amazing artists and collaborators!

I keep reflecting back on seeing THE HULA-HOOPIN’ QUEEN at last May’s TYA/USA conference! I tell all my students about the piece! The intergenerational family ties, the community on the block, and the rhythm of the piece spoke deep to me! I can not wait to add it to my TYA syllabus!

A current dream project is to fully develop my ReImagine finalist piece, OCEAN UPRISING. Using object puppetry, table top theatre, and found objects, this piece explores the human impact on one of the Earth’s most important natural resources.

Theatre for Young Audiences plays with form and function, pushes artistic boundaries, and dares to do the unimaginable. I am interested in pieces that push the form forward aesthetically, narratively, and non-verbally. TYA was one of the first spaces where I could combine my love of theatre and my interested in honoring young people.

Michelle Kozlak (Arts on the Horizon) is one of my favorite collaborators! We worked together a few years ago on a TVY piece, BIRDS OF A FEATHER, and now collaborating on a new TVY piece! I love Michelle’s passion for TVY and new work development! The way she structures a room and leads her company is amazing! She allows anyone in the room to be a collaborator — “the best idea wins” no matter who it comes from! She is ALWAYS willing to share her knowledge with emerging artists and college students!

This one goes back deep… but my undergrad acting professor at Millikin University, Lori Bales! She didn’t flinch an eye when I told her I wanted to study theatre education and TYA.

joshuarashonstreeter@gmail.com or www.joshuarashonstreeter.com.

As part of the BIPOC Superhero Project, I created a play for Lexington Children’s Theatre called Quetzali vs. The Alebrije of Darkness: Live in the School Cafeteria. Last month, I flew to Kentucky to workshop the play at LCT. The feedback from the actors &  middle school students helped me think deeper about my characters. Artistic Director Jeremy Kisling is a joy to work with. It was all just an amazing time and I look forward to seeing the play produced in 2025.

My wife and I have a small collection of handmade Mexican alebrijes in our house.  For those not familiar with this word, alebrijes are colorful creatures similar to dragons and unicorns.  Before I start writing, especially nowadays, I choose one of the alebrijes to sit on my desk as a reminder to infuse something magical or mythical into the play I am working on.  Currently, I have a purple cat with rainbow spots fueling my stories.  Next week, it might choose the green armadillo with pink porcupine spikes.

I have been commissioned by Milwaukee’s First Stage to create a new adaptation of Pam Muñoz Ryan’s iconic novel Esperanza Rising. The play will also have original recorded music by Dinorah Márquez, the founder of Milwaukee’s Latino Arts Strings Program and the composer who created the beautiful music for my play On The Wings of a Mariposa.

Ever since I started adapting books into plays, this novel has been a dream project of mine. It’s not only a Mexican story. It’s an American one. And it parallels the lives of many families, including my own. I am looking forward to introducing new audiences to this iconic tale.

I truly believe the way to change theatre is through TYA. Once a young person sees a story that celebrates their voice, community and uniqueness, they will want to see it happen again and again. They might even start writing their own plays. And that is where the real magic happens.

Because TYA is multigenerational, it’s an opportunity to connect with various communities on so many levels. This to me is quite exciting. It’s why I am committed to this field.

Michelle Lopez-Rios and I just finished working on The Mole Hill Stories at DePaul University. It was our 16th collaboration! Aside from being an amazing director, she’s a fabulous voice coach. I am proud to say we will be collaborating on the world premiere of Esperanza Rising. Full disclosure: Michelle is also my wife but a quick internet search will show you that her stellar work stands on its own.

A huge shoutout to my ‘mano, friend & mentor Tony Diaz, author and co-founder of Nuestra Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say. He inspired me to tell my story and to keep telling it. He also showed me how important it is to connect with communities. The work we did promoting local & national Latinx writers and giving free writing classes to underserved communities and schools in Houston really affected me. I will always be grateful for that.

For updates on my work, sign up for the Texican Chisme e-letter: http://eepurl.com/hKLScn. Or check out my website: https://alvarosaarrios.com. Or follow me on Instagram: @realcrazymex. Or do all three!

I am currently composing two new shows with Palo Alto Children’s Theatre: an adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit with playwright Adam Tobin that premieres December 1st, and an original musical “Club Meerkat” with Gary Wright that premieres January 26th.

I am working in my garden and enjoy watching gardening shows. Even though I’m a complete novice, it is therapeutic and I enjoy thinking about structure and composition while looking at beautiful, growing things.

I am still hoping at some point to do an acapella TYA musical!

Fresh out of grad school, I moved to Washington DC, and started a family. I applied for every kind of theatre job I could do – accompanist, music director, performer, vocal coach – anything to get my foot in the door at a theatre. And time and again the opportunities came working with TYA companies. TYA was a world that I didn’t know about and never imagined being a part of when I started my career. But I fell in love with TYA’s hopeful, energetic, and efficient storytelling. To me it is the bonzai tree of theatre: all the power and detail of a mighty oak packed into a small, beautiful package.

I have been blessed to have worked with so many amazing collaborators – 15 different playwrights and lyricists at last count – that one could accuse me of getting around.  If I had to shout out one of this wonderful bunch, it would have to be my first partner in TYA crime – Karen Zacarias.  We were commissioned for our first show “The Magical Piñata” at Imagination Stage way back in 1999, and went on to write 9 more musicals together while sharing the joys of being Latina theatre-makers married to lawyers with three kids.

I am grateful to Kim Peter Kovak who took a chance on me and brought me on to so many projects at the Kennedy Center over the years. He let me wear many hats – his favorite being “tune-a-turg” – and gave me the opportunity to learn and grow while working with some of the best artists in the country. Thanks KPK!!

www.crunchynotes.com, or my devoted publicist/husband Chris La Puma on Instagram @clapuma.