Home Stage Plays Casa 0101 Theater Presents the World Premiere Play, Corina  From Lap Dance to Sundance
Casa 0101 Theater Presents the World Premiere Play, Corina  From Lap Dance to Sundance

Casa 0101 Theater Presents the World Premiere Play, Corina  From Lap Dance to Sundance

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Corina Calderon/Photo Adam Moroz

Written by and starring Corina Calderon
Directed by Emmanuel Deleage
Starring: Corina Calderon in the title role

 CASA 0101 Theater will present the World Premiere Play, CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE written by CORINA CALDERON, directed by EMMANUEL DELEAGE, starring Corina Calderon in the title role, a story about her real life.

 
Other featured members of the cast include Johnny Ortiz, Leslie Montoya, Karla Ojeda, Alex Miramontes, Julieta Ortiz, Sophia Arroyo, Gabriela Bañuelos, Diana Cruz, Mair Flores, Natalie Heredia, Jesus Tadeo Rodriguez and Oscar Basulto (Understudy).
 
CORINA: FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE will be presented on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. for a Five-Week run, November 17 – December 17, 2023, in the newly dedicated Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater, 2102 East First Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Heights, CA  90033.

 Opening Night is Friday, November 17, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.  Discounted Previews will be presented on Wednesday and Thursday, November 15 and 16, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.  For further information, please visit www.casa0101.org

From a migrant farm working background in the Midwest, CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE follows the protagonist from Illinois to Texas to Los Angeles, never giving up on her dream of becoming an actress despite the pitfalls on the road to success.  A journey from the underbelly of American Society to the doorway of Hollywood success, CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE is the story of thousands of people who make Los Angeles their home.  It is the story of every child who has a dream and who does not give up on it.

Warning: This play contains adult themes of a sexual nature, strong language, and depictions of violence.  This play is for mature audiences only; an adult must accompany those under 17 years of age.

Corina Calderon, Writer and Star of the show, said:  “My play depicts my own story as an adult dancer when I was in my teens and twenties living in Austin, Texas.  I didn’t see many opportunities for myself, so I went out there and created them.  My transformative journey took me out of a toxic environment and gave me the courage to believe in myself to pursue a better life.  Along the way, I learned how to navigate my destiny.  By doing so, I experienced a catharsis that has led me to embrace my true authentic self and to be who I genuinely am.”

Emmanuel Deleage, Director of the Show and Executive Director of CASA 0101 Theater, said:  “CASA 0101 Theater is proud to present this powerful story of redemption and grit.  When I first saw Corina Calderon perform in CASA 0101 Theater’s short play series, ‘Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme,’ I could see the fire in her performances, which were very moving and powerful.  This new World Premiere play of Corina Calderon’s life story is a testament to her unwavering determination that a person can achieve anything in life if they set their minds to it.”

Corina Calderon (of Mission Hills, CA) leads a cast of 13 as Corina (The Narrator) of CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE.  Featured members of the cast include Johnny Ortiz (of Highland Park, CA) as Chris, Alfonso, Acting Coach, and Manager; Leslie Montoya (of Boyle Heights, CA) as Teen Corina; Karla Oleda (of East Los Angeles, CA) as Corina’s Mom; Alex Miramontes (of Pico Rivera, CA) as Corina’s Father, Corina’s Grandpa and Juan; Julieta Ortiz (of Chatsworth, CA) as Corina’s Grandma and Tía Juanita; Sophia Arroyo (of Hacienda Heights, CA) as Young Corina; Gabriela Bañuelos (of Santa Clarita, CA) as Anastasia and Ensemble; Diana Cruz (of Lynwood, CA) as Mari and Ensemble; Meir Flores (of Beverly Hills, CA) as Josie, Carla, Mimi, and Ensemble; Natalie Heredia (of South Los Angeles, CA) as Nani; Jesus Tadeo Rodriguez (of Inglewood, CA) as Joe and Oscar Basulto (of Boyle Heights, CA) Understudy for Corina’s Father, Corina’s Grandpa and Juan.  Oscar Basulto will perform on Friday, December 1, 2023 only.

The production team for CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE includes:  Josefina López (of Silver Lake, CA), Founding Artistic Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake, CA), Director, Producer and Executive Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Itzel Ocampo (of Alhambra, CA) Associate Producer and CASA 0101 Theater Office Administrator); Edward Padilla (of Boyle Heights, CA) Casting Director and CASA 0101 Board Member; César Retana-Holguín (of Northridge, CA) Set Designer; Kevin Eduardo Vasquez (of Van Nuys, CA) Lighting Designer; Abel Alvarado (of Silver Lake, CA); Costume Designer; Omar Gutierrez (of Los Angeles, CA) Hair and Make-Up Designer; Nick Wass (of Palm Springs, CA) Projection Designer; Bianca Soto (of Commerce, CA) Choreographer; Marc Antonio Pritchett (of Hollywood, CA) Fight and Intimacy Coordinator; Channing Whisnant (of Anaheim, CA) Stage Manager; Alicia Mejia (of South Los Angeles, CA) Assistant Stage Manager; Velia Arroyo (of Hacienda Heights, CA) Assistant Stage Manager; Lorena M. Ortega (of Huntington Beach, CA) Production Coordinator; Miguel Delgado (of Huntington Park, CA) CASA 0101 Theater Technical Director; Doreen Marie Sanchez (of Hollywood, CA) Prop Master; Gabriela López de Dennis, Soap Studio Inc. (of Los Angeles, CA) Program; Jorge Villanueva (of Boyle Heights, CA) Maintenance; Mark Kraus (of Los Angeles, CA), CASA 0101 Theater Development Director and Webmaster; Conrado TerrazasCross (of Echo Park, CA) Development Consultant; Oscar Basulto (of Boyle Heights, CA) Box Office; Al Aguilar (of Los Angeles, CA) Set Builder/Scenic Assistant; Rosa Navarrete (of El Sereno, CA) Social Media; Rudy Torres (of Los Angeles, CA) Production Photographer and Steve Moyer Public Relations (of Los Angeles, CA), Press Representative.

CASA 0101 Theater sponsors include the Department of Cultural Affairs City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Arts & Culture, California Arts Council, The Herb Alpert Foundation, LA Arts Recovery Fund, Perenchino Foundation, the National Latinx Theatre Initiative, and Eastside Arts Initiative.

  •  Tickets for the Five-Week Run CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE from November 17 – December 17, 2023, are $25.00 per person
  • For General Admission; $22.00 per person for Students and Seniors 60+ and $20.00 per person for Boyle Heights residents and Groups of 10 or more.  
  • Discounted Tickets for Preview performances, on Wednesday and Thursday, November 15 and 16, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. are $12.50 per person. There will be no performances on Fridays, November 24, and December 15, 2023.
  • Warning: This play contains adult themes of a sexual nature, strong language, and depictions of violence.  This play is for mature audiences only; an adult must accompany those under 17 years of age.

Reservations are highly recommended.  For tickets, please call the CASA 0101 Theater Box Office at 323-263-7684, E-mail tickets@casa0101.org, or buy online at www.casa0101.org

Join the conversation on Facebook @CASA0101Theater; on Twitter @CASA0101 and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/casa0101theater 

 Free Parking is available on several streets surrounding the theatre.  Limited Free Parking is also available at the Boyle Heights City Hall Parking Lot located at 2130 East First Street (at Chicago Street) by entering the lot from Chicago Street.

About The Playwright, Star, Director and Play:
Corina Calderon 
is an American actress best known for her role as Jazmine in End of Watch (2012), directed by David Ayer and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña.  She was born in Moline, IL, and is the eldest of three girls to Mexican-American parents, Nora Martinez and Robert Calderon, a musician.  Calderon started performing Ballet Folklorico at the age of four in a group led by her Grandmother.  At 15, she began waiting tables to pay for acting classes and headshots.

Calderon subsequently started to attend theater classes at Austin Community College in Texas but then went on to study with Mona Lee Fultz, Ben Taylor, and Van Brooks at Two Chairs Studio.  While taking acting classes, Calderon continued to pursue dance and joined a dance team for a local Hip-Hop radio station.  Before moving to Los Angeles in 2011, with the help of Sally Allen and Toni Cobb Brock, Calderon booked her first lead role in the Sundance Film Festival-nominated feature film, All She Can (2011).  She was named Breakout Actress of The Year and Actress to Watch at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival on www.deadline.com for her leading role.  The Hollywood Reporter recognized her performance as “An auspicious debut as a leading lady.”  She was also praised by director Amy Wendel as, “Someone who will go on to show the world something interesting.”

Corina Calderon was then nominated alongside Gina Rodriguez, Eva Longoria, and Eva Mendes for Best Film Actress at the Imagen Foundation Awards in 2012 for her performance in All She Can.  In 2014 she had a recurring role on the TNT hit series, Murder in the First, created by Steven Bochco and starring Taye Diggs.  She also landed a lead role alongside Emmy Award-nominated actor Richard Cabral in Khal the Killer in 2017, released by Millennium Films.  Calderon then appeared in the highly anticipated DC/Warner Bros. motion picture, Suicide Squad in 2016 under the direction of David Ayer. Most recently Calderon appeared in the Robert Rodriguez film, Hypnotic with Ben Affleck and Alice Braga.



Emmanuel Deleage (Show Director and Executive Director of CASA 0101 Theater)is a graduate of UCLA in World Arts and Cultures.  While in college he joined the Skid Row theater troupe, Los Angeles Poverty Department, founded by performance artist John Malpede.  He later became the company’s administrator.  In 2001 he formed his own company Courage Productions, and produced Armand Gatti’s Public Song Before Two Electric Chairs at the Los Angeles Theater Center.  He also met Josefina López that same year, and merged Courage with the newly formed CASA 0101 Theater.  He is currently the Executive Director of CASA 0101.  He has overseen the growth of CASA 0101 from an all-volunteer organization running out of a storefront venue to becoming a leading arts organization in Boyle Heights offering a full season of theater productions, arts education classes, and art exhibitions.  He also has had the privilege of working with theater directors, Peter Sellars, Gino Zampieri, Pascal Rambert, and Armand Gatti.  At CASA 0101, he has directed The Imaginary Life of the Street Sweeper August G by Armand Gatti, Locked Up and You Don’t Know Me by Patricia Zamorano, Nat Turner by Randolph Edmonds, and Food for the Dead, by Josefina López.  He recently co-produced, along with Brown Fist Productions, a critically acclaimed production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and he solely produced the World Premiere production of Josefina López’s latest critically acclaimed play, Queen of the Rumba, both at CASA 0101 Theater.  As a writer, his first play was Selma Worth, about homelessness and finding self-worth.  His second play, which he directed and co-wrote with Lorenzo Alfredo, was An L.A. Journey.

About The Play, CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE:
CORINA: FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE was first presented as a one-woman show at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June 2018.  Then on September 14, 2019, the one-woman show was presented as a benefit for the Santa Monica Playhouse.  The one-woman show was written and performed by Corina Calderon, and directed and developed by Jessica Lynn Johnson.  Now in 2023, CASA 0101 Theater is presenting CORINA:  FROM LAP DANCE TO SUNDANCE as a play.


About CASA 0101 Theater: CASA 0101 Theater, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded 23 years ago by Founding Artistic Director, Josefina López, author of “Real Women Have Curves,” in 2000 to fulfill her vision of bringing art and live theater programs to Boyle Heights. From its humble beginnings in a former bridal shop, CASA 0101 has established itself as a leading arts venue for Los Angeles’ East Side, currently offering year-round theatrical productions and classes in dramatic writing and acting for youth and adults.  CASA 0101 is dedicated to providing vital arts, cultural, and education programs in theatre, digital filmmaking, art, and dance – to Boyle Heights, thereby nurturing the future storytellers of Los Angeles.  CASA 0101 is named such, as casa means house of home in Spanish.  0’s and 1’s are the binary language computers use to operate.  CASA 0101 was founded at the dawn of the digital age when digital cameras started appearing and moviemaking became accessible to more people.  Early on Josefina López taught digital video classes.  Though the organization subsequently focused its energies on theatre and not digital filmmaking, the name stuck.  To learn more, please visit www.casa0101.org

Concurrently in the Jean Deleage Art Gallery, located in the lobby of CASA 0101 Theater, an Art Exhibit entitled, AMERICA INVERTIDA, brings El Sur to the doorsteps of Los Angeles. Curated by Jimmy Centeno, the exhibit features the work of artists, Avdee Lopez Martinez, Barbara Rivera, and Laura Vazquez Rodriguez.  The exhibit traces the trans-border struggle and maps our collective frequency through writings, geography, activists, history, and our common political continental challenges between Chican@s and Latin@s and Latin America.  The exhibit can be viewed before performances of QUEEN OF THE RUMA, and during Art Gallery Hours, which are Tuesdays through Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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