Dos Pocitos a new comedy by Raul Garza

Austin based playwright, Raul Garza, penned Dos Pocitos, a bilingual comedy that is running for the last weekend and ends today. Set in 2026, the land we now know as South Texas is a territory known as "Texaco" in the future.

Several in the cast are local actors cast in previous bilingual productions, including playwright/actor Rupert Reyes and Donato Rodriguez, but Marissa Castanon- Hernandez's character is the scene stealer for me. I do not have her biography to mention what other productions she has been a part of, as I do not recognize her from other recent productions in Austin. She is the one I was more engaged by in this script and for the most part, her lines seemed to have the audience laughing the most. I found some of the lines in her script humorous, but a few were very predictable and a stereotype of what a South Texas strong willed woman is thought to be. Some of those stereotypical lines begin to wear thin and lose their humor.

If an audience member does not have enough of a description of the characters ahead of time or perhaps misses something the actor states, there is opportunity for the audience to get lost. The disconnect I found was with the person who appeared out of nowhere to the two gentlemen conducting research and revisiting their past. Having missed any mention of a lost person previously by someone in the play, I did not remain engaged or understand why the two gentlemen proceeded to behave the way they did regarding his lack of response.

At times, different audience members laughed at lines that I (or others near me) did not find humorous, so the laughter was not consistent across all audience members as the humor may have been intended. It is not clear if this is something from the script or something the director had a hand in.

The play can be seen at the Salvage Vanguard Theater on Manor Road in Austin. Please arrive early to secure a seat, because a line does form for the small theater. It can be "hectic" in securing a seat close to the start of the show, but the experience should be a welcoming one by the folks in the lobby for everyone, especially patrons and producers of the arts who are making a contribution to support the arts in Austin, cash or check.

Liz Lopez
Cine y mas

Mighty Five’s Infinite Funk Odyssey

I had the opportunity to see this electro funk theatrical production at The Blue Theater last weekend and it continues this weekend only.

This interactive musical theater is a collaboration between the band Mighty Five (New York) and producer, co-writer, Austin based Xaq Webb of Rockus Entertainment. Not only does the audience watch a theater piece with musicians and dancers on stage, they are highly encouraged to dance with and among the stage dancers/actors who hit the floor during their performance.

I found the production fun and different, in that everyone in the theater can become a part of the production instead of just a spectator. Oftentimes I have been to a concert or musical when I wanted to get up and dance, but it is not allowed. I understand it can be intruding on someone else's enjoyment of the production when their view is blocked, but with the way the stage is set up at The Blue Theater, the seats were up high enough for those who did not partake of the dance party to continue to be a spectator with no interruption.

Some of the songs were easier to groove to, but others did not appeal to me to jump right in. Although this was my experience, it is not the same for others in attendance and they really immersed themselves in the dance and good time.

There is one scene that is very appealing and it is by one of the approximately eight or so dancers in the musical who absolutely stood out from the others. It was obvious to me she has an ability to dance from the way she moves and she later has a solo in the production where she is dressed in an all white outfit. She looked elegant and that portion of the performance is what I believe made the whole production move up a notch in reasons to attend and enjoy.

For more information, visit www.DimensionF.com

Liz Lopez
Cine y mas

Musical group Making Movies is touring now

Late last year, I met a musical group from the mid-west, Making Movies, while they were performing in town at a festival and promoting their music. Since then, they have been to Austin a number of times, including during SXSW.

The CDs and t-shirts are available on their website and when you order one of their t-shirts, they are including an autographed CD in the shipment. Sounds like a deal to me and I am passing it on to our readers.

Making Movies has released a new video for their song, 'Twenty Years' in conjunction with a free download of the track at http://makingmovies.bandcamp.com/track/twenty-years

As soon as I know they are heading back to the Austin, Texas area, I will post it here.

Enjoy!

Liz

San Antonio Film Festival continues

The San Antonio Film Festival kicked off on June 16th with free screenings through today [19th] and continues until Sunday the 26th.

The screenings will be held at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico, 600 Hemisfair Park (78205) and one screening will be held at the San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones Ave. (78215) on Thursday, the 23rd.

There will be two days of free workshops, June 24th and 25th at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico. "Micro-Budget Filmmaking and New Trends in Digital Distribution" will be offered by James J. Robinson on Friday and "Music Clearance and Licensing for Film" will be offered by Dominique Preyer on Saturday.

For a complete schedule of films and trailers, visit http://www.safilm.com/

TNT Two Hour Premiere of Falling Skies June 19th

The eagerly anticipated TNT series, Falling Skies, from Dreamworks Television and Executive Producer, Steven Spielberg, will launch on Sunday, June 19th with a two hour premiere at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). After the premiere, the series regular timeslot will be Sundays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).

The series is slated to air for eight weeks and viewers will follow ordinary people coming together to survive in the aftermath of an alien attack. Months after the attack, 300 survivors travel together, led by resistance fighters known as 2nd Massechusetts who seek to outsmart the aliens. Over the course of the series, viewers will learn more about the aliens and their attack on our planet, as well as how determined humans are to survive.

Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) is a Boston history professor with extensive knowledge of military history. The professor's family of five is down to three, as his wife died shortly after the attack and one son has been taken hostage by the alien invaders. Mason is the second in command leading the group.

Weaver (Will Patton) is the fierce military leader of 2nd Massachusetts and Mason's commanding officer.

Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) is a pediatrician, working with the children survivors to help cope with the trama they endure. As days go by, her medical skills are extended beyond children as unexpected situations arise.

On June 9th, the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar hosted an evening screening of episodes from the new series, with Moon Bloodgood in attendance for a question and answer session with members of the audience. Moon Bloodgood starred in 'Terminator Salvation' with Christian Bale and Sam Worthington (2009). The following morning, I was able to interview the beautiful actress who explained her name. Her first name is Korean, as is her mother, and the surname is Dutch, stating she is first generation American.

She is drawn to the character as it is more "personal" and she clarified [as this character], "I lose a child and a spouse. I like the way the character is built and she is not sexualized in any way." We then discussed the femme fatal roles that are often seen in films/television. "I love playing the femme fatal roles, but I need to try something different where the character has a brain and spirit."

I was intrigued and asked about any past experiences with this sort of character. "This is always hard to explain. It is human nature if the character is sexy. I do not go for those characters. [As for Anne] she was deeper; cool, calm and respected as a doctor. Also, in Science Fiction, I do get to have the strong woman role. Sigorney Weaver has been an inspiration for that type of character."

With regard to ethnicity, we also had a conversation about the comments from the audience that inquired about heritage and not being considered "X" enough according to others assessment for varied reasons. "I see a breakdown, when they say they look for diversity/ethnicity. We have come so far, but the reality is the leading role goes to a Caucasian. It is harder to be ethnic and get a leading role. I don't complain, but it is harder. How do you define the American woman? I think we are in a transitional time. We have the new generation as there is more mixed ethnic [people]. It is better than it was for our parents."

I mentioned that in retrospect, I had not seen anyone that was Latino in the episode I viewed. Moon said that one actress is half Latina, Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds), who is the character Lourdes, an orphaned teenager in the series. "I do know that Spielberg tries to have diversity- he makes it a point. I am lucky with what I have and I remind myself. Also, there will be more actors coming [in future episodes]."

The series was filmed in Canada and the actress described working with the cast, along with the extras. "They were very diverse! They were Asian, Jamaican and many others. Also, we saw a Dominican parade. There are many different cultures."

The actress does not look her 35 years of age and has an extensive filmography. We discussed current and/or future plans to work with others who follow in the industry. "I try to be supportive, not competetive. I do want to see more Asian Americans and have yet to see a show about being Asian. People know I am Korean, my mother is from Korea and I am very proud."

Austin Film Festival features Made in Texas Film Series

Director Donald Petrie will be in attendance for the screening of 'Miss Congeniality' on Wednesday, June 8th at 7:30pm at the Bob Bullock Museum Texas Spirit Theater. It is free for Austin Film Festival (AFF) and Texas State History Museum members and $5 for the general public. For more information, visit www.austinfilmfestival.com

Liz Brings the latest about JLo and Marc Anthony

Just in case you did not get the news recently, Jennifer López and Marc Anthony have planned to travel to 21 countries to search for artistic talent.

No matter the age, individuals from across the Americas with talent can submit their audition thru youtube.com/qviva

This is not the time to be shy, so get ready to show off, or encourage those you know with talent to get ready to shine.

Hasta pronto y mucha suerte,
Liz