By Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

An artist in the complete sense, Eliza Jane Schneider can do practically anything on stage-from singing, to playing an instrument, to doing a 180 from one character to the next. Showcasing her many talents, Schneider opened Freedom of Speech on July 11^th at the Diversionary Theatre. It is a Moxie Theatre presentation, directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg.

This one woman show is based on a true story. Eliza Jane decided to take a road trip across the United States…in a used ambulance. The goal? Talk to different people and hear their story in order to get information for her UCLA thesis project. “Everything in this play is actually something somebody said…it started in college…I thought it would take me about a month…I am still on the road” explained the actress during a UT-TV interview. What started in school escalated to a 34 character show that has received multiple awards. It has played all over the country, including Broadway.   [Read more…]

Including interviews with Lou Diamond Phillips and Gina Rodriguez

by Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

The San Diego Latino Film Festival is celebrating it’s 20th consecutive year of hard work and film screenings from all over Latin America in the United States. A remarkable effort–small or low budget films which often depend solely on word of mouth, get the opportunity to receive an important amount of exposure during the festival, and even, maybe, a distributor. Such was the case of the Cuban film Juan de los muertos (Juan of the dead) a dark humored comedy that was a part of the 2012 Latino film festival and earned the Goya Award, the premier film award in Spain, as well as ‘Best foreign picture’ and other prestigious international awards.

Filly Brown, a hit from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, was a much anticipated premiere for the community. The big names in the cast include Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, late singer Jenni Rivera and rising star Gina Rodriguez as Filly Brown. The film follows Filly Brown’s trajectory as an amateur rapper from inner city Los Angeles who seeks to enter the world of hip hop stardom with her striking lyrics.   [Read more…]

by Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

The five Tony award winner War Horse opened last week at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa California. Segerstrom Hall shined, filled to its maximum capacity with almost 3,000 souls. Over the course of two and a half hours, theater goers enjoyed the ups and downs of this complex story situated in England during World War I.

Albert, sixteen, gets a foal thanks to his father Albert’s gambling win. Joey the foal comes alive onstage. It is a puppet made out of mostly cane which has been soaked, bent and stained a light cinnamon color. Three puppeteers– one for the head, one for the torso and one for the tail, bring Joey to life with breathing, neighing and puffing sounds… simply fascinating! The puppeteers wear overalls and boots of the same color. Even though they are seen all the time onstage, the handling is so fine, so delicate, they disappear into the puppet.   [Read more…]