The ALNPF unites playwrights and audience members in conversation surrounding four new works of Latino theatre by playwrights from throughout the United States. After each performance, the playwright participates in a talkback session with the audience. This year, the ALNPF features stories about generations lost to a problematic prison system, confronting heartbreak that is both recent and old, the challenges of trying to become independent, and the realization that self-care never comes easy.

That Rhythm in the Blood by Andrew Rincón
Directed by Alex Pedemonte
Thursday, April 18, 8:00 PM

Miggy, a young man experiencing heartbreak in his life, battles and rages with the ghost of his grandmother, Lucy, who lived through similar pain 40 years before. As Lucy pushes Miggy to move on with his life, grandmother and grandson travel through dreams, back in time to when Lucy first immigrated to the US. This play explores loss, loneliness, and the pain that travels down immigration and blood. 

Even Flowers Bloom in Hell, Sometimes by Franky D. González
Directed by Carl Gonzales
Friday, April 19, 8:00 PM 

This story is an examination of the inmates within a system, trying to discover meaning in the face of isolation and doubt in one’s own worth over a 25-year bid. The play explores familial ties, love, race, inmate-correctional officer relations, the passing of time, and the succeeding generation of individuals who deal with the challenges of trying to avoid a life of crime, or resigning oneself to becoming a part of the system that swept up previous generations.

Inner View by Christine Granados
Directed by Jesús I. Valles
Saturday, April 20, 3:00 PM 

Noelia Bustamante tries to negotiate her independence by announcing she is seeking a job outside the family. This is a bold step for the people-pleasing young woman. Although the family agrees she should seek the job and go to the interview, they insist on going with her, which is not what Noelia had hoped for.

What’s Up with Marjorie? by Christin Eve Cato
Directed by Minerva Villa
Saturday, April 20, 8:00 PM 

Marjorie is a young, 2nd-generation, Nuyorican-Latina woman who is in the process of adulting. Like most young Latina women, Marjorie is trying to survive in the confusing diasporic cycle of identity, while struggling with her daunting personal life. When she meets a man she starts falling for, her unresolved anxiety begins to really kick in. She soon realizes that working on your “self” is one of the hardest things to do- especially with a dysfunctional family and two enabling best friends, who all have deep problems of their own.

This project is in collaboration with ScriptWorks, and is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.