PLAYWRIGHT & DIRECTOR

MANUEL ORTIZ

Manuel Ortiz is a queer Latin director, playwright, and producer. He has directed more than 20 plays, ten of which were original works, including Pichanga (published in Spain, 2019). His shows have been presented in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, México and the US. Ortiz’s path in production started when he worked for the International Animation Festival CHILEMONOS, as a producer in charge of international attendees. In 2014, Ortiz founded the Corredor Latinoamericano de Teatro, an international collaborative platform that works to bring Latin American theater to new audiences across the world.  In 2019, Manuel moved to New York, where he has directed two shows for American theater companies and staged a full production of his play American Dream. Ortiz is currently based in Brooklyn, and is an Associate Producer at Mercury Store where he teaches theater directing for the Lab and Technique program.

CREATIVE PRODUCER

RACHEL SHUEY

Rachel Shuey is a Brooklyn-based producer who is originally from New Orleans. Rachel has brought innovative projects to life across a broad range of artistic disciplines – from the Ukrainian Cultural Festival with Razom for Ukraine to a festival honoring composer Gustav Mahler at the New York Philharmonic and much more. In New York, she has produced work at Ars Nova’s ANT Fest, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, LAByrinth Theater, and Circle in the Square. She has also worked in film – In France Michelle is a Man’s Name (Grand Jury Prize at Outfest, 2020, Slamdance, 2021.) Rachel received her MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama. @rshuey

CAST

FRANCISCO ARCILA

Francisco Arcila is a NY-based artist born to Colombian immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego where he double majored in Theater and Economics. Francisco has a love for performing in new plays as well as classics. Recent credits include: The Duchess of Malfi (Stag and Lion Theatre Co.) and Stories Will Not Mend This Broken World (Brick Aux). He is a member of The Mercury Store acting company, a founding member of Oakland Theater Project (formerly Ubuntu Theater Project), and a proud member of WrenchWorks. Francisco also plays guitar and once worked at a bicycle store in Bogotá. @cisco_kyd

NEFESH CORDERO

Nefesh Cordero Pino, a native of Puerto Rico, is an accomplished artist. She attended the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, where she double majored in Theater and Public Relations. She further pursued her passion for acting by obtaining an M.F.A from the prestigious Yale School of Drama (David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University). Nefesh is deeply immersed in art, dance, collaborative projects, and poetry. Notably, she made a guest appearance in the final season of NBC’s New Amsterdam. Her diverse repertoire includes outstanding performances in productions such as Manning by Benjamin Benn, You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz, Blood Wedding, Bakkhai, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Maids, and Hand to God.

JESSE B. KOEHLER

Jesse B Koehler is a New York City based actor, playwright, and ensemble collaborator from Santa Fe, NM. He has a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, and has trained abroad at The Moscow Art Theatre School, and The British American Drama Academy. NYC performing credits include La MaMa ETC, Dixon Place, New Ohio Theatre, The Collapsable Hole, Target Margin,Theater in Asylum, and Hook & Eye Theater Company. He has been a member of the Mercury Store Acting Company since its genesis in Fall 2021. His original plays have been produced at SoHo Playhouse and the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Some of Jesse’s particular theatrical joys are stories that play within magical realism, and an ensemble driven devising process. Jessebkoehler.com @jb_koehler

JOHN EVANS REESE

John is so grateful to be a part of this company of artists. Off-Broadway:  A Taste of Honey (Pearl Theatre Company, directed by Austin Pendleton); Way to Heaven (Repertorio Español, NYTimes Critics’ Pick). Regional: Inspector (Yale Rep); Lord of the Flies (Barrington Stage Company); An Inspector Calls (Pioneer Theatre Company); This is Our Youth (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre); The History Boys (Palm Beach Dramaworks); Shakespeare’s R&J (Cygnet Theatre); The Way of the World (Franklin Stage). Select YSD credits: Cock (Yale Cabaret); In His Hands; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot; Shoot Her, Shooter; shakespeare’s as u like it. John voices all characters in the new cartoon Nepo Babies. He is the recipient of the Oliver Thorndike Acting Prize and a Jerome L. Greene Fellow at Yale. John is a proud member of the Actors Center Company. Training: YSD, UNCSA. @johnevansreese

CREATIVE TEAM

Playwright and Director: Manuel Ortiz

Associate Director, Creative Producer: Rachel Shuey

Associate Producer: Viktorija Mickute

Assistant Director: Adriana Lea Plaza

Lighting Designer, Technical Director: Miguel Valderrama

Associate Lighting Designer, Associate Technical Director: Hesler Garcia

Set, Sound & Projections Designer: Attilio Rigotti

Costume Designer & Visual Art: Paco May

Original Music Composition: Deby Kaufman

Assistant Stage Manager, Production Assistant: Antonino Giordano