Written by Andrea Thome
Directed by José Zayas
Music by Sinuhé Padilla

October 22 and October 23, 2021
St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn, New York
(157 Montague St, Brooklyn, NY 11201)

FANDANGO FOR BUTTERFLIES (AND COYOTES) IS RETURNING to New York for 2 NIGHTS ONLY!!

ABOUT THE SHOW

The show opened in New York in February, 2020 and was shut down in the midst of our five borough tour due to the pandemic.

Before arriving in Brooklyn, which was one of the boroughs where the performance couldn’t happen due to the lockdowns, the performance was on tour, stopping at The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State (09/30) and in The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at UMD (10/7 and 10/8).

Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) written by Andrea Thome — 2021 Winner of The New York Community Trust’s Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting — was inspired by interviews with undocumented immigrants from Latin America living in New York. The piece takes the form of a fandango, a community celebration where stories are brought to life through live performance, music, and dance.

On the eve of city-wide ICE raids, a group of immigrants gather in an undisclosed community center in NYC for a fandango. As fear encroaches — fear for family left behind in their home countries, fear for loved ones in the middle of their dangerous journey to New York, fear of leaving the sanctuary of the community center simply just to get a bag of ice — a sense of camaraderie builds between the participants. Strangers become friends, friends become family, and the fandango plays on.

Creative Team

CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

Andrea Thome (she/ her) (playwright Documentary Play) is a Chilean/Costa Rican-American playwright whose work navigates multiple languages and landscapes, often experimenting with the nature of theatrical collaboration. Recent works include the theatrical installation A Dozen Dreams (also commissioned by En Garde Arts), Pinkolandia (INTAR, Two River Theater, Salvage Vanguard, 16th Street Theater; translated into Russian), a modern ‘translation’ of Cymbeline (Play On!/Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Troy (created with the Public Theater’s ACTivate Ensemble) and others. Plays in development include Purgatorio Wonderland and an untitled EST/Sloan commission about an astronomer from Muslim Spain. Andrea’s translations of Latin American plays include Guillermo Calderón’s Neva (Public Theater, CTG, La Jolla Playhouse) and Rodrigo García’s You Should Have Stayed Home, Morons (CTG/Radar LA). Thome co-directs the Latina satire collective fulana (www.fulana.org), directs the Lark’s Mexico-U.S. Playwright Exchange Program, and teaches at SUNY Purchase. Awards and residencies include: Helen Merrill Award (2021), Art Equity Persephone Grant (2020), MacDowell (Thornton Wilder Fellow), Blue Mountain Center, SPACE on Ryder Farm, and New Dramatists

Cast

Jen Anaya, Danny Ray Caraballo, Silvia Dionicio, Efrén Olson-Sánchez, Frances Ines Rodriguez, and Roberto Tolentino.

Jen Anaya (Mariposa) (they/them) is a theater/music/art/ritual space maker, doula and energy healer from the desert of Yavapaiv Apache, Cocopah and O’odham land. They have performed in/created for rock bands, web series, art installations, plays, operas, dance theater, films, solo shows, healing rituals and musicals all over NYC, Turtle Island and beyond. A proud child of immigrants, Jen is honored to be part of this important and beautiful piece. Love and gratitude to the team and my soul family. More at jenanaya.com
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Danny Ray Caraballo (Elvin) is proud and excited to join this beautiful fandango to tell these stories! He is a Latinx Cleveland, OH born performer now based out of Brooklyn, NY. He owes and thanks both of his parents for every one of his blessings in life. National/TV credits include: Figgy in Bettor Days (ESPN+), Ritchie Valens in Buddy! The Buddy Holly Musical (US Tour), Night Ninja in PJ Masks Save The Day! (US Tour). Regional credits include: In The Heights, Newsies, Huck and Holden, Chicago, Hello Dolly. Drop a follow on IG @DannyRCaraballo
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Silvia Dionicio (Rafaela) is making her 2nd appearance on an Equity Off Broadway show and she’s beyond honored to bring to life Rafaela’s Story. In 2016 the Dominican government granted her a unique  scholarship to study acting in New York. Ever since she’s performed all around the city, including the Off-Broadway shows: The Last Jew of Boyle Heights (Actor’s Temple), and Black Panther Women (NYTW), among others. Additionally, Dionicio is quickly making a name for herself on Film/TV: Legacy (Sundance), New Amsterdam (NBC), Wu-Tang (HULU), Grave’s Mysteries (ID), & In Pursuit (TLC). 
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Efrén Olson-Sánchez (Rogelio) is a Mexican Physical Actor who has brought his craft to different places like México, Cuba, Canada, Venezuela, United States, England, Colombia, Ecuador and Spain. He graduated from LACC Theatre Academy. He has trained in several physical/dance techniques such as Aerial Dance, Contact Improv, Tap, Pantomime, Contemporary Dance, Ballet, Jazz, Viewpoints, Suzuki, Biomechanics, Devising, Butoh Dance, Cyr Wheel, Trapeze, Vertical Dance -Wall Harness-, Fabric/Sling/Cocoon, Aereal Yoga, Clowning, Animal Flow, Lecoq among others.
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Silvia Dionicio (Rafaela) is making her 2nd appearance on an Equity Off Broadway show and she’s beyond honored to bring to life Rafaela’s Story. In 2016 the Dominican government granted her a unique  scholarship to study acting in New York. Ever since she’s performed all around the city, including the Off-Broadway shows: The Last Jew of Boyle Heights (Actor’s Temple), and Black Panther Women (NYTW), among others. Additionally, Dionicio is quickly making a name for herself on Film/TV: Legacy (Sundance), New Amsterdam (NBC), Wu-Tang (HULU), Grave’s Mysteries (ID), & In Pursuit (TLC). 
Back to Cast.

Efrén Olson-Sánchez (Rogelio) is a Mexican Physical Actor who has brought his craft to different places like México, Cuba, Canada, Venezuela, United States, England, Colombia, Ecuador and Spain. He graduated from LACC Theatre Academy. He has trained in several physical/dance techniques such as Aerial Dance, Contact Improv, Tap, Pantomime, Contemporary Dance, Ballet, Jazz, Viewpoints, Suzuki, Biomechanics, Devising, Butoh Dance, Cyr Wheel, Trapeze, Vertical Dance -Wall Harness-, Fabric/Sling/Cocoon, Aereal Yoga, Clowning, Animal Flow, Lecoq among others.
Back to Cast.

Silvia Dionicio (Rafaela) is making her 2nd appearance on an Equity Off Broadway show and she’s beyond honored to bring to life Rafaela’s Story. In 2016 the Dominican government granted her a unique  scholarship to study acting in New York. Ever since she’s performed all around the city, including the Off-Broadway shows: The Last Jew of Boyle Heights (Actor’s Temple), and Black Panther Women (NYTW), among others. Additionally, Dionicio is quickly making a name for herself on Film/TV: Legacy (Sundance), New Amsterdam (NBC), Wu-Tang (HULU), Grave’s Mysteries (ID), & In Pursuit (TLC). 
Back to Cast.

Efrén Olson-Sánchez (Rogelio) is a Mexican Physical Actor who has brought his craft to different places like México, Cuba, Canada, Venezuela, United States, England, Colombia, Ecuador and Spain. He graduated from LACC Theatre Academy. He has trained in several physical/dance techniques such as Aerial Dance, Contact Improv, Tap, Pantomime, Contemporary Dance, Ballet, Jazz, Viewpoints, Suzuki, Biomechanics, Devising, Butoh Dance, Cyr Wheel, Trapeze, Vertical Dance -Wall Harness-, Fabric/Sling/Cocoon, Aereal Yoga, Clowning, Animal Flow, Lecoq among others.
Back to Cast.

Silvia Dionicio (Rafaela) is making her 2nd appearance on an Equity Off Broadway show and she’s beyond honored to bring to life Rafaela’s Story. In 2016 the Dominican government granted her a unique  scholarship to study acting in New York. Ever since she’s performed all around the city, including the Off-Broadway shows: The Last Jew of Boyle Heights (Actor’s Temple), and Black Panther Women (NYTW), among others. Additionally, Dionicio is quickly making a name for herself on Film/TV: Legacy (Sundance), New Amsterdam (NBC), Wu-Tang (HULU), Grave’s Mysteries (ID), & In Pursuit (TLC). 
Back to Cast.

Efrén Olson-Sánchez (Rogelio) is a Mexican Physical Actor who has brought his craft to different places like México, Cuba, Canada, Venezuela, United States, England, Colombia, Ecuador and Spain. He graduated from LACC Theatre Academy. He has trained in several physical/dance techniques such as Aerial Dance, Contact Improv, Tap, Pantomime, Contemporary Dance, Ballet, Jazz, Viewpoints, Suzuki, Biomechanics, Devising, Butoh Dance, Cyr Wheel, Trapeze, Vertical Dance -Wall Harness-, Fabric/Sling/Cocoon, Aereal Yoga, Clowning, Animal Flow, Lecoq among others.
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Frances Ines Rodriguez (Pili) is a proud Latinx/Filipinx actor, musician, production stage manager, lights and sound engineer, performing in their debut role, after spending over 15 years behind the scenes. Frances Ines has stage managed at Williamstown Theatre Festival and Ars Nova, and frequently works at burlesque and drag venues all over Manhattan and Brooklyn. A graduate of Florida State University, Frances Ines grew up in a three language immigrant household and is proudly fluent in Spanglish-Bisayan, proficient in numerous instruments, and comfortable on stage thanks to years of calling the theatre home. They are a student of Meisner at the Matthew Corozine Studio. Look out for their debut album, Franky and the MoMos.
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Roberto Tolentino (Johan) is an actor living in New York City. He continues to investigate how theater can be an instrument of positive change in both individuals and society and is so happy to be a part of a production that attempts to do just that. Roberto is a proud graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he completed a B.S. in Biology and. B.F.A in Acting. He recently graduated from Columbia University and is eager for what’s ahead.
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Musicians