CASA 0101 Theater presents the world premiere of Favorite Cousins, a modern-day drama set in Santa Monica, CA, written by Lindsey Haley, directed by Vilma Villela, and running April 28 – May 21 at the newly dedicated Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater.

Lindsey Haley, the playwright and creator of Favorite Cousins, said: “I wanted to explore the effect of gang violence from the perspective of two mothers struggling through the loss of their sons, one who has died and another serving a life sentence. Exposed is the cottage industry that relies on the incarceration of brown and black people.”

Favorite Cousins is the story of two estranged cousins, upwardly mobile Frances, and Gloria, a Chicana activist, who are forced to come together after their grandmother’s death. With one of their sons dead and the other serving a life sentence in prison, these middle-aged women must sort through a lifetime of memories in order to repair a relationship torn by gang violence. Set in Santa Monica, CA, the play also explores the undergoing gentrification that threatens to uproot Chicano families from a place they called home for generations.

Vilma Villela, director of the production explains why this play is important to her. “Tell me what Chicana doesn’t struggle with having a double consciousness, especially one growing up in the barrio streets of Santa Monica, where, if you’re Brown, then your population is cruelly culled at the hands of other Latinos or police, ushering you into the Prison Factory. Favorite Cousins gives us a snapshot of what it’s like for Chicanas to wrestle and/or embrace both Mexican and American identities. For Gloria, the antagonist, after being faced with the loss of her son, she finds solace in her Santa Monica community that has been a part of her family for generations. For Frances, the protagonist, who is unable to find solace for the loss of her son, she is too lulled by the American dream, making her look down on her Mexican culture.

“I instantly connected with these cousins because I grew up in a similar L.A. barrio. With the help of my own immigrant family, I dodged teen pregnancy, drugs, and the chola life. I found my axis of opportunities ‘that were afforded to me on the backs of so many Chicano and Chicana activists,’ as Gloria reminds Frances, and found a pathway towards higher education. Similar to this story, I witnessed how gentrification priced out my family and changed the landscape of the neighborhood I grew up in, making me a stranger to my own land.”

The Cast

Under the direction of Vilma Villela (of Panorama City), the new play stars

Vanessa Arias-Herrera (of Los Angeles) as Frances, Raquel Salinas (of Boyle Heights) as Gloria, Tina D’Marco (of Alhambra) as Comadre Josephine, Johnny Ortiz (of Highland Park) as Junior, Scott Golden (of Koreatown) as Tim (The Developer) and Daniel Ruiz (Highland Park) as Understudy for Junior.

The Team

The production team for the world premiere production of Favorite Cousins includes: Josefina López (of Silver Lake), Founding Artistic Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake), Executive Director, CASA 0101 Theater, Show Producer; Edward Padilla (of Boyle Heights) Casting Director; Lindsey Haley (of Santa Monica) Playwright and Creator; Vilma Villela (of Panorama City) Director; Marco DeLeon (of Los Angeles) Set Designer; Kevin Eduardo Vasquez (of Van Nuys) Lighting Designer; Doreen Sanchez (of Highland Park) Props Master; Daniel Ortega Corona (of Huntington Park) Stage Manager; Lindsey Haley andVilma Villella, Costume Coordination; Max Brother (of MacArthur Park) CASA 0101 Theater Technical Director and Sound Designer; Mark Kraus (of Los Angeles), CASA 0101 Theater Development Director and Webmaster; Itzel Ocampo (of Alhambra) CASA 0101 Theater Office Administrator and Graphic Designer; Rosa Navarrete (of El Sereno) Social Media; LeeAnna “Sparky” Bowman-Carpio (of Los Angeles) Production Photographer and Steve Moyer Public Relations (of Los Angeles), Press Representative.

This production of Favorite Cousins is also made possible, in part, through The California Endowment. CASA 0101 Theater sponsors: Los Angeles County Arts & Culture; Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles; Eastside Arts Initiative, Perenchino Foundation and The Herb Albert Foundation.

Free Parking is available on several streets surrounding the theatre. Free Parking is also available on Fridays and Saturdays only at the Boyle Heights City Hall Parking Lot located at 2130 East First Street (at Chicago Street) by entering the lot from Chicago Street; the lot is closed on Sundays.

Concurrently with the run of the show there will be an Art Exhibit in the Jean Deleage Art Gallery, located in the lobby of CASA 0101 Theater of PAINT by Suzanne Linares. This series of painting are spontaneous, energetic strokes and of drips and splashes. They lay upon the viewer’s mystery with no answers. Admission is FREE. Exhibit Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and prior to performances of Favorite Cousins.

About the Genesis of Favorite Cousins:

Favorite Cousins was created by Lindsey Haley in 2010 as a 30-minute play commission through Girl Planet at TeAda Productions when it was presented as a Staged Reading at the Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica, CA. In March 2013 the 30-minute play, Favorite Cousins, directed by Vilma Villela, was presented as part of the inaugural season of a Short Play Festival created by Josefina López at CASA 0101 Theater called, Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme. In April 2016, Favorite Cousins was presented as a 10-minute play at the Infringe Festival in New Orleans. And now, in April 2023, the World Premiere of Favorite Cousins, is a full realized full length play which will be presented at CASA 0101 Theater.

About the Playwright/Creator:

Lindsey Haley is an eighth grade dropout, GED recipient, teenage mom, former farm worker, community activist and Homegirl hailing from the Westside of Los Angeles. Born in El Paso, Texas. her family relocated to Venice, CA when she was nine-years-old. At the age of 14 she ran away to the Central Valley with the low-rider next door. After settling in Fresno, CA where she made her living as a farm worker, they had a son and daughter. She returned to live in Venice, CA 10 years later where she became a community activist and writer.

As a community activist her focus is on gang intervention, education and health issues relating to the Westside Latino community. Her poetry, short stories and journalism is centered on Chicano/Latino arts and culture and has been published over the course of 40 years. She worked as the Entertainment Editor for East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights Belvedere Citizen/Eastside Journal, and freelance writer for the LA Weekly, Lowrider Magazine and La Opinión. Her poetry was published in La Vida En L.A. Urban Latino Cultures (Sage Publications) and Saber Es Poder (Adobe Press).

As a company performance artist with TeAda Productions she developed and performed Venice Black & Brown, a solo show that has been performed at Highways, Santa Monica College’s Latina Youth Conference, Homegirl Café and twice at the Los Angeles Women’s Theater Festival. While at TeAda Productions she was awarded a commission through their Girl Planet program that helped women write their first short plays. It was through this commission that Favorite Cousins was written in 2010. Produced by TeAda Productions, the short play received a staged reading at the Miles Playhouse in Santa Monica, CA.

As a short play, Favorite Cousins was shared with Josefina López, Artistic Director of CASA 0101 Theater. The play helped lead the way for Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme, a short play festival that celebrated its 11th Season this year at Boyle Height’s CASA 0101 Theater where Haley remains as one of the festivals playwrights and producers.

She also produced, Mi Casa Es Su Casa, a touring production using selected plays from Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme that was staged at the Infringe Festival in New Orleans and UC Santa Cruz. Her second production staged in New Orleans was Ask A Black Woman, a solo show written and performed by Shanara “Mouthpeace” Sanders.

Her short play, El Jardin was presented at Los Angeles Theater Center’s 2017 International Encuentro De Las Americas Festival. She was also selected to be one of the writers for the 2019 Latino Theater Alliance, Los Angeles’ Writer’s Nest Program where she developed, “15,” a full-length play set in Venice, CA. Favorite Cousins is now a full-length play set in Santa Monica, CA and will have its World Premiere in April, 2023 as part of CASA 0101 Theater’s 2022/2023 Season.

About the Director:

From the barrio streets of (Tongva) Los Angeles, Vilma Villela has directed short plays for over a decade at CASA 0101 Theater: Favorite Cousins (2023), Catch One (2021), California Dreamin’(2015), Joaquina Soy Yo (2014), and H Male Seeks H Female (2014); El Teatro Frida Kahlo: Lessons From Doña Juana (2021), The People’s Cookie (2017), and Por Mi Causa Hablará Tu Espiritu (2014); the Main: State File# 93189228 (2021) and Delegate X-43 (2020); and El Teatro Campesino: Palabra Word Festival (2017).

Villela began her directing career in Josefina López’s directing workshop in response to the absence of Latina directors both on screen and on stage. Her passion for directing stems from her playwriting. Her short plays have been showcased in the Frida Kahlo 10-Minute Festival, Casa 0101 Theater’s Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme, Occupy the Heart and P.I.E. Story Theater, and Center Theater Group’s Chisme y Queso and Community Stories. While Vilella writes and directs, she also teaches courses in Chicana/o Studies and English at California State University, Northridge (CSUN).

About the Cast of Favorite Cousins:

Vanessa Arias-Herrera (Frances) Since making her debut at CASA 0101 Theater in 2022’s production of Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme Presents THRIVING!, Arias-Herrera has appeared in several staged readings as well as this year’s 11th season of Chicanas, Cholas y Chisme Presents: The Beat of Their Own Drum, portraying six very distinct characters. As a student attending Pasadena City College, she starred in Puccini’s opera, Suor Angelica, musical theater, Cabaret as Fraulein Schneider), plays, student films, and singing lead with jazz combo bands while also serving behind the scenes as a contributing writer, dramaturg, stage manager, and assistant director across multiple productions. Herrera is a graduate of USC with Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Creative Writing and she is currently considering PhD programs in Theatre Arts.

Raquel Salinas (Gloria) is a cultural artist dedicated to helping our community heal through the arts. She gives voice to those seldom heard through her writing and theater workshops. Raquel has been working as an actor, writer and solo performer with companies such as TeAda Productions, Company of Angels, CASA 0101 Theater, Highways Performance Space and Whitefire Theatre. Salinas was recently seen in “Remembering Boyle Heights II” at CASA 0101 Theater.

Tina D’Marco (Comadre Josephine) was recently seen in an episode of Quantum Leap and on the sitcom, This Fool. She also appeared in the short film, George & Dorothy directed by A.P. Gonzalez, appearing as Dorothy. The film will soon be seen at film festivals.

Johnny Ortiz (Junior) studied acting at CASA 0101 Theater before launching his career as an actor appearing in the films, I Am Nero, McFarland USA, Icebox, Strike One, Possession Diaries and Bel Canto.

Scott Golden (Developer) recently appeared as Bill Phillips in CASA 0101’s Theater’s World Premiere production of Masao and the Bronze Nightingale. His Los Angeles area stage credits include Dinner with Friends and Life x 3 (Coachella Valley Rep), Absolutely Filthy (Sacred Fools Theater Company), The Behavior of Broadus (Burglars of Hamm), Rio Hondo (Theatre of NOTE) and as Matt in Mr. Burns; a post-electric play in which he was nominated for an Ovation Award. Golden produced the critically acclaimed Resa Fantastiskt Mystick and Too Heavy for Your Pocket for Sacred Fools Theater Company in Los Angeles where he is a former Co-Artistic Director. Golden studied theatre at Florida State University.

Daniel Ruiz (Junior Understudy) has been acting for over 20 years and painting murals. As an actor he has appeared with A Gorilla Street Theatre Group, El Teatro de la Realidad and International Community Arts Festival. In the last year he has been modeling in print ads for Chevy, Ford, KILZ, and Fema. He is currently producing new projects with Lone Stars Entertainment.