[NoHo Arts District, CA] – CASA 0101 Theater will present the world premiere of STAND IN THE LIGHT, A Solo Show Festival consisting of 15 plays, starring 14 actors, helmed by seven directors, from August 21 – September 13.
About STAND IN THE LIGHT
“STAND IN THE LIGHT, A Solo Show Festival will be a celebration of Latino actors and their stories demonstrating their range of cultural experiences in the United States, getting beyond the stereotyped and usual tropes to reveal the humanity of Latinos today,” said Josefina López, festival creator, co-producer, playwright and founding artistic director of CASA 0101. “ I’ve devised the festival to be culturally diverse, to be presented over the course of four weeks in rotation in four separate programs.”
Corky Dominguez, co-producer and a director of the festival said: “Our Festival will include four different programs including a Program in Spanish entitled, Aqui Estamos y No Nos Vamos/Here We Are and We Won’t Leave, an LGBTQ Program entitled, Brown & Out & Fabulous!; a stand alone full-length play, OMG, I Married A Narcissist!; and a program entitled, Latinos-R-Us.”
“Theater’s purpose is to deliver a message,” said Emmanuel Deleage, executive director of CASA 0101 Theater and festival producer. “The beauty of this festival is there are 15 unique and important messages over four different programs. With STAND IN THE LIGHT, CASA 0101 is fulfilling its mission of nurturing the future storytellers of Los Angeles who will someday transform the world. We welcome our audiences to experience all four of the programs of this unique festival.”
The performance schedule for STAND IN THE LIGHT: A Solo Show Festival is as follows:
PROGRAM A (Spanish): Aquí Estamos Y No Nos Vamos (Here We Are and We Won’t Leave)
El Lava Platos (El Dishwasher)
Written & Performed by Rogelio Nieto, Directed by Joaquin Palafox
Un dishwasher mexicano intenta escapar de un pasado violento hasta que el pasado vuelve a cobrarle por sus pecados.
A Mexican dishwasher tries to escape a violent past until the past comes back to collect on his sins.
Rated: 16+
Empty Eggshells (Cascarones Vacios)
Written & Performed by Andrea Ramirez-Martinez, Directed by Vilma Villela
Una emprendedora milenial al borde del divorcio y el final de su etapa fértil, tendrá que escoger entre su carrera, mantener su dignidad o la maternidad.
A millennial Latina entrepreneur at the brink of divorce and the end of her fertility window must choose her career, self worth and motherhood.
Rated: 13+
¡Madre Mia! (My Good Grief!)
Written & Performed by Deborah Cortez, Directed by Vilma Villela
Una madre latina inmigrante, sumida en el duelo, quiere sentir la pérdida de su hijo sin complejos y sin el juicio de la sociedad. Quiere que se le acepte en su dolor. A medida que afronta su pérdida, se vuelve muy dura consigo misma, pensando que ella fue la causante de la muerte de su hijo.
A grieving immigrant Latina mother wants to feel the loss of her son unapologetically without society’s judgement. She wants to be accepted in her pain. As she navigates her loss, she becomes hard on herself, thinking she caused her child’s death.
Rated: 16+
El Brillo de Mis Ojos (The Spark of My Eyes) *Performed Only on August 21, 22, 23
Written & Performed by Luciana Di Laura, Directed by Rogelio Nieto
Una jugadora de tenis, encuentra el coraje para seguir sus sueños a través del deporte.
A Latina tennis player discovers the courage to pursue her dreams through sports.
Rated: All Ages
¡Venimos Aquí a Trabajar! (We Came Here to Work!) *Performed Only on August 21, 22, 23
Performed by Miriam Peniche, Written by Josefina Lopez, Directed by April Ibarra
Una vendedora ambulante que vende elotes cocidos relata su historia de ser arrestada y el valor que tomó para defender sus derechos.
A street vendor who sells corn on the cob recounts her story of being arrested and the courage it took to stand up for her rights.
Rated: 10+
Pelotas (Big Balls) *Performed only on September 5 & 6
Written & Performed by Mariana Montes, Directed by Carmelita Maldonado
Una mujer mexicana revive las experiencias que la llevaron a odiar su cuerpo. Entre humor y dolor, confronta el bullying, la vergüenza y los mensajes de una sociedad obsesionada con la apariencia para descubrir el poder de aceptarse a sí misma.
A Mexican woman revisits the experiences that taught her to hate her body. Blending humor and heartbreak, she confronts bullying, shame, and the beauty standards of the 1990s in a journey toward self-acceptance.
Rated: 13+
PROGRAM B (LGBTQ): Brown & Out & Fabulous!
Vistiendo Santos (Dressing Saints)
Written & Performed by Jesus Yanez, Directed by Corky Dominguez
A gay Latino clothes whore from East L.A. taking care of his sick mother confronts the reasons he has shut himself away from the world and realizes why clothing and dresses inspire him to be his authentic self.
Rating: 16+
Uninvited
Written & Performed by Eugene Antonio Negrete, Directed by Corky Dominguez
On the eve of Alejandro’s 28th birthday, his boyfriend invites Alejandro’s parents, who do not approve of him being gay, to his birthday party. Through recollections of his upbringing and confrontations with himself, Alejandro must face his fear of truly feeling himself even in the presence of his parents.
Rating: 16+
Committed
Written by Claudia Duran, Performed by Gabriela Pedraza, Directed by Corky Dominguez
Based on true events. Haunted by demons from her past, mental health, and sexuality, Carmen struggles to carve a new path for her family. As she approaches 30, Carmen must accept herself to create a new definition of modern-day motherhood.
Rating: 13+
Re-Born Again
Written by Abel Alvarado. Performed by Julian Armaya,
Directed by Corky Dominguez
After several brushes with death, a gay Latino man realizes the many times he has been Re-born Again.
Rating: 15+
PROGRAM C: OMG, I Married A Narcissist!
OMG, I Married A Narcissist!
Written & Performed by Yelba Zoe McCourt, Directed by April Ibarra
When a Catholic annulment compels a Latina nurse to reconnect with the charismatic Hollywood actor she once married—a chapter of her life she thought she left behind—she tumbles back into a whirlwind of movie premieres, celebrity encounters, magical signs, and enough red flags to wallpaper Manhattan.
Overall Rating: 16+ for Adult Themes, Language, and Content.
PROGRAM D: Latinos-R-Us
Faking It
Written & Performed by Miriam Peniche, Directed by April Ibarra
After losing both her parents and giving her father the ultimate gift — a kidney — a sharp-witted Latina explores why she feels she has to pretend she has her life together.
Rating: Ages 10+ Mild Adult Language
Hollywood Cholo
Written by Josefina Lopez, Performed by Alejandro
Bravo, Directed by Carmelita Maldonado
An actor who only gets cast as Cholos on TV and Hollywood films has to go to therapy to deal with his PTSD after he got shot in the ass by an LAPD officer who mistook him for a real cholo who is wanted by the police.
Rating: 13+ Language and Content
Confessions of A Sexy Latina Exorcist
Written by Josefina Lopez, Performed by Christiana Leucas, Directed by April Ibarra
A sexy Latina who helps people with paranormal problems and has a passion for vanishing demons hates dating but is afraid of ending up alone.
Rating: 16+ for Adult Content
Latino Licious L.A.
Written & Performed by Tomas Avila Carrasco, Directed by Kinan Valdez
From the mind of Professor Dr.Tomas Avila Carrasco, who will present a lecture on Chile Studies, comes Aztlan’s Most Dangerous Chicanos – Saddam Jose and Dr. Dennis Sabelevo Todo.
Special Evening – “Art Is Resistance”
Saturday, August 29, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.: There will be no Festival Plays presented on Saturday, August 29th. However at 8:00 p.m. on August 29th, there will be a Special Evening entitled “Art Is Resistance” with La Artivistas and others, to be presented in observance of 54th Anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium Day and the 2nd Anniversary of Gloria Molina Day in Los Angeles, which is not part of the Solo Play Festival. For more info, please email: LAArtivistas@gmail.com
The Team
The World Premiere production team for STAND IN THE LIGHT: A Solo Show Festival includes: Josefina López (of Silver Lake, CA) Festival Creator, Co-Producer, Playwright and Founding Artistic Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake, CA) Executive Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Corky Dominguez (of Boyle Heights) Festival Co-Producer and Director; April Ibarra (of Mt. Washington, CA) Director; Carmelita Maldonado (of El Sereno, CA) Director; Vilma Villela (of Panorama City, CA) Director; Joaquin Palafox (of Los Angeles, CA); Kinan Valdez (of San Juan Bautista, CA) Director; Andrea Ramirez-Martinez (of East Hollywood, CA) Actress and Playwright; Deborah Cortez (of Hollywood, CA) Actress and Playwright; Eugene Antonio Negrete (of East Los Angeles, CA) Actor and Playwright; Jesus Yanez (of East Los Angeles, CA) Actor and Playwright; Mariana Montes Sandoval (of Whittier, CA) Actress and Playwright; Miriam Peniche (of Culver City, CA) Actress and Playwright; Rogelio Hernandez Nieto (of North Hollywood, CA) Actor, Playwright and Director; Tomas Carrasco (of Oxnard, CA) Actor and Playwright; Yelba Zoe McCourt (of Chatsworth, CA) Actress and Playwright; Luciana Di Laura (of North Hollywood, CA) Actress and Playwright; Christiana Leucas (of Hollywood, CA) Actress; Gabriela Pedraza (of Burbank, CA) Actress; Alejandro Bravo (of Culver City, CA) Actor; Julian Armaya (of West Hollywood, CA) Actor; Abel Alvarado (of Silver Lake, CA) Playwright; Claudia Duran (of Highland Park, CA) Playwright; Rigo Tejeda (of Whittier, CA) Stage Manager; Jimena Jimenez-Barrera (of Boyle Heights ) Assistant Stage Manager; Alejandro Parra (of Burbank, CA) Lighting Designer; Miguel Angel Delgado (of South Gate, CA) Production Designer and CASA 0101 Theater Technical Director; Mark Kraus (of Los Angeles, CA), CASA 0101 Theater Development Director; Itzel Ocampo (of Alhambra, CA) Graphic Art Designer and CASA 0101 Theater Marketing and Operations Manager; Karla Melendez (of East Los Angeles, CA) CASA 0101 Theater Program Administrator; Gabriela López de Dennis, Soap Studio Inc. (of Los Angeles, CA) Program; Oscar Basulto (of the Boyle Heights) Box Office Manager; Al Aguilar (of Los Angeles) Foyer Designer and Production Assistant; Rudy Torres (of Los Angeles, CA) Production Photographer and Steve Moyer Public Relations (of Los Angeles, CA), Press Representative.