Major Projects
JUNE 2023: [cod] ]catfish[
[cod] ]catfish[ is an enigmatic web browser experience culminating in a live theatrical performance. Immediately after tickets are purchased, audience members are sent an ominous link via email. What is unveiled is a psychological online world comprised of video game message boards, chat logs rife with conflict, pre-recorded Zoom meetings, and personalized webpages built by various internet denizens. Audience members quickly learn that every online persona is secretly a “catfish” assuming a fake identity. The journey of the [cod] ]catfish[ is uncovering the true identities of the catfishers, why they’re in hiding, and the emotional fallout that ensues after revealing themselves. As a work of both digital media and theatre, the audience is led to attend a live theatrical performance where the catfishers meet each other in person for the first time.
Project Journals:
APRIL 2019: SPANISH FOR ESTRANGED LATIN KIDS
(UNA EXPERIENCIA CULTURAL PARA RECORDAR NUESTRAS RAICES CON DESTINY Y PANCHO)
You are cordially invited to our special seminar: Spanish For Estranged Latin Kids. Destiny y Pancho are very excited to present their culture to you, as they’re highly qualified cultural mavens who know what they’re talking about. This seminar on Spanish For Estranged Latin Kids promises to be a harmless experience devoid of any difficult questions about Who We Are and Where We Come From.
”Lxs Primxs expertly crafts Latin Kids for a particular audience—folks who can discern deeper humor from the Spanglish, who can relate to third culture kid narratives, and especially those who can muster empathy for young adults coming into their own. Like an all-consuming first love, this debut performance holds space for the makers’ imagined futures blooming from their inherited pasts.” -Mira Treatman, thINKingDANCE
Directed by Cat Ramirez
Written and performed by Mariadela Belle Alvarez & Carl(os) Roa
Choreography by Mariadela Belle Alvarez
Stage Management by Arthur Robinson
Produced by Lxs Primxs
Premiered at Circle of Hope
Photos by Natasha Cohen-Carroll
Photos by Talia Mason & Irina Varina
SEPTEMBER 2017: Andean Mountains
Andean Mountains (Montañas Andinas) is a digital journey through the mountains. Above all, it is a piece about personal geography: the way we relate to our place of origin versus where we’ve relocated. Featuring a performance by a juicy Colombian bear, the piece is both a Google Street View tour as well as an exploration of culture loss.
”As the saying goes, in the particular lies the universal. Roa offers an engaging voice, and it’s one that shows promise. The Fringe is all about experimentation. It’s a place where the new can let loose and let fly, and in that context, Roa’s piece offers an in-depth look at this new(ish) contributor to Philly’s performance landscape.” -Wendy Rosenfield, Broad Street Review
Written/Performed by Carl(os) Roa
Directed by José Avilés
Movement by Elyas Harris
Production Design by Logan Cryer
Stage Management by Gray Rogers
Engagement/House Management by Cat Ramirez
Part of 2017 Neighborhood Fringe Festival
Developed at FringeArts’ Camp Fringe Program, SoLow Fest, and the Headlong Performance Institute
Premiered at Taller Puertorriqueño
OCTOBER 2015: from beneath, it lurks
Journey with a rag tag team of storytellers as they scale mountains of madness and monstrosity to bring to life stories inspired by the unholy creations of H.P. Lovecraft which put the audience right in the very evil that unearths the limits of the human soul.
”This inventively produced low-budget silliness playfully mocks modern gore by featuring only some mildly gross blood-spitting and a scene of messy mutilation with, of all things, cottage cheese. Yuck. And hilarious. And yuck.” -Mark Cofta, Broad Street Review
Written by Carl(os) Roa
Directed by Adrienne Mackey & Bradley Wrenn
Featuring Felicia Batten, Matt Demetrides, Steve Gross, Corey Fedorwich, Stevie Matthews, Kaitlyn Reid, Abby Wolanin
Stage Management by Charlie Fraser, Steph Smith, and Erynn Carr
Produced by Co-op Theatre Company
Premiered at URBN Annex Black Box
Photos by Cerrone Photography
