NORA MONTAÑEZ PATTERSON AND ADLYN CARRERAS, TWO LATINA THEATER DIRECTORS TO OPEN PRODUCTIONS WITHIN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minneapolis, MN (Feb. 2023) Local theater artists and longtime colleagues, Nora Montañez Patterson and Adlyn Carreras continue to transition their work from acting to the director’s chair at Exposed Brick Theatre and Daleko Arts respectively. These Latina directors will open their shows just weeks from one another. Montañez Patterson, Casting and Producing Associate at the Playwrights’ Center, is currently directing Code You, a commissioned play by Exposed Brick Theatre in 2020 as part of the Through Our Eyes project, where eight artists were commissioned to write about the pandemic from their personal experience. Montañez Patterson was one of those 8 artists and the playwright of Code You (running February 10–26, 2023) at Dreamland Arts, St. Paul, MN. Carreras, a faculty member of Augsburg University and Office Manager and Ensemble Member of Pangea World Theater, will be opening Native Gardens on February 10th and runs until February 26th. Long time members of the Twin Cities theater community, both women reflected on their current turns as theater makers: “I was drawn to direct Native Gardens because of the nuanced way it presents us with the things we grapple with in this country and in our society. The assumptions, stereotypes, and misunderstandings that prevent us from really seeing each other and our common humanity,” – Adlyn Carreras. “I wrote Code You as a dark comedy, as a way of processing the emotional shock of the pandemic. The only way to delve into the psychology of one person grappling with how to make sense of it all is through humor. Directing Code You ended up being a gift. It is the bow to my healing.” – Nora Montañez Patterson *Tickets and more information on both productions can be found below.

Exposed Brick Theatre presents Code You Written and Directed by Nora Montañez Patterson Featuring Ankita Ashrit, Julia Diaz, Johanna Keller Flores, José Sabillón & Emmanuel L. Woods Stage Managed by Mayra Gurrola Calderón, Production Intern Isabella Freeland Intimacy Direction by Shae Palic, Lighting Design by Mitchell Frazier, Sound & Projection Design by Peter Morrow Set during the height of the pandemic, a disheveled Marlen returns to her apartment to find herself isolated and disoriented. When three friends who have never heard of Covid arrive and organize an impromptu house party, Marlen finds herself teetering between reality and illusion. Parallel worlds unfold as she struggles to find her way back to normalcy. DATES Thursday 2/16 Performance 7:30 pm Friday 2/17 Performance 7:30 pm Saturday 2/18 Performance 7:30 pm Sunday 2/19 Performance 2:00 pm* *indicates dates where our free community ticket option is available. Wednesday 2/22 Performance 7:30 pm* Thursday 2/23 Performance 7:30 pm Friday 2/24 Performance 7:30 pm Saturday 2/25 Performance 7:30 pm General tickets are $22 Discounted tickets for students, seniors, or those in Latine community are $15 On Sunday 2/19 and Wednesday 2/22, there is also a free community ticket option. You can reserve tickets here: https://dreamlandarts.com/code-you/

NATIVE GARDENS Feb 10 - 26, 2023 by Karen Zacarías Directed by Adlyn Carreras sponsored by Mayo Clinic Health System in New Prague You can’t choose your neighbors. In this brilliant new comedy, cultures and gardens clash, turning well-intentioned neighbors into feuding enemies. Pablo — a rising attorney — and doctoral candidate, Tania — his very pregnant wife — have just purchased a home next to Frank and Virginia, a well-established D.C. couple with a prize-worthy English garden. But an impending barbeque for Pablo’s colleagues and a delicate disagreement over a long-standing fence line soon spirals into an all-out border dispute, exposing both couples’ notions of race, taste, class and privilege. Performance times: Fri - Sat @ 7:30p | Sun @ 2:00p Daleko recommends this production for ages 16 and up.