Onstage Cast
RENÉ MILLÁN
JOSÉ MARÍA HEREDIA
The youngest of five brothers and son of Mexican immigrants, René Millán was first introduced to the world of theatre by his father, who was a former singer for the San Diego Opera. Despite being very shy as a young man, René began his acting career at the age of 17 in his hometown of San Diego, California.
After graduation from The University of San Diego High School, René began studying education and world history at University of Redlands in San Bernardino, California. During his undergraduate years, he began taking voice lessons and participating in university plays, musicals and operas.
Following his studies at University of Redlands, René began graduate school with the esteemed professional actor training program at University of Washington. During his graduate studies, René was introduced to the Suzuki Method of acting. The Suzuki Method immediately struck him as a completely unique method of transforming kinesthetic learning into effective modes of expression. René credits Suzuki Method with helping him find his voice as an actor, finding a sense of fearlessness in front of the camera and on stage and empowering him to overcome his naturally introverted tendencies and connect with the audience to create a powerful experience for both actor and audience.
Since graduating from University of Washington with an MFA, René made his Broadway debut in The Wild Party directed by George C. Wolfe. René spent the next nine years working and living as an actor in New York City, contributing to and acting in various theatre, film and television projects. René founded Millán Studio and began coaching and teaching actors in both group and individual settings in 1999.
After leaving New York City, René spent the next seven years as a well-known member of the acting company at the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. There, he originated the role of Juan José in the world premiere of American Night: The Ballad of Juan José by Richard Montoya and Culture Clash, directed by Jo Bonney. He also played the role of Juan José in productions at La Jolla Playhouse, Kirk Douglas Theater, and Yale Repertory Theatre. René continued teaching with Millán Studio and also as a teaching artist with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland High School and Seattle University.
In 2012, René was awarded the Beinecke Visiting Scholar Fellowship from Yale University. At Yale University, René starred in American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose and taught physical actor training workshops based on the Suzuki Method in Yale’s graduate-level acting program, a program that trained well-known actors such as Meryl Streep, Paul Giamatti, and Lupita Nyong’o. René now lives and teaches in Nashville, Tennessee with his two beautiful children.
Website: http://www.renemillan.com
PAULA RIVERA
JACOBA/MERCED/ISABEL
Mexico City native Paula Rivera has made Toronto her home for over a decade. She first engaged her curiosity in the performing arts through dance – training in Classical Ballet as a child as well as Modern Dance. She was introduced into the world of acting once living in Canada, a world that has felt like home ever since. She has acted for film, television and theatre. She most recently starred in Jerry Ciccoritti's film The Resurrection of Tony Gitone, as well as guest-starring in his television Movies, Holidazed, The Terrorist Next Door and Victor, the Victor Davis Story. Other credits include starring alongside Brent Butt in his sitcom Hiccups as well as guest appearances in popular shows like Flashpoint and Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures. For theatre, she most recently participated with Pro Arte Danza playing Federico Fellini's wife Giulieta Massina in Flying: a Fellini Cabaret, as part of the Soulpepper Cabaret Series, in the world premiere of Carmen Aguirre's The Refugee Hotel and in Judith Thompson's Lion in the Streets. Ms Rivera wrote and performed the One-woman show Every Girl Wants a Skirt Like Frida's, a story that explores in a sweet and sour manner the discoveries of someone immigrating to a new country. The show premiered at The Toronto Fringe Festival to great success and later was turned into a BravoFact short.
Ms Rivera is truly honored to be part of NIÁGARA — A Pan-American Story, to work with Veronica Tennant, Guillermo Verdecchia, René Millán, and the rest of the team in such a beautiful project that marks a special moment for the City of Toronto.
Offstage Cast
BRENT CARVER
VOCALIST
One of Canada’s most versatile performance artists, Tony-Award-winning Brent Carver, is acclaimed for the sensitivity, emotional honesty and charisma he brings to every role, from Shakespeare classics to new Canadian works, and from intimate cabaret performances to blockbuster musicals. In a career spanning over 40 years he has dazzled audiences and critics across Canada, the United States and the UK. Brent most recently mesmerized audiences in GLENN by David Young as the purist, Glenn Gould. His selected stage credits include, in Toronto: Don Carlos (inaugural season, Soulpepper); High Life (Crow’s Theatre); Tartuffe, The Story of My Life, Vigil, Larry’s Party, The Elephant Man (Canadian Stage); And elsewhere: Cyrano de Bergerac, Richard III (The Citadel, Edmonton); Comedians (Arts Club, Vancouver); Man of La Mancha (Neptune Theatre, Halifax); As You Like It, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Elizabeth Rex, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Foxfire, The Pirates of Penzance, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Stratford); My Life with Albertine (Playwrights Horizons, New York); The Tempest (Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles); and on Broadway, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, Parade, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Toronto, London and New York). His celebrated cabaret show, Brent Carver in Concert, sold out at Soulpepper’s 2013 Winter at the Young series and he is a founding artist of Toronto’s Theatre 20. Film and TV appearances include Lilies, The Tale of Teeka, Ararat, The Event, Deeply, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Elizabeth Rex, Young at Heart, Twice in a Lifetime, and The Wars.
Brent Carver’s awards and honours include a Tony Award, Toronto Arts Award, two New York Drama Desk Awards, Theatre World Award (New York), four Dora Mavor Moore Awards, two Genie and four Gemini Awards, ACTRA Toronto Award, Sterling Award (Edmonton), and City of Cranbrook Award. In May 2014, Brent Carver received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts, for his lifetime contribution to Canadian theatre.
Creative Consultants - Cuba
LIZT ALFONSO & JUAN CARLOS COELLO
Artistic Director & Manager of:
Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba
Website: http://www.liztalfonso.com
CARLOS ALBERTO CREMATA MALBERTI ( " TIN " )
Artistic Director of: La Colmenita
Licenciado en Ciencias Pedagógicas (Ucrania) y Licenciado en Dirección Teatral (Universidad de las Artes de La Habana), Director de la Compañía Infantil de Teatro “La Colmenita”, (Embajadora de Buena Voluntad de UNICEF, y Centro de Promoción de Salud Cubano), Diputado a la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular de la República de Cuba, Miembro del Consejo Nacional de la Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba, y Miembro del Comité Internacional Permanente de Atención a la Infancia y la Juventud, asociado a la Organización Mundial de Teatro AITA / IATA. Ha impartido múltiples cursos en países de Europa, Asia y América. Guionista y Director Artístico de la Televisión Cubana. Ha dirigido medio centenar de puestas en escenas de clásicos teatrales para adultos y niños. Ha dirigido decenas de delegaciones artísticas infantiles cubanas a múltiples países de Europa, América, Asia y África.
ROBERTO CHORENS DOTRES
Nacido en La Habana, realizó estudios de piano y de órgano en el Conservatorio “Amadeo Roldán. Cursó la licenciatura en Musicología en el Instituto Superior de Arte de Cuba y es graduado de la Licenciatura en Lengua y Literatura Hispánicas en la Universidad de La Habana. Posee la categoría de Master en Arte, otorgada por la Universidad de las Artes de Cuba.
Ha desempeñado funciones de Director de la Escuela Nacional de Música, Director del Centro Nacional de la Música de Concierto, Decano de la Facultad de Música del Instituto Superior de Arte y Director General de la Filarmónica Nacional y Director del Teatro Lírico Nacional de Cuba, cargo que ocupa actualmente. Es autor de varios textos de estudio sobre temas musicales.
Conduce para la TV cubana un espacio dedicado a la música y la danza. Ha impartido los cursos “Apreciación e Historia del Arte Musical”, “Música y Músicos Cubanos”, y “Cuba: canciones y emociones” en el proyecto televisivo cubano “Universidad para Todos”. Ha recibido varias distinciones en su país, tales como la “Distinción por la Educación Cubana”, Diploma al Mérito Pedagógico, la Distinción por la Cultura Nacional y la Medalla “Alejo Carpentier”.
Su carrera como intérprete del órgano se ha desarrollado en Cuba y en escenarios de Francia, Ecuador, Italia, Ciudad del Vaticano, Colombia, Suecia, España y Ecuador.
SALVADOR ARIAS GARCÍA
Nacido en Caibarién, un puerto costero al norte de la parte central de Cuba, en 1935. Graduado en la Escuela de Letras de la Universidad de la Habana (1966). Trabajó en televisión como asesor de programas dramáticos, guionista y profesor. Desde 1971, investigador en el Instituto de Literatura y Lingüística y, a partir de 1994, del Centro de Estudios Martianos. Desde 1973 es miembro de la Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba. Doctor en Ciencias Filológicas de la
Universidad de la Habana. Ha impartido cursos y ofrecido conferencias en distintas instituciones en Cuba y en el extranjero. En actividades culturales ha visitado Alemania, Finlandia, Rusia, República Checa, México, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panamá, Nicaragua, Estados Unidos y Viet-Nam. Desde 1959 comenzó a publicar en numerosas revistas y diarios de todo el país. Entre sus libros de creación personal se encuentran: Búsqueda y análisis. Ensayos críticos sobre literatura cubana (1974), Tres poetas en la mirilla (1981), Un proyecto martiano esencial: La Edad de Oro (2001, 2012) Glosando La Edad de Oro (2001, 2011), Aire y fuego en la raíz: José María Heredia (2003, 2004), El reto perenne (2008), José Jacinto Milanés fuga y encuentro (2014). Ha compilado y prologado numerosos textos de autores como José Martí, Alejo Carpentier, Plácido, Zenea, Casal, etc.. Y participado en proyectos colectivos como el Diccionario y la Historia de la literatura cubana.
LUIS TOLEDO SANDE
Escritor, investigador, periodista
Nació en Velasco, provincia cubana de Holguín. Licenciado en Estudios Cubanos y doctor en Ciencias Filológicas por la Universidad de La Habana. En el inicio de su vida laboral (1976-1977) se desempeñó como redactor-editor en la Editorial Arte y Literatura, tras lo cual sería investigador y sucesivamente subdirector y director del Centro de Estudios Martianos; profesor titular de la Universidad de Ciencias Pedagógicas Enrique José Varona, tarea compartida con la asesoría, en la dirección del Ministerio de Educación, para la presencia del legado de José Martí en los planes nacionales de enseñanza; jefe de redacción y luego subdirector de la revista Casa de las Américas. Hacia finales de 2005 fue nombrado Consejero Cultural de la Embajada de Cuba en España, responsabilidad que concluyó satisfactoriamente en diciembre de 2009. De regreso al país empezó a ejercer el periodismo en la prestigiosa revista Bohemia.
Ha mantenido programas radiales semanales en CMBF y en Radio Habana Cuba. Ha participado como asesor en programas de televisión y proyectos culturales, y ha sido jurado en el Premio de la Crítica, el de la Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba y otros certámenes nacionales, y en el Premio Literario Casa de las Américas. Entre los reconocimientos que ha recibido se encuentra la Distinción Por la Cultura Nacional.
Website: http://luistoledosande.wordpress.com/
