SCRATCH NIGHT:
DESTINOS EDITION
Curated by Alice Da Cunha & Chio Cabrera with Amanda Martinez, Daniela Kreidler, Dylan (DC) Wray, Jessica Prioste, Wendy Madrigal, Zoia Mendoza & Jailine Hernandez
80 minutes with intermission
Age Guidance: 16+
Monday, October 21st at 8pm
The Den Theatre
1331 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago IL 60622
About SN Destinos Edition
Scratch Night, Destinos Edition is a curated showcase of works-in-progress featuring innovative theatre makers. Featuring 6 previews of original contemporary, visual, and physical theatre by different Latine artists to foster their development.
Co-curated by Alice Da Cunha & Chio Cabrera, Scratch Night aims to provide a social space for community, conversation, and collaboration.
Scratch Night Line Up:
Sensations
by Amanda Raquel Martinez
Felt up! A No-Strings Attached Dating Show
by Daniela Kreidler with Marianna Gallegos, Steffen Diem García & Jesus Martinez
Afro Indigenous in My Veins
by Dylan (DC) Wray
Persona
by Jessica Prioste
Recuerdos
by Wendy Madrigal
Game Show
by Zoia Mendonza & Jailine Hernandez
Amanda Raquel Martinez is a Puerto Rican interdisciplinary artist drawing from the realms of theatre, opera, yoga, songwriting, circus, and dance to create multifaceted work. Originally from the Bronx, she has made her home in Chicago's theatre scene over the last decade and is grateful to present some of her new work with Scratch Night! Chicago credits include: Circus Quixotic (Actors Gymnasium); Somewhere Over the Border (Teatro Vista); American Mariachi (Goodman Theatre); American Bottom; 33 to Nothing (A Red Orchid Theatre); Ghost Quartet* (Black Button Eyes Productions); La Ruta (Steppenwolf); Big Lake, Big City (Lookingglass Theatre); Cinderella at the Theater of Potatoes (Hypocrites); As You Like It; Love, Loss and What I Wore (First Folio Theatre); For the Love Of (Pride Films and Plays); Even Longer and Farther Away (The New Coordinates); El Stories: The Holiday Train (Waltzing Mechanics.) Regional Credits include: Kitty Hawk (Adrienne Arsht Center) Frankenstein (The McCarter Theatre in association with Lookingglass Theatre) Pirates of Penzance (Skirball Theatre Center); Resurrecting Wildflowers (HERE:Arts Center); Pirates of Penzance (Pasadena Playhouse); Pirates of Penzance; The Mikado (Olney Theatre Center.) *She is a recipient of a Joseph Jefferson Award for her role in this production.
IG Account: @dreampasthestars
Daniela Kreidler (She/Her) Chicago-based Latinx actor, comedian and writer. She is the Lead Artist and Director of FELT UP! A dating show where there are no strings attached. She has been part of the cast of Juana and the Missing Mayan Book; where her love of puppetry began. Daniela also performs with Zahaha; where puppetry, pizza and chaos meet. Daniela is an improviser and has worked with various groups including Art By Artist and Salsation Theatre Company. Daniela is proud to work with Playmakers Laboratory as their company manager & teaching artist where she enjoys working with children and empowering them by way of creative writing.
Dylan “D.C” Wray is a dancer, instructor, and choreographer with experience in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, West African, Jazz, Tap, Ballroom, Flamenco, American Ballroom, Latin dance styles, and well versed Hip Hop dance, along with acrobatic dancing. Dylan has performed with numerous professional dance companies around the US, including Festival Ballet Albuquerque with former New York City Ballet Principal, Jock Soto, Kuumba Lynx Dance Troupe in Chicago, Ardent Dance Chicago Company, and Odara Dance Company. Dylan has participated with Alvin Ailey New York School of Dance. In addition, he has been a street performer and performed in dance battle competitions. Wray has attended master classes with the American College Dance Association. Born and raised in the Chicagoland area, he trained in Chicago, Denver, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, and the metropolitan Phoenix area. Dylan is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a double major in Dance and Africana Studies with a certificate in Social Justice.
IG Account: @dc.wray
Jessica Prioste is a Brazilian published writer by Luminosa Produções Artísticas. Actress and producer at The Darkness Video Art, and international student proficient in Business Administration and Multimedia, with a rich background of Art Teacher. Since 2018, she has been working on a project called “The Darkness Has Awakened”, a trilogy of photos, creative writings, and performances, based on an intentional investigation of her own journey as a woman.
Jessica has her poetry and acid writing published in a collection featuring Brazilian authors from around the world, introduced by Denise Stoklos. She was sponsored by Eaton and Basf to perform and produce a play adapted from one of the most important names of the Brazilian literature, Machado de Assis. She was nominated for The Best Supporting Actress in the VII Edition of Cacilda Becker Festival Theater.
More than the above shared piece of her life, she is an immigrant, international student for 7 years, with the dream of bringing stage plays from São Paulo written by women to Chicago.
Dreaming is always a way to dare.
Website: www.thedarknessvideoart.com
Photo Credit: Jessica Prioste
IG accounts: @darknessvideoart and @jeprioste
Wendy Madrigal is a multifaceted artist who grew up dancing Mexican folk, and from then she knew she wanted to create art that represents her culture along with representing others. In her puppetry journey her goal is to represent her Mexican-American roots within her stories along with exploring the relationship of folkloric dance movements and music with the puppets and puppeteer. She pursued her passion by studying theatre design, production, and technology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she honed her skills in stage management, stagecraft, and storytelling. This theatrical foundation continues to inform her artistic practice, infusing her work with a sense of narrative depth and emotive resonance. Her backstage credits have been at Goodman Theatre in Sones De México Ensemble's Zulema, American Mariachi, Nightwatch, and Good Night, Oscar. Her latest work in progress, Amor Eterno, was presented with Chicago Puppet Lab 2024 at the Segundo Ruiz Cultural Center.
IG account: @itswendymadrigal
Zoia Mendoza is a clown and actor from Chicago. She is proud to be half Mexican: the first generation born in the US and the first to graduate from college (both on her mother's side). She has a BFA degree in Meisner Acting from NIU and has studied clown extensively for the past 2 years in the city.
IG account: @zoia.mendoza
Website: www.zoiamendoza.com
Jailine Hernandez is a latina actor and clown that was raised in the south side of Chicago. She studied at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Acting. She has performed in theatres such as Annoyance, Other World, and The Newport.
IG account: @jailine_isabel
THE CURATORS
Alice Da Cunha is a Brazilian/Portuguese actress, director and producer who has worked in Portugal, the UK and the US. She is a Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Physical Theater Festival. Her past experiences working in festivals include: Marketing Director, CASA (London's Latin American Theatre Festival); Producer/Presenter/Curator, Shortcutz London (weekly short film festival); Production Assistant, TODOS Festival (an interdisciplinary festival in Lisbon, Portugal); Hospitality, Chicago Latino Film Festival.
A brief list of her acting credits include: United Flight 232 (House Theater) -Jeff Award for Best Ensemble & Midsize Production-, La Ruta (Steppenwolf Theater), The Clean House (Remy Bumppo) & This Much is True (Theater 503, UK). Recent directing credits include: The Crone Chronicles (Pride Arts Chicago; PhysFest NYC) and Co-Direction of The Dream King (Teatro Vista) - Jeff Award Nomination for Best Direction. Alice is also an Artistic Consultant to Theater Unspeakable and Adjunct Professor at Loyola University.
Rocio “Chio” Cabrera is a Mexican-American artist creating new Latina stories through puppetry. Rocio builds, directs, and performs in her own shows for families and for theaters across the city of Chicago. Her recent puppetry credits include MITOTE Fall Equinox (CHI), Nasty Brutish & Short (CHI), The Worm Show (NYC), and Juana and the Missing Mayan Book (CHI). She is a current Artist in Residence at Free Street Theater. She is an artist associate of Rough House Theater. When she’s educating children with puppets, she focuses on the empathy, joy, and creativity that puppets bring.