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Adrian Villegas presents his one-man comedy
Barrio Daze
a laugh-out-loud-funny comedy about inner-city lives during a fateful day in the barrio
ONE WEEKEND ONLY!
Friday and Saturday, September 2nd and 3rd at 8 p.m.
$8 general admission, available at the box office on performance evenings
Adrian Villegas, atistic director for the award-winning Latino Comedy Project, returns with his one-man comedy Barrio Daze. Set against the backdrop of a fictional national election, Barrio Daze is a sprawling and irreverent one-man tour through a single day in the barrio. In a hilarious God's-eye-view of barrio life, Villegas brings to life a vivid gallery of unforgettable characters ranging from a hopeless panhandling borrachón (drunk) to an unlikely Chicano U.S. Senate hopeful.
Other members of his rich gallery of characters include a clueless burger-flipping high-school drop-out; a noble, hard-working illegal immigrant; and a culturally conflicted Hispanic "coconut" (brown on the outside, white on the inside) working for a prominent right-wing politician. On a single fateful election day, the diverse lives oft he nine characters overlap and collide in meaningful and surprising ways. The day culminates with the outcome of a heated senatorial race between a well-funded, rabidly conservative good-'ol boy politician and the inspiring grass-roots campaign of a dirt-poor Chicano school teacher.
Using a tapestry of slide photography, original audio parodies and stage monologues, Barrio Daze deftly mixes uproarious cultural humor with pointed social commentary to create a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud and unforgettably funny portrait of contemporary Latino life.
The Austin Chronicle wrote, "Performed with nothing less than brilliance…'Barrio Daze' is both absurdly funny and dead-on insightful…A series of damn funny and poignant sketches…This is laugh-out-loud material. Adrian Villegas is truly a gem.” The Dallas Morning News wrote, “’Barrio Daze’ is a free-for-all of social satire and wicked self-mockery. The only answer is helpless laughter. Mr. Villegas’ gift is in making we, the different people, laugh together.” Meanwhile, the Statesman's XL Ent. Weekly commented that Villegas' work "rivals the [one-man] shows John Leguizamo has done".
Villegas' rollicking one-man shows deal with barrio life, racial politics, and pop culture, and have played to packed audiences and critical acclaim at colleges, theatres and cultural arts venues across the country. In addition to his solo work, Villegas is also the artistic director for The Latino Comedy Project (L.C.P.), a popular, award-winning sketch comedy troupe. To date, the LCP’s YouTube comedy videos have received over twelve million views worldwide. The LCP cast also co-wrote and were featured in an MTV3 comedy ad campaign, which was nominated for a 2009 Emmy Award.
As both a touring solo performer and artistic director for the Latino Comedy Project, Villegas strives to create work that entertains, bridges cultures, and taps into the hunger of under-served Latino audiences.
“Barrio Daze” will run one weekend only Friday and Saturday, September 2nd and 3rd at 8pm at The New Movement Theater, 1819 Rosewood Ave, Austin, Texas 78722. Tickets are $8 general admission, available at the box office on performance evenings.
Sneed joined the Playhouse as executive director in April, 2000, following a 20-year long legal career in Houston, Texas. Last year she was named a “Living Legend” by the San Antonio Theatre Coalition for her contribution to theater arts in San Antonio and the state. She served on SATCO’s board of directors and as its president for two terms. The San Antonio Business Journal named her a “Woman of Influence in the Arts” in 2008. She also served on the board of governors of Texas Nonprofit Theatres, Inc., a state-wide organization, for eight years and served as its president for four years.
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