Patricia Alvitez (Marisol) is so excited to work with Profile Theatre for the first time! She was born in Peru where she studied Ballet at La Escuela Nacional de Ballet and acting at La Asociación de Artistas Aficionados and El Club de Teatro de Lima. In the late ‘80s, she joined The Peninsula Ballet Theatre in the Bay Area as a company member. Portland Theatre:Grand Hotel and Young Frankenstein (Lakewood Theatre), Last Stop on Market Street (Oregon Children’s Theatre), six Day of the Dead productions, Watsonville: Some Place Not Here, La Segua, Wolf at the Door, Ardiente Paciencia, and Verónica Princesa (Milagro Theatre); and La Ruta (Artists Repertory Theatre). She also plays Elena in the future film Mother of Color filmed here in Portland. Choreographer: Bee زنبو (LES Shakespeare Co).
Anthony Green Caloca* (Mando) is thrilled to return to Profile Theatre since previously appearing in Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue in 2017. Recent credits include playing Antigonus and Old Shepherd in The Winter’s Tale at The Old Globe in San Diego. Portland credits include Blind (Chapel Theatre Collective), Lydia, Into the Beautiful North, American Night: The Ballad of Juan José, ¡O Romeo!, How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, and Oedipus el Rey (Milagro Theatre); Island in Winter, or La Isla en Invierno (Bag&Baggage Productions); The Crackwalker (Sowelu Theatre); Hir (Defunkt Theatre); Davita’s Harp (Jewish Theatre Collaborative); and King Lear, King John, and Mary Stuart (Northwest Classical Theatre Company). Anthony won the 2018 OTAS Best Supporting Actor Award for his portrayal of Bob Ewell in Lakewood Theatre Company’s production of To Kill a Mockingbird. Earlier this season Anthony directed Borderline at Milagro Theatre.
Jonathan Hernandez (Junior) (he/him) is grateful to be working once again with christopher oscar peña and the Profile team! He was last seen performing as Rafael in how to make an American Son. Recent credits include Gloria (Stray Cat Theatre), Electra (HeyGhosteater), The Hombres (Artists Repertory Theatre), and Welcome to Arroyo’s (Profile Theatre). “our orange sky allowed me to uncover my relationship with my family – the difference between obligation, guilt, and unconditional love to my parents. I dedicate this performance to my parents. Without their support, (and their personality), I wouldn’t be who I am today. Finally, a quick shout out to the staff, the crew, and the cast; they treat me like family and not the Junior kind either… You’ll see what I mean soon. I love you Profile and I love you my cast.”
David Remple (Mario) is thrilled to be making his debut with Profile Theatre. A native of New York, his past productions include several Off-Off Broadway productions, such as The Stone Guest (Don Juan) and Macbeth (Malcolm). He performed with the national children’s touring production Encore! with Chamber Theatre Productions and has since been in a variety of commercials, most notably with Verizon, Ancestry, and Activision Blizzard. His most recent productions include: Las Adelitas (Antonio Reyes), The Play You Want (Lin Manuel Miranda/John Leguizamo), and Semillas (Juan Carlos). Other credits include Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), The Odyssey (Hermes), Julius Caesar (Mark Antony), The Merchant of Venice (Bassanio) and Body Awareness (Jared). He would like to thank his family and friends for their continued love and support.
Matthew Sepeda (Orlando) is super excited to be returning for his third show with Profile Theatre and his second chris peña play. He is an actor and fight choreographer here in Portland. You might have seen him previously at Profile in how to make an American Son by chris peña and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz. He’s very honored to be working on this world premiere show with so many talented artists. He’d like to thank everyone for their amazing hard work and dedication. He’d also like to thank his friends, family, and partner for all their love and support.
Skyler Verity (Wes) is an actor and filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon. Skyler was most recently seen on stage in Profile Theatre’s productions of how to make an American Son (Sean) and awe/struck. (Drew), and Portland Center Stage’s productions of Hair (Berger) and Rent (ensemble). His film and television credits include lead roles in James Franco’s Memoria, the film Sophie Jones (Showtime), and a recurring role on the TBS comedy Chad. The first short film Skyler wrote and produced, Julia, premiered at the 2022 BendFilm Festival, and was praised by rogerebert.com as a “galvanizing fact-based gem.” Skyler’s acting training includes Meisner Technique at Playhouse West (Los Angeles). Skyler would like to thank Profile Theatre for the opportunity to return to their stage.
EVREN ODCIKIN (Director) (he/him) is a Turkish-American director, writer, and arts leader with a commitment to advocating for historically-excluded stories and voices in the American theater. His work is heart-centered, politically engaged, and centers joy as resistance. Recent directing credits include Macbeth and Mona Mansour’s unseen at Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF), Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song at Marin Theatre Company, Sylvia Khoury’s Selling Kabul at Northern Stage, and Amir Nizar Zuabi’s This is Who I Am for Woolly Mammoth, PlayCo, American Repertory Theater, Guthrie Theater, and OSF. Prior directing credits include work at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Geva Theatre, South Coast Repertory, The Kennedy Center, The Lark, Interact Theatre Company, Cleveland Public Theatre, Playwrights Foundation, Golden Thread, Crowded Fire, and Magic Theatre, among many others. As a playwright and translator, he has been commissioned and produced by Cal Shakes, NYU Abu Dhabi, Golden Thread, Crowded Fire, and Custom Made. In 2023, he served as the interim artistic director at OSF, where he had been the associate artistic director and director of artistic programming since 2019. At OSF, he was instrumental in “saving” the 2023 Season, programmed the 2024 Season, and oversaw the producing of five repertory seasons, including more than 30 productions. Evren is a founder of Maia Directors, an affiliated artist with Golden Thread Productions, and serves on the boards of Middle Eastern North African Theater Makers Alliance and Playwrights Foundation. Recognitions include a “Theatre Worker You Should Know” feature in American Theatre Magazine, a National Director’s Fellowship from The O’Neill, National New Play Network, The Kennedy Center, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation; and a TITAN Award from Theatre Bay Area. odcikin.com
THOMAS SEPULVEDA (Mario u/s) has been working as a professional actor in the Portland Metropolitan area since 2022. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre arts at Portland State University and has been doing theatre since he was 14 years old. You may recognize Thomas from the premiere production of City Without Altar at Milagro Theatre, Red Velvet at Bag&Baggage Productions, or most recently in the premiere reading of our orange sky by christopher oscar peña hosted by Profile Theatre (as Mario). Thomas wants to extend gratitude and thanks to his parents, his amazing partner, and his high school drama teacher who all nurtured his dreams of performing important impactful work that represents Latinos as fully fleshed dynamic human beings despite being constantly both misrepresented and underrepresented in film, television and theatre.
CREATIVE TEAM & CREW
Scenic Design – Frank J. Oliva^ Costume Design – Ahmad Daniel Santos Lighting Design – Blanca Forzán Sound Design – Scott James Stage Manager – David Levine* Production Assistant – Hayley Farrell Intimacy Director – Kristen Mun-Van Noy Dialect Coach – Josh F. S. Moser Properties Coordinator – Gwyneth Bushman Technical Director – Derek Easton
^ Representing by United Scenic Artists – Local USA 829 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
* Appearing through an Agreement between Profile Theatre and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Lead Carpenter – Michael Hall Lead Electrician – Joshua Yoon Programmer – Joshua Yoon
Ben Johnson was excited to make his acting debut in Welcome To Arroyo’s. He is a NE Portland native who has garnered success nationally in the underground hip-hop scene under the MC name Milc, releasing several projects in the last 2 years alone (most recently ‘Neutral Milc Motel’ and ‘Windbreaker XL’). He has performed shows in Portland and beyond, opening for acts like Boldy James, Armand Hammer and Blu and Exile. Arroyo’s was Ben’s first foray into acting, and he’s excited for the opportunity to highlight the joy of rap and connect with his community in a new way.
Anthony “Tron” Parrish is an artist based in Portland, OR. He has been performing musically as Old Grape God since 2012, releasing 37 albums through 2022, collaborating with over 100 other musicians (including Milc, who plays Trip Goldstein). When he is not performing, he is a self-taught oil painter, poet, muralist, embroiderer, designer, producer, audio engineer, printmaker, or whatever the job calls for; claiming the title of All-Purpose Artist. After spending most of his 20’s working in leather goods, Tron made the switch to full-time artist, in a quest to explore every artistic medium and form of expression. He also co-hosts a monthly comedy show at Beuhlahland called Stoolhumpin’. Welcome To Arroyo’s is Tron’s first time acting outside of a music video.
Anthony Tron Parrish aka Old Grape God
Levi Cooper
Levi Cooper – NCAA D1 heavyweightwrestler at Arizona State University. Performed for WWE 2014-2020 under the pseudonym “Tucker Knight,” one half of the tag team Heavy Machinery. A father of 2, Kenzi and Storm.
Matthew Sepeda is an actor and fight choreographer based in Portland and he is absolutely thrilled to be a part of his first show with Profile Theatre. He received his B.A. in Drama from the University of Portland and has been working around town since graduating. A few roles/shows he’s been particularly proud to be a part of are Diego Moreno and CP Conyers in Bella: An American Tall Tale with Portland Playhouse, Leaf Coneybear in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee with The Anonymous Theatre Company as well as Septimo in Wolf at the Door and Bartolome the Cat in Alebrijes with Milagro. Matthew would like to thank his friends and castmates as well as everyone else that has been a part of this process. Their support and hard work has been integral in creating this amazing show. Thank you everyone for coming to see and support it and please enjoy!
Gemma Whelan (she/her) is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and educator. As an Irish immigrant to the U.S. her perspective crosses the boundaries between cultures, and as an artist she gives expression to stories that have been suppressed. She was the Founding Artistic Director of Wilde Irish Productions in the San Francisco Bay Area and Corrib Theatre in Portland, Oregon. In Portland, she has also directed at Artists Repertory Theatre, Profile Theatre, Milagro, CoHo Theatre, Boom Arts, and Portland Center Stage’s JAW Festival.
Gemma has extensive experience working on both classical and contemporary works and has directed and assisted in the development of numerous world premieres. She has taught theatre and film at colleges, universities, and conservatories from San Francisco to Singapore. Her novels are Fiona: Stolen Child and Painting Through the Dark. She is also published in the Wordstock Ten Anthology and The New Hibernia Review.
Gemma earned her BA in English and French at Trinity College, Dublin, and has graduate degrees in Theatre (University of California, Berkeley) and Film (San Francisco State University). She lives in Portland, OR.
Cindy Williams Gutiérrez is a poet, playwright, producer and educator. Her work is inspired by the silent and silenced voices of ourstory. She co-produced her dynamic choreopoem In the Name of Forgotten Women with CoHo Productions in April 2022. She received the 2017 Oregon Book Award for Drama for Words That Burn which premiered at Milagro in 2014. This award-winning drama was presented at the Linkville Playhouse in Klamath Falls, Oregon and the Merc Playhouse in Twisp, Washington in 2017, and was recorded by OPB for the Literary Arts Archive Project in 2018.
Cindy’s third poetry collection, This Tender Geography, is forthcoming from Lost Horse Press. She was awarded the 2018 Willow Books Editor’s Choice Poetry Selection and a 2016 Oregon Literary Fellowship for Inlay with Nacre: The Names of Forgotten Women. She was selected by Poets & Writers Magazine as a 2014 Notable Debut Poet for the small claim of bones (Bilingual Press/Arizona State University), which placed second in the 2015 International Latino Book Awards.
A passionate educator, Cindy has taught creative writing to adults through Annie Bloom’s Books, the Attic, Literary Arts Delve Seminars, LiTFUSE Poet’s Workshop, the Maryhill Museum of Art Teachers’ Institute, the Oregon Council for Teachers of English and the Oregon Poetry Association. She is cofounder of Los Porteños, Portland’s Latinx writers’ collective, and the founding producer of El Grupo de ’08, a Lorca-inspired, Northwest collaborative artists’ salon. Cindy earned an MFA from the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast Program with concentrations in Mesoamerican poetics, drama and creative collaboration.
Ben Johnson is excited to be making his acting debut in Welcome To Arroyo’s. He is a NE Portland native who has garnered success nationally in the underground hip-hop scene under the MC name Milc, releasing several projects in the last 2 years alone (most recently ‘Neutral Milc Motel’ and ‘Windbreaker XL’). He has performed shows in Portland and beyond, opening for acts like Boldy James, Armand Hammer and Blu and Exile. This is Ben’s first foray into acting, and he’s excited for the opportunity to highlight the joy of rap and connect with his community in a new way.
Anthony “Tron” Parrish is an artist based in Portland, OR. He has been performing musically as Old Grape God since 2012, releasing 37 albums through 2022, collaborating with over 100 other musicians (including Milc, who plays Trip Goldstein). When he is not performing, he is a self-taught oil painter, poet, muralist, embroiderer, designer, producer, audio engineer, printmaker, or whatever the job calls for; claiming the title of All-Purpose Artist. After spending most of his 20’s working in leather goods, Tron made the switch to full-time artist, in a quest to explore every artistic medium and form of expression. He also co-hosts a monthly comedy show at Beuhlahland called Stoolhumpin’. Welcome To Arroyo’s is Tron’s first time acting outside of a music video.
Bobby Bermea is the co-artistic director of The Beirut Wedding World Theatre Project, a 20 year member and now part of the leadership body of Sojourn Theatre, and a long-standing member of Actors Equity Association. Bermea is a writer, director and award-winning actor and has appeared in theatres literally from New York, NY to Honolulu, HI. As a director, Bermea has recently helmed productions of My Soul Grown Deep and The Green Book with BaseRoots Theatre, Hollow Roots with BoomArts, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents with Theatre Vertigo, Wait Until Dark at Northwest Classical Theatre (for which he was a finalist for a Drammy Award), and Top Dog/Underdog at Street Scenes. This is Bermea’s third stint as a director at Profile Theatre (having previously helmed Blue Door and Fires In the Mirror) and ninth production at Profile overall and he’s ecstatic to finally be working on a comedy!
Mic Crenshaw is a world class MC and poet who has emerged on the national – and international stage. Crenshaw was born in the Southside of Chicago, and was raised both there and in Minneapolis, where he became a leading voice for social equity and racial justice. After moving to Portland in 1992, he quickly became one of the most respected artists in the Northwest – he has recorded and produced over ten albums, recorded and performed with Dead Prez and Immortal Technique, and is the founder and frontman for the Portland based hip hop group Hungry Mob. In 2001, Crenshaw won The Portland Poetry Slam Championship and went on to finish as a national finalist. He is a long-time anti-racist and social justice activist, educator, and co-host of the 11-episode podcast “It Did Happen Here,” which Crenshaw describes as “the people’s history of anti-fascist and anti-racist organizing primarily in Portland, but it draws from stories that involve Minneapolis and a broader national story that took place in the eighties and nineties.”
Tiffany Conklin is Executive Director and co-founder of the Portland Street Art Alliance (PSAA), a non-profit organization that manages and documents the creation of public works of art, educates the public about the significance of street art and related traditions, and builds supportive networks for local, regional, and international artists. Tiffany has nearly two decades of professional research experience, including 16 years managing projects at Portland State University. She holds a Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology, and a Masters of Urban Studies from Portland State University, with a specialty focus on Public Space. As ED for PSAA, Tiffany manages the daily operations, including all commissioned work, community art projects, public policy consultation, and a variety of public engagement activities.
christopher oscar peña grew up in San Jose, California before moving to New York City to earn his BFA and MFA at NYU, and now splits his time between New York and LA. An in-demand TV-writer for such hit series as CW’s “Jane The Virgin,” HBO’s “Insecure” and ABC/Hulu’s “Promised Land,” for which he is Supervising Producer, peña works in media ranging from theatre to tv to opera.
A resident of New Dramatists and a former Fellow with The Lark, NYTW, the Playwrights Realm and the Old Vic/New Voices, peña was recently named Artistic Associate at Arizona Theatre Company and was listed on Backstage’s “Future Broadway Power List.”
His plays sit at the intersection of Latinx, LGBTQIA+ and American pop culture and interrogate the “American Dream” in ways that are current, fresh and illuminating. Profile Theatre is producing his play, “How to Make An American Son,” in June 2023.
Megan Tabaque is Filipina-Canadian playwright, actor, and arts educator. Her work has been developed, commissioned, and produced by the Alliance Theater, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Tofte Lake Center, the Workshop Theater, Paper Chairs, and Egg & Spoon Theatre Collective, among others. She is a Kundiman Fiction Fellow, Sewanee Writers’ Conference Scholar, Seattle Public Theater Emerald Prize finalist, Playwrights’ Realm Scratchpad Series semi-finalist, and a 2021 Four Seasons Residency nominee.
Recent works include Britney Approximately, a pop Greek tragedy commissioned by Vanderbilt University and Decapitations, a comedic haunting of a multi-facial family in Florida by the ailing president of an HOA (scheduled for Salvage Vangaurd Theater’s 2023 season).
She is currently developing a brand new play about conspiracy theorists and human trafficking in Asian American communities titled Marry Me, Bruno Mars for Emory University’s Brave New Works festival. Megan earned her MFA in Playwriting and Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, TX.
Alvaro Saar Rios is a Texican playwright living in Chicago. His plays have been performed in New York City, Mexico City, Hawaii, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and all over Texas. He has received playwriting commissions from various organizations, including Kennedy Center, Chicago Children’s Theatre, First Stage, Houston Grand Opera, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Purple Rose Theatre Company, Houston Community College, Zoological Society of Milwaukee and Omaha’s Rose Theater.
His award-winning play Luchadora! is published by Dramatic Publishing Inc. Other plays include On The Wings of a Mariposa, Unmuted, Bienvenidos a Milwaukee/Welcome to Milwaukee, and Carmela Full of Wishes. Alvaro holds an MFA in Writing for the Stage and Screen from Northwestern University. He is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and Playwright-InResidence at Milwaukee’s First Stage.
Alvaro is a proud veteran of the US Army and an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. https://www.alvarosaarrios.com/ Twitter & Instagram: @realCrazyMex
CHIP MILLER is a director and producer, currently in the role of Associate Artistic Director at Portland Center Stage at the Armory. Some of their recent directing credits include Rent, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, the world premiere of Redwood (Portland Center Stage at the Armory), Larry Owens’ Sondhemia (Carnegie Hall), Journeys to Justice (Portland Opera), School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play, Welcome to Fear City, A Raisin in the Sun, (KCRep); the world premiere of Becoming Martin (The Coterie); dwb: driving while black (Lawrence Arts Center, Baruch Performing Arts Center). Upcoming: It’s a Wonderful Life – a Live Radio Play at Portland Center Stage and the world premiere of Kareem Fahmy’s American Fast at Artists’ Repertory Theatre.
Cristi Miles is a native of El Paso, Texas and is a theatre artist rooted in Portland, OR. She enjoys making life awesome with her husband, daughter and their 4 pet friends. She wildly enjoys teaching, and making radical art with PETE (petensemble.org), where this past November they concluded FRONTERIZA, a three year long project investigating Cristi’s identity in context of the recent immigration crisis along the US/Mexico border. Her work has taken her all across the Pacific Northwest and Northeastern parts of the US.
This year finds her teaching Reed, Lewis and Clark, and the University of Portland all for the first time! She has been previously seen acting on stage with PETE; Artist’s Rep; Third Rail; Portland Playhouse; Profile Theatre; Portland Shakespeare Project; and Teatro Milagro, as well as many theatres in New England. Cristi is a founding faculty member at the Institute for Contemporary Performance and a graduate of The Oregon Center for Alexander Technique (AmSAT certified teacher).
