On July 25, HB Residency Artist Paola Alexandra Soto presents her project Lucha Libre, a story about a young Dominican woman dreaming of becoming a luchadora.
HB Residency: Paola Alexandra Soto’s Lucha Libre
Friday, July 25 at 6:30pm
HB Playwrights Theatre | 124 Bank Street
Pay-What-You-Wish, $30 Recommended
About the Project
Yaneliz, a young woman growing up in the Dominican Republic, dreams of becoming the first luchadora (female wrestler) in a family of luchadores (male wrestlers). When she gets her first period, she finds that one cannot be both a wrestler and a woman. Her brother, Rigoberto, is supposed to continue the family legacy, but when he’s unable to win a single match, their father, Arnoldo, gives Yaneliz an ultimatum. Now, she must decide what she is willing to give up to make her dream come true.
About the Artist
Paola Alexandra Soto (she/her) is an award-winning playwright, director, and actor. She is the co-founder of the Obie Award-winning Dominican Artists Collective (DAC). The 2023-2024 Artist in Residence at Oye Group. Playwriting Credits include D’Carnaval (Vision Residency, Ars Nova), La Sosa Sisters (Columbia@Roundabout 2021 New Play Reading series finalist), Lucha Libre (Shanghai Theatre Academy), and On The 1 Train (Jacob Weiser Playwriting Award). She is the Creative Producer for Lemon Andersen’s When Aliens Fall From the Sky and the 66th Obie Awards ceremony. Training: MFA, Columbia University; BA, City College of New York (CUNY). She’s thrilled to be working on this reading of Lucha Libre with this talented group of collaborators.